In the Audience

In this episode, I get to introduce you to my friend Malon! She is resilient and has a ton of grit - which you'll hear in this episode. I was incredibly grateful that Malon was so open with me about her story - from drugs and alcohol to praying the Lord would break her, to her difficult relationship with her mom that has been redeemed, to going viral on TikTok and sharing what she knows and loves - God. I truly hope you hear how Malon has honored her mom in their relationship, but also acknowledged the parts that were hurtful and ugly. If you resonate with this part of the episode - I would love to know. I also loved hearing Malon's rhythm of being in the Word and talking to God, and listening for Him, too! We definitely talked about things that are near and dear to my heart, and I hope that you'll share this episode with someone who might just relate to a bit of Malon's story. You can find Malon on TikTok and Instagram at @water.malonn - reach out and let her know what you enjoyed!

Our guest this week is a long time friend and mentor, Andrea Lowe. She is an educator and a certified Enneagram Coach. She has extensive history in teaching and was so fun to interview!! This conversation on the Enneagram does highlight Type 2's (like Andrea) and Type 8's (like me), and is a deeper dive into a few specifics of the Enneagram. For a better take on if you are new to it - head on over to Annie F Down's podcast and listen to her EnneaSummer episodes from 2019 and 2020 - they are full of great information! There are also a few books you can read that I don't mention on this episode, but they are The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile, and The Path Between Us by Suzanne Stabile. Here are those Andrea follows on Instagram that she mentioned: @rachel.cargle and @loswhit. They've been two of my best follows in 2019/2020. Remember to send me your Enneagram questions on Instagram at @siannargomez. I'm excited to hear what you think and what questions you have!

This week I am bringing you one of my dearest friends, Taylor Isaac. Taylor is an incredible young woman - passionate about the arts and life itself. We talk about the definition of a creative, we talk through her unmet expectations and discuss self-confidence. Taylor shares honestly about addictions in her life and how things are tied together for her. I applaud her bravery - if you are in the same boat as Taylor with any of the topics she mentions and want to hear more, dm her on Instagram at @taylorvictoriastar. Thanks for listening, friends! Excited to have you here. Reminder to share this episode with a friend if you think they'd like it. Happy day!

I'm so excited to introduce you to my friend Zach. We've been friends for a few years and I've had the honor of watching him from the sidelines. He's a young professional, lives in Texas, and just celebrated three months of marriage to his beautiful wife Kelli. (Yes! They got married during this pandemic - we do chat about that.) We talk about marriage, male community, failure, his drive, and a bit about his work, which I think is so fascinating! I hope you enjoy this conversation - let me know if you have follow up questions for Zach (or both Zach and Kelli for our relationship series in a few months!) by sending me a DM on Instagram at @siannargomez.

For this first episode, I got to interview an incredible woman I've known for 8 years and have been a huge fan of since: Cindy Carey. Cindy is a counselor at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado. She has been doing this work for 17 years and has grown along the way, both personally and professionally. In this episode we talk about her personal journey to counseling, faith, and we briefly chat about resiliency, COVID, and college students. Stay tuned for the end where she shares about who she Is in the audience for. It's a sweet story that I'll remember for a long time. TW: If you struggle with depression or suicidal thoughts, I want to give you a heads up that in this episode, Cindy is straightforward about her experience with planning her own suicide in the past which ultimately led her to her Christian faith now. If you or someone you know is in this same boat Cindy found herself in, please reach out for help at 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24/7 for both English and Spanish speakers. Books Cindy recommended: "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell - she referenced this book when she talks about the concept of putting 10,000 hours of work into something, like the example of the Beatles. "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp - referenced in regards to making gratitude a regular practice and noting the health benefits of this.