Why Me?

A stripped down, acoustic version of who I am

Before I sing, I want to tell you why this song exists. I am stripping the varnish off the professionally curated portfolio I created to win over the hearts of Hiring Managers. The result is just me, sitting on stage with my guitar and a dream. A dream that began when I was five years old: I wanted to be a writer.

Origin

I learned to read at three. By five, I was editing my library books, underlining typos and making notes in margins of books that were not mine. The librarian did not love this, but she did encourage my passion and suggested that my parents look into accelerating my education since, clearly, I was not your average five year old. So they did. I skipped grades and was put in an advanced reading class. But while this sounds great on paper, I was too young, emotionally, for it to work. Instead, I rebelled. I started using A, B and C on my answer-sheets as Do, Re and Mi, composing 3 note versions of nursery rhymes as my form of rebellion. It worked and they put me back where I belonged, only one grade ahead, learning social skills as well as the educational materials. 

And somewhere in that rebellion, I also learned to love marketing, before I even knew it had a name. I still sing the Oscar Myer theme song in my head whenever I have to spell bologna. 

But even that young, I could tell something was different about me. I “got” words in a way others didn’t. I could literally “feel” when words were off, before I even learned the fundamentals of grammar. Words were never abstract: they had weight, color and temperature. This thing I had made me a natural wordsmith. But I didn’t know why I was wired this way until recently: I have cross-sensory synesthesia, which means I feel language in ways most people do not. I associate words with colors and temperatures. If a cold word is in a warm sentence, that means it’s wrong and I replace it. Yes, I know the grammar and follow style-guides, but this condition is actually my superpower and why I have always been so good with words. Synesthesia is my x-ray vision for writing, allowing me to see beneath the surface to the structure and intent holding it together. I’m working on an article, that I’ll submit to Wired Magazine, as they tend to like neuro-divergent pieces, about what it is like to literally feel words in a post-AI world where humans consume more words written by systems that cannot feel them.

I’ve been writing professionally for over twenty years, often alongside many other roles. Now I’m choosing to strip out the background noise and focus on what I’ve always been best at and loved most.

Writing was never the bridge. It was always the chorus.

Mission

I write because I care deeply about how words, people and how the two interact. My personality is big and loud, but I’m empathetic to the core. So, by default, I put myself in other people’s shoes, grasping what they want, what they fear, and what they need. I begin writing with my feet planted solely in the user’s shoes working my way backward to the brand so that the journey feels natural, not forced. 

Good copy is authentic. Users trust it. That’s where my empathetic nature and synesthesia help me shine. 

My mission is to write language that makes people feel understood, makes brands feel human, all without sacrificing authenticity, clarity or purpose. 

Vision

The way people discover information is changing, and I am changing with it on purpose. I just spent 3 months of 80 hour weeks immersed in an AI Generalist role, just so that I could augment my arsenal with tools that will keep my skills sharp as marketing evolves. 

I’m learning AEO alongside my SEO skills. I’m learning these things now instead of playing catch-up later. Do I write with AI? No. Do I use it to sharpen my work? Absolutely. I’m creatively using technical tools, bending them to my purpose, staying ahead of the curve. Plus, it’s fun.

I am also a fierce guardian of brand integrity. While I advocate for the users, my allegiance is to the brand. Is that an oxymoron? No. It is essential. You have to protect the brand and, to do so, you have to bring users to it, show them it really is what the words said it would be and translate that into measurable actions.

My vision is to grow as a marketing copywriter who understands how words impact people and, now, robots, so that the brands I write for shine brightly in the spotlight on the universal stage that is the web as we know it. 

Tagline

I write with human color in a world that is far too black and white. 

Values

My Love for Words

Writing is not a skill I picked up. It is what I was meant to do. My brain is wired for it and I am trained to use it. I respect words and take them seriously and protect them in every project.

Empathy Before Ego

I leave my ego at the door. The work is not about me. It is about the person on the other side of the screen, page or sign and what it is that they need to hear in order to understand, trust, or take action. 

Clarity With Intention

Clear language is generous language. It respects attention and builds trust. Every word earns its place on the stage. 

Growth Without Losing the Soul

As my industry, marketing, evolves, so do I. So should we all. I am always learning new tools and adapting to best practices and frameworks without fear but, rather, curiosity.