In 7th grade I couldn’t speak. Well, in my social studies class, that is. I can still remember raising my hand to answer a question posed by the teacher. My mouth was moving but no sound came out.  If you’ve ever had a dream in which you’re trying to scream or run away from the monsters but your voice is constricted or your legs won’t work—that’s what it felt like for me. The “monsters" in this case turned out to be my classmates. I had accidentally been placed in the wrong level class. My classmates were loud and rowdy. Having come from the most idyllic elementary school setting, I felt intimidated and completely out of place. My mom talked to the counselor and got me in the right class pretty quickly, but that 7th grade experience left an indelible mark. Ironically, I would go on to make a career out of speaking, but even all these years later, I have a keen understanding of what it … [continue reading...] about Finding Your Authentic Voice