We need to have a little heart to heart real quick.

Honesty is important to me. You trusting me matters to me. I do not want you to ever think I’m promoting something or somewhere because it benefits me. What I’m doing here is my dream job. I wake up everyday grateful for getting to do this. None of that means anything if you don’t know that I am 100% honest with you at all times.

I have struggled with learning how to navigate situations where I have less than wonderful things to say about a place or a situation. I know people put their heart and souls into their business and events. I don’t want to say anything to hurt their feelings and I damn sure do not want to hurt their business. However, I’m not doing right by you if I tell you to eat somewhere where the food is mediocre at best. I’m learning as I go how to best handle those situations and I would like to think I’m doing a pretty good job at it.

While I don’t want to hurt anyones feelings – its more important to me that you trust me and know that I’m always going to be 100% real with you than having every business owner and event planner in Chattanooga like me. Not everyone is going to think I’m awesome and thats ok.

If the truth of my experience upsets someone then that is an opportunity to address an issue in their event or business. It gives them a chance to bring it up to the standard that they want to be known for.  I will never purposely or maliciously say anything to hurt anyone. I want to see everyone win and achieve their dreams. I won’t, however, lie to you and say that things are better than they are to spare someones feelings. That doesn’t help anyone.

I also will not be bullied into only saying what a business owner wants me to say about them. I could get past the uncomfortableness of this by not talking about things that I don’t think are amazing, but thats kinda shady too right? Not everything in Chattanooga, or life for that matter, is all sunshine and rainbows and perfect and I would be lying to you if I only talked about the good.

I am not perfect and I don’t expect anyone else to be. I do not hold anywhere or anyone to an impossible standard. I talk to you like I talk to my best friends because to me you kind of are. I wouldn’t be able to do this if it wasn’t for you. In doing so, that means sometimes I’m going to tell you I’m standing in a parking lot trying to not be overwhelmed by a lot of people in a small space. That isn’t a shot at the small space, it is what I am experiencing in that moment.

I’m not a journalist. I don’t pretend to be one. If thats what you’re looking for go check out Nooga Today or The Times Free Press (which is funny to me because it isn’t free but thats a story for another day) I’m just a girl who really loves this city and wants you to love it and the people in it too.