Hey Reader!

For whatever reason, my social skills have taken a hit since coming back to the US. I used to be okay with small talk, and now I get nervous checking out at the grocery store.

So when I spotted a girl at the coffee shop wearing over-the-ear headphones and joked that I should go interview her for my marketing externship, I was 100% kidding... But my fellow externs weren’t. In our group chat, I told them it was a bummer that I hadn’t yet written my interview questions. They simply suggested that I get her email address to interview her later.

Shoot… they were right. I had to go talk to her or I knew I’d be disappointed in myself for the rest of the day.

This gut feeling has been described time and time again.

In her book, The 5-Second Rule, Mel Robbins writes that “If you have an impulse to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill the idea.”

Similarly, a guest speaker in my Public Speaking class told us about a personal challenge he embarked on: anytime anyone sparked his interest, he would go talk to them. Even if he was at the grocery store and he was having a busy day, if he saw a person who looked interesting, he had to try and strike up a conversation.

So back to me in the coffee shop.

My plan was to talk to her on my way out. I finished my work, packed up my things, and lingered at my table. I drafted a script on my phone. I was worried she’d think I was trying to recruit her for an MLM or something, so I wanted to get right to the point and be as polite as humanly possible.

Okay, deep breath. I took the first step and then momentum carried me all the way to her table. She took off her headphones.

“Hi, I’m so sorry to bother you! But I’m working on a marketing research project about the resurgence of over-the-ear headphones amongst Gen Z, and I noticed you were wearing a pair. I was wondering…”

I tripped over my words a little bit, but I reached the end of my spiel. It turns out she was outside of my target demographic (a millennial), but she was really sweet and wished me luck on my project.

I drove home from the coffee shop giddy with relief and pride. I actually didn’t care whether I successfully recruited her. My challenge to myself was simply to go talk to her, and I accomplished it.

Our intuition often tells us exactly what we need to do, but we ignore it out of fear or overthinking. It’s through these everyday acts of courage, though, that we’ll grow and find we're way more capable than we thought.

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ICYMI

Some personal news: I finally got my apartment! I move in a week and I absolutely can’t wait to create content in my new home. Thank you for all of your good luck wishes.

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Recent videos

Omg the Notion tour is finally here! And I made a template so that you can copy any part of my setup that you like! Crazy!

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A few of my favorite things

👩‍💻 If you’re curious, that externship I’m doing is through Paragon One. I’m only 2 weeks into it so maybe I’ll summarize my experience at the end, but if you’re interested in getting some career experience with a fully remote opportunity, you can check out their website!​

🌴 I love re-discovering content creators that I watched years ago and seeing how their lives have changed. I started following Dana and Lou near the start of high school, maybe? Their videos made me so happy. They’ve since gotten married, lived on a boat and on a farm in Hawaii, and had a baby. The nostalgia 🥺

💌 A fun idea for a Zoom hangout or a virtual date - playing Buzzfeed Quiz Party. Haven’t you always wanted to know whether you'd survive the Hunger Games based on your home design preferences?

📺 I started watching the new season of Queer Eye - it’s such a comfort show for me! Episode 4 was one of the most heartwarming episodes I’ve watched, I was tearing up.

*Some links may be affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission from purchases you make using them, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support! ♡

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❔ An exercise for you

The next time your brain tells you “go do this scary thing”… do it. (Be safe and responsible, you know the difference between a scary thing that will challenge you and grow you and a scary thing that is just plain reckless.) And hit reply on this email to report back to me when you do! I’m cheering you on ♡

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Thank you so much for reading! Remember, you'll find all editions of the newsletter here.​

Lots of love,
Beatrice