Sean Tulien: Hi, Audible listeners. I'm Editor Sean, and today I'm interviewing an extra-special guest—Arizona from the podcast. Arizona helps kids from all over the world solve their problems by sharing life lessons she's learned. Welcome, Arizona!
Arizona: Thanks Sean, I'm super excited to be here!
Sean: Would you mind telling us about your podcast?
Arizona: I definitely wouldn't mind! Only, I think I should warn you about something...
Sean: Uh oh—what kind of warning?
Arizona: Don't worry. It's nothing terrible! It's just, well, I'm so excited about my podcast, once I start talking about it, it's kind of hard to shut me up.
Sean: Ha! That's one of the things that makes your podcast so fantastic. When kids write in with questions, you have a lot to say about how those very same worries and concerns have affected you. How did you get the idea to respond to kids' letters by giving examples from your own life?
Arizona: When I first got the idea to do an advice column for my school newsletter, I started out writing super-quick answers. But I soon realized I had a bunch of the exact same worries and challenges, so I guess I just automatically started talking about my own experiences. That newsletter turned into a monthly magazine story for Highlights magazine, and now it's this whole, amazing podcast!
Sean: Not that many 12-year-olds have their very own podcasts. You must be super psyched!
Arizona: Yeah, I totally am! Every morning I wake up feeling unbelievably grateful that so many people seem to be liking these crazy, random stories about my life. But also, to be really honest, I sometimes feel kind of nervous. I know it's silly, but once in a while I worry people might be judging me, or think my ideas for dealing with a problem might not be good. You know, insecure stuff like that.
Sean: It's brave of you to admit you feel nervous and insecure sometimes. I've been working as an interview guy for quite a while now, and I still get butterflies in my stomach.
Arizona: Really?
Sean: Really!
Arizona: Wow! That makes me feel way better!
Sean: You're so good at helping kids solve their problems. Can you talk a bit about how you do it?
Arizona: I wouldn't exactly say I solve problems. It's more like I just really relate to other people's problems. I think when kids can see they're not alone—you know, that we're all going through a lot of super-similar hard stuff, it maybe makes life seem a little more doable.
