Petra Voss

It was on an evening in 2021, and I was sat in front of my computer thinking about the conversations I had with the young adults — about their life questions, about their doubts, about their searching, and how to navigate life. I started to write things down because what they said felt so important. My mind was drifting away, and then I saw an image. I saw myself writing a book, being interviewed about it, standing on stage and talking about these young adults and their courage to question life and find their own tone of voice… and speak it out!

But then, reality kicked in. Am I good enough? Is my English good enough? I could read English. I could speak it, and I could understand it, but speaking freely with humour and responding to questions from an audience or an interviewer right on the spot? Oh no!

In my time, English wasn’t woven into daily life like it is now. I didn’t grow up with Netflix, YouTube, podcasts, and international voices everywhere. And I realised something uncomfortable, but very honest: I had to look into myself. I had to do justice to those young adults, to their bravery to open up and talk. I needed flexibility, I needed tone, I needed humour to speak, not perform corrections. And I didn’t sound native. I wanted to sound true.

So I went online, not looking for just an English tutor. I was looking for someone who could meet me intellectually, human-to-human. Someone who understands language as a living material. And then I find Tom.

From the first conversation, something clicked. We didn’t just work on vocabulary, we worked on daring to do the “not knowing”, not knowing the next sentence, and what surprised me most, it was not so much learning English —it was not about English at all. It was about letting go of control, allowing myself to sound imperfect, but alive. Everyone in life needs someone who makes them stand out, and Tom did that for me.

After a year, I took another step: I enrolled in a one-year presentation mastery training, and I could only do that because of the foundation that Tom and I built together. My world’s got bigger and more connected. And through that process, I found a voice that honours me, that honours who I am, and it honours who I am in the next step.

And now I can talk about my book, Future Me, with freedom, with humour, with depth, and, most importantly, I can encourage young adults in English to choose their own path and trust their own voice, because we need to have young adults in this world, using their own voice and taking steps on their own path. So, it wasn’t just about language; it was about becoming more myself in another language, and thank you, Tom, for walking with me on this path. It changed how I speak, it changed how I navigate life, and I’m so grateful that I took that step.