Why the Blue Chair?

I chose the title Blue Chair Conversations to honor my college years that were so foundational in who I am today. College was hard on its own and as a student-athlete it was even harder. I struggled my Freshman year after suffering an injury that took me out for the season.  I felt defeated as if I had been shattered into a million pieces, I had no idea if I was going to survive. 

That's when my golf coach suggested that I should seek help so I could learn how to navigate college life as a student and an athlete while healing from my injury. 

I started seeing a counselor and when I first met him, I was shy, scared and felt I was in some kind of trouble.  During our first session, I sat in a blue chair across from my counselor curled up in a little ball. That moment became so profound to me and the blue chair became more than just a blue chair. 

The blue chair represents more to me than fabric and wood because it's where I sat across from my college counselor who gave me space to be me and to discover who I was and who I wanted to be. 

The blue chair signifies so much for me. It's where I learned I could just be me, no judgement, no pointing fingers, no name calling, I was just Erin. 

The blue chair was a safe spot where I could sit in silence, share with openness, stubbornness or even just cry and let go of all I was holding on to. 

The blue chair is where I could let my walls down and discover who I was, who I wanted to be and who I needed to be for me. That blue chair is where I truly learned that there was always something deeper tha the surface of my problems. 

It's where I learned how to look at things from a different perspective and to always ask WHY?  I was challenged and reminded that the answers were already in me, I just had to be willing to ask them. 

The blue chair is where I learned to confront "the elephants in the room", talk about the things that matter and discover that growth was possible, while being authentically me. 

That's what this podcast is all about. Having conversations with people from all walks of life. Learning their personal stories, about the things they have gone through in their life that helped shaped them and allowed them to grow into the person they are today. We all have a story, it's time to share it with the world.