"Hello, podcast listeners. We're your hosts, Victoria and Kat. Welcome to Not My Problem. Have you heard that phrase before? Have you tried to share your angst and woes with friends and they responded with their version of 'it's not my problem'? Well, people, for the next thirty minutes, we are going to make your problems our problems."It was now my job to read the disclaimer. I leaned forward and my mouth hit the mic with a thump. "Oops.""It's okay, we'll fix it later," Ms. Lyon said. "Keep going."I backed off the mic slightly. "Actually, my name is Kate." That needed to be clear from the start. "And as a side note, we are not professionals." My hands were trembling as I read off the notecard we'd prepared with Ms. Lyon. "Whatever views we express today are our own opinions."Yep, the lump in my throat absolutely made me sound like a frog.Now was the time in the show when our first phone call was supposed to be waiting for us. Both Victoria and I looked at the board on the other side of the glass. It was ominously free of blinking lights. Mallory, at the phones, shook her head and shrugged her shoulders."We'll edit out the silence," Ms. Lyon said into our headphones. This was one of the benefits of a podcast, she'd told us in class last week -- editing."Before we'd ask any of you to share your problems with us, however," Victoria was saying smoothly, "what kind of hosts would we be if we didn't participate? Right, Kat?""Kate.""Kate. Okay. Lay it on our audience. What is the biggest thing you're struggling with right now?"I swallowed hard. "Right now?""Yes.""Um . . . having to host a podcast when I don't like people very much." Excerpted from Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
