unmasked

I turned 30!! And I am truly so excited about it. In this episode, my friend Kara and I talk about what we learned and wish we would have known in our 20's, and what we are looking forward to being in our 30's! We cover everything from career, to body image, to fashion, to dating, to new ambitions and dreams for ourselves. It was a lot of fun to chat about and we hope you enjoy listening! 

I know we are well into February, and I'm not trying to bring up thing of the past of to trigger any sort of PTSD but... remember 2020? What a year. Kara and I reflect on the year and talk about the perspective that maybe 2020 didn't actually suck, that perhaps it was what we gave our attention to, is what shaped how we thought and felt about the year.

Rashidat is not someone who intentionally puts on a mask, instead, she felt like she was being chased by someone who wanted to put a mask on her.  She had been labeled as too intense, too direct, and cold. But there was something inside of her that fought back and said, "But this is who I am. Why do I have to be somebody else?" Something needed to change, but she was determined to be who she. 

The current events going on in America with fighting for equality, bringing awareness to a flawed system, and different facts that dont coincide with each other, and flood of political opinions, reminds me a lot of my time in the Middle East. Things are not always so clear cut, a lot of the time we have to live in the gray area; the messy middle. We have to experience our way through change. And when we are changed through experience that is when revolutions happen.

Such an interesting, unprecedented, and confusing time we live in right now with the Coronavirus in our world. I know we talk a lot about "unmasking" on the podcast, but in this episode we will be talking about how we are doing with our new masked reality. From whats been good, to whats been hard, mental health, and how to continue to move forward when we feel stuck. Hope you enjoy it! 

I am stoked to introduce to you my awesome friends, whom I look up to so much- Tina and Chris Ferry. With 18 years of being vowed to one another, you can imagine the different seasons and challenges they have had to overcome. They share with us their secret sauce of how they have made their marriage work with this interesting concept called, negotiating. Chris and Tina share what that looks like to negotiate, and how they have defined certain roles within their marriage, to continue to commit, work together and love one another. They also speak on why they think marriage is so important and vital to stick it out in the long run. Hope you enjoy!

Welcome back to the Unmasked Podcast! Here we are with Season 3, and I am so dang excited to kick this off again and come out with new stories from amazing people. This first episode of Season 3, I have a very special guest with me, and that is my mom! I like to think my mom and I are kind of like the show Gilmore Girls in a sense where I was a surprise, and she was a teenager when she found out she was going to be a momma. You'll hear what it was like for my mom to raise me as a young 18 year old, what she went through and our journey together of having a super close relationship, to going through a really rough patch were we were not speaking and grew apart, to now navigating a mother adult daughter relationship. You'll hear the good, the bad, the ugly, but also the beauty of mending what was broken. Hope you enjoy!

Wrapping up Season 2, and bringing in the new year with inspiration, empowerment and a fresh start, with these highlighted episodes! Tune in to hear a break down of each one! 

Instead of having a guest come on and share a part of their story, my friend Cheryl and I talk what it can be like during the holiday season. Though its supposed to be a joyful time of year, it can feel overwhelming, stressful, and sometimes lose sight of being present and just get caught up in the doing. We talk about why sometimes this season is dreaded and just a time we are trying to get through, and we have some insight and encouragement to help you along the way. I hope you enjoy! 

Kyle shares in his story what it meant to take a leap of faith by leaving everything he knew, and everything that was comfortable, to do something completely different and embracing the unknown. What I love about this is conversation is it speaks straight from my heart as well. I love hearing stories about how someone, despite fears and worries of what could happen, they take the risk anyways and find out the reward was greater on the other side.

Last episode we got separate perspectives from both the guys and girls talking about experiences, hesitations, insecurities, and benefits of navigating the online dating world. This episode, part two, we have it set up as a panel, as we pick each others brains to gain more understanding of the differences between guys and girls online dating! 

This time is a little different because instead of one person sharing their story, I have four of my friends shed some light on what their experience has been with online dating. We talk about the stigma of online dating, the struggles, hesitations, and also the benefits of it! First half of it you'll hear from my friends Ariana and Karen, getting a ladies perspective and the second half you'll get the guys perspective from my friends Scott and Sam.

In this episode we actually talk about belonging to a religion, or a different way of saying that is belonging to a particular faith or certain belief. Kaitlyn shares being brought up in a christian conservative home her whole life, to then wrestling and journeying through her own questions about what she actually believes in, and making her faith her own.  

What is really cool about this conversation, is Aly's journey literally speaks into the soul purpose of this podcast- keeping people at bay, pretending to have it all together, so they cant see your mess. She shares how she would keep people at an arms distance and wouldnt let people really get to know her. And if they got too close, she would find herself slipping away in the other direction. 

First time ever having a married couple on the podcast, and it was incredible! Matt and Anna have been married for 6 years now. They dated for a year and half, then engaged for a year and half; together for 3 years before getting married. You would think being together for that amount of time it would be a strong start to their marriage. But that wasnt quite the case. You'll hear what went on, what they discovered during their first year of being married and what got them through.

This story is different from previous stories because instead of talking about moments in someone's past, Matt lets us in on what he currently handles and faces everyday in his job as a paramedic. As a first responder, Matt has no way of knowing what to expect or what he will run into day to day, yet has to stay on and be ready for any given situation. He talks about discovering something new about himself that affects his performance, and what he has to do to take care of himself after handling traumatic situations.

