underestimated by my teacher...
Tenth grade, chem lab with Mrs. E.: A group of us were working on a project after school. It was a casual setting, so Mrs. E. was asking us about our hopes and ambitions instead of just the periodic chart. I said, "I’m going to be a famous model or magazine editor." True, this was big thinking for our small-town school. But even though there was no official proof, inside I always felt like I was different from everyone else. Despite that confidence, I wasn’t prepared for what she said: “When you come back to reality, tell me what you REALLY want to do.” I felt stupid, for sure, but I just made some face-saving quip and moved the conversation onto someone else. I’m not angry at Mrs. E., I just wish she had been there to see me be the youngest recipient of my high school’s distinguished alumnae award. Though I obviously wasn’t model material, I did pretty well anyway. Meow.

underestimated by my boss...
When I’d had the realization that I wanted to move on from fashion and become involved with the rest of the content in magazines, I was a 25-year-old senior fashion editor and unsure of how to communicate my goals to my bosses. But then, like magic, the perfect opportunity presented itself. Our Editor in Chief and I were driving back to the office from a fashion show. “We need someone on staff to be the editor of this special issue of Cosmo. Who do you think would be good?” she asked me. She was sitting in the backseat of a Town Car, and I was in the front, next to her chauffeur. I remember closing my eyes before I spoke. “How about me?” I asked cheerfully. “Come on! You’re a fashion girl, Atoosa. We need a real editor,” she said. I laughed like I’d said the funniest joke in the world, but only my mouth was smiling. I was crushed. Less than a year later, I would create and become founding Editor in Chief of CosmoGIRL!, Hearst’s very successful entry into the teen space. I didn’t do it alone, I had an awesome team. But together we made the magazine make a profit three years ahead of schedule and won lots of awards and readers along the way. Meow.

and underestimated by my colleague.
A few years ago, when I was still Editor in Chief of Seventeen, the company had asked the editors, publishers and colleagues from all the different divisions to figure out new ways of making money. After all, the Internet was eating into our businesses, and they wanted to make up for the losses with new gains and ideas. So the Seventeen meeting had about 10 different people tossing out their ideas. Most of it was about how to SAVE money, and nothing seemed that exciting. So I said, “How about we have a reality show?” I was so excited about that idea. The guy who was running the meeting (a nice guy—but a total corporate-suit type) didn’t even acknowledge my comment; he just went on to the next idea. Well, by that time the following year, Miss Seventeen had debuted on MTV—and yes, we made a lot of money for the magazine from that little show. Meow.