TEDxTruth #2: The right rooms won’t ask you to shrink.

It was pitch night.
Two minutes to share my idea.
Five faces behind a table.
One bar stool.
A TEDxNorthwich banner.
And me - in red pants, sipping a cappuccino, repeating my script in my head like a prayer.

I'd written the pitch with ease. No overthinking. No spirals. Just a deep clarity that said: You know this. You live this.
Still, the butterflies made their entrance, even though I knew what I wanted to say and I deeply believed in the power of my idea.

My TEDx Truth #1: The things we’re meant to do usually start with sweat.

When our good friend Ben told me TEDxNorthwich was being hosted at The Grange School I felt butterflies. Giving a TEDx Talk had been on my bucket list for years - quietly sitting between “learn to salsa” and “figure out taxes without crying.” But this? This one felt... real.

Ben had actually messaged me about it well before the deadline. I just didn’t act on it right away. (Hi, ADHD!) By the time I was ready to apply, the deadline was in two days…