My experience with counseling was a lot like going into Target, anticipating to get one thing and come out with 20 other items. I went in with small expectations of what therapy would do for me, and came out with having to sift through a lot more than I expected. Sifting through the dirt and muck of life is not a fun process, but always worth coming out better on the other side! 

Welcome back my friends! After some thought and wrestling with what to do next, I present to you, Season 2 of the Unmasked Podcast! Tune in to hear what has been going on since launching the podcast, and what to expect in the episodes with a new twist on conversations. Here we go!! 

My special guest this week is my dad! He shares about a season in his life that was unexpected, led to some insecurities and fears, and having to navigate the single life after being married for 23 years. Its deep. And to be honest its a little weird talking about dating with your own dad, but we went there! And I am so glad we did because I learned a little more about him, and grew in my understanding of what someone else could be going through in a similar season.

Olivia lets us in on her journey of finding reconciliation with her dad and forgiving one another to pursue a healthy and loving relationship. This story is loaded with feeling some loss of identity, trying to have a relationship and gaining approval from a family member, to ostracizing herself and coping in certain ways to keep from talking and avoiding conflict, to then something switching and going forward with forgiving one another and choosing to continue to fight to stay connected.

Sam and I talk about a symptom linked with obsessive compulsive disorder. It's called intrusive thoughts. This was super eye opening for me because I thought OCD was just about orderliness and perfectionism. I had no idea that there were other symptoms and signs connected to being OCD. Sam gets personal and shares about two intrusive thoughts in particular, that are actually in the top of the list that many others get bombarded with as well.

Cheryl is one of those people you go to when in need for help, guidance, and an extra dose of love. She's a wise, patient, and loyal person. And a person with such wonderful qualities, it would be hard to believe that she has experienced being outcasted, and suffers from brokenness with division from a family member. No family is perfect, and more often than we like to admit, tension builds up within close relationships and it can either build you up or completely fall apart. Cheryl shares her story of losing connection with her brother and how it affected her and how she has been moving forward now.

Part 2 of Jordan's story continues, as he shares about what it looked like after his mom passed away. He was faced with some questions of what was next for him, and the direction he wanted take for his future. What we can appreciate about this particular story is it's one thing to be open about insecurities and things that concern the self. But its another to be vulnerable about the seasons of life, the really hard journeys that we had no choice but to walk through, and talking about it.

Jordan shares in depth the journey he was on of taking care of his mom before she passed. Its heavy, and hard to hear, but so worth the listen. I think you'll really find that Jordan showed so much strength, and courage as he was going through this hard time, and its a beautiful representation of selfless love.

This episode is a different twist from past episodes. Kari shares her excitement and zeal for life by having dreams and passions. Dreams and passions are sometimes forgotten or they are not pursued because of different circumstances in life. After listening to this episode, no doubt will you start to think about your own dreams and passions and begin to pursue them. 

It is super easy to feel like you need to measure up to a certain expectation. And its also really discouraging when you feel like you have nothing to offer because other people are just better at certain things than you. But getting caught up in the trap of comparison will rob you from what you actually do have to offer! Tune in as MJ talks about how he has fought against the lie that he wasn't enough. 

This epsidoe is one of those “if you only knew me..” moments. Julia opens up about how she didnt want to be just another girl with “daddy issues” and in hopes to not be found out, she suppressed her feelings and emotions for years. She shares the hurt shes gone through but also what has been helping, by going to counseling and a very cathartic moment when writing a letter to her father. 

Depression is no joke. It's a real thing that so many people struggle with. My really good friend Scott shares about his diagnoses of S.A.D, a form of depression that comes out the strongest during a distinct part of the year. He explains this particular form of depression and how he has benefited from going on medication. It's very eye opening and gives leeway for starting conversations with people we come across. 

Being vulnerable about a painful time in our pasts is probably one of the hardest things we can do. Going back into memories that are dark, and hurt to reflect on is so difficult and challenging. But Ariana demonstrates what happens when we start to heal from a painful past by sharing and being brave and defeating shame. She shares how she continues to break free past pain from a toxic relationship, and uses her story to love on other people.   

Andrew is one of my favorite people, and in a world where race and ethnicity is a very heavy topic of conversation, he sheds some light on what it is like for him of being both half black and half white. He goes into detail about some of his struggle as a young kid and growing up with his family who is predominantly white, and how he handles things now. 

This story is very close to my heart. Ashlee, my sister, shares about a really dark time in our lives when our parents got divorced later in our young adult lives. She explains what this season was like for her, and how she got through now. Broken families are tough in any situation, but what is interesting about this story is it can be the same circumstance, yet experienced differently for others involved. 

Kicking off the first episode by sharing from my own story! As the host of this podcast, I felt it would be best to bring on someone else to get this conversation started, so I asked my friend Jordan to join me. I talk about how I believed that I was stupid, unintelligent, and dumb. This internal bondage shaped and controlled the way I did life, up until recently where I finally have found freedom and push forward to prove to myself that I am capable and smart. 

It's finally up and running! This first episode is a quick introduction of what this podcast is, how it came to be, what you can expect from each episode, and why I think it's important. Join me on the journey of busting out of the highlight reels, and being authentic with real life stories!