Here I sit trying to contemplate who I want to Interview and how I want to go about doing my cold-calls.
It has been a good year and a half since I have had to do this and let me tell you, it is nerve racking.

I preach all day and every day to students about how easy it is to go about doing the cold calling process, and how surprising it can be that people will accept your offers. And this is true, it happens!

But so much easier to talk about then to actually do it.

First off, I am going somewhere abroad, where doing research on people I can potentially interview is tough. I don't know the country, I don't know who lives in London, so I need to do some major homework. This means I need to do some major thinking about what kind of people I want to interview.
Who am I interested in?
What kind of jobs do they work?
What do I want to gain from the interviews?
How do I find out about these people?
How do I contact them? Phone? Email?
What is the time difference in London?

It can be an intimidating process just thinking of who to talk to. AND THEN! The thought of contacting these people you don't know and explaining what you are doing can be a overwhelming too.

"Um, hello, yes ... you see my name is Kristin, and I am a average 25 year old American who doesn't know what they want to do with their life. And I am traveling to England and ... I would like to talk to you. Yes. You. About your life, and how you got to where you are. And film it. Is that cool?"

It isn't an easy thing to pitch at first, and I give all my indie trippers (and any of our roadtrippers at that) credit for being brave enough to go through this process.

Of course, I know the flip side of this challenging process is the reward is so sweet. The work is worth what you learn on the trip and through the interviews. Plus, doing something that makes you uncomfortable isn't always a bad thing. I believe, as one of our bosses around here would say, this "build character." Gives you confidence, and teaches you a little lesson about how far taking a little initiative goes.

I also know once I get that first reply, that first yes! That first interview! I will feel encouraged and ready to roll.
So wish me best of luck as I contemplate these things today and try to get some interviews!

Hopefully I will be writing soon with good news.