Students are quietly struggling with pressure, performance, identity, and the fear that school did not fully prepare them for real life.In this episode of **BreakingViews 1on1**, MJ sits down with **Kasonde** for a deep conversation about student struggles, philosophy, social media, silence, self-growth, emotional intelligence, community, and finding your own voice in a noisy world.Kasonde(she/her) is your neighborhood philosopher, artist, performer and friend. In this conversation she brings a thoughtful, honest, and reflective perspective to the questions many students and young adults carry silently. She is also the voice behind **I Like to Think**, a radio channel where she explores ideas, perspective, reflection, and the way we make sense of the world.She explains:◼️ Why some students feel like they went through school but still feel unprepared◼️ How social media can reward performance more than honesty◼️ Why people avoid silence, reflection, and themselves◼️ How universities can sometimes teach performance disguised as learning◼️ Why online activism can become more aesthetic than accountable◼️ How intellectualism can sometimes become emotional avoidance◼️ Why people struggle to disagree respectfully◼️ How to protect your own voice in a world full of noise◼️ Why real community may require discomfort◼️ Whether people truly want different perspectives, or just familiar views in different packagingThis episode is for students, graduates, immigrants, young adults, deep thinkers, and anyone trying to understand who they are becoming after years of pressure, expectations, and uncertainty.If you have ever felt disconnected, misunderstood, over-analytical, unsure of your path, or quietly worried that you are not where you are supposed to be, this conversation will give you something to think about.—Follow Kasonde:I Like to Think Radio Channel: https://www.instagram.com/ilike.tothinkInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/kasonde_m—To Support Us, Please Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel.Follow BreakingViews 1on1:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@breakingviews1on1YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC2JYqoxIkgU0iM1eVWrcETg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breakingviews1on1—Subscribe to BreakingViews 1on1: https://www.youtube.com/@UC2JYqoxIkgU0iM1eVWrcETg —Question for you:What is one silent struggle students are carrying right now that people do not talk about enough?Share your answer in the comments.—Music Credit:Cold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100499Artist: http://incompetech.com/—#BreakingViews1on1 #Kasonde #ILikeToThink #StudentStruggles #FindingYourVoice #SelfGrowth #Philosophy #PersonalGrowth #DeepConversation #Podcast #Selfdevelopment #Internationalstudents #lifeaftergraduation #mylife #mylifestyle #studyabroad #studyabroad2026 #studyincanada #liveincanada #studentincanada #selfgrowth #myvoice #selfimprovement #podcast #bv1o1 #bv1on1

What happens when you think you’re already independent, then move 10,000 km away from your family and have to build a completely new life?In this episode of BV1on1, MJ sits down with Maryam Zakeri to talk about what independence actually feels like after moving away from home, graduating, entering the Canadian job market, and realizing that doing everything yourself does not mean you stop needing people.Back in Iran, Maryam already had her own home, earned her own money, and considered herself independent. After moving to Canada, she describes experiencing a completely different level of independence and realizing, “I need people.”That realization opens a much bigger conversation about life after graduation, starting over in Canada, friendships, family, community, networking, career uncertainty, and the difference between being physically independent and actually building a life alone.Maryam also shares the reality of entering the Canadian job market with a bachelor’s and master’s degree, only to discover that education alone was not always enough. They discuss internships asking for experience, extra certifications, networking, international-student challenges, and why the transition from university to working life can feel very different from what students expect.The conversation also explores finding your voice, healing, success, identity, adulthood, cultural differences, higher education, PhD life, and AI in education.If you’ve moved away from family, started over in another country, recently graduated, struggled with the job market, let us know:What changed your definition of independence?======================================About MaryamMaryam is a PhD student and researcher in Canadian and Indigenous Studies, and she also teaches English.Her work focuses on embodied trauma, memory, research-creation, and ethnodrama.Learn more about Maryam:LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryam-zakeri-787840187?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_iosBook an English lesson with Maryam on Preply:https://preply.in/MARYAM6EN25220792112?ts=17891628======================================BreakingViews 1on1 | BV1on1BV1on1 is a podcast about self growth, young generation, experiences, young adulthood, culture, careers, relationships, identity, life after graduation, and the different ways the next generation is figuring life out.======================================Music RightCold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source:http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100499Artist:http://incompetech.com/======================================#BV1on1 #BreakingViews1on1 #Independence #LifeAfterGraduation #MovingAbroad #StartingOver #LifeInCanada #LivingInCanada #InternationalStudents #CanadianJobMarket #JobsInCanada #YoungAdults #YoungGeneration #LifeExperience #MyLifeExperience #selfgrowth #Community #Networking #CareerAfterGraduation #FindingYourVoice #PhDLife #HigherEducation #CanadianPodcast #YouthPodcast #FunnyPodcast #FunPodcast #NewPodcast #Podcast2026 #Podcast2027

What does leadership look like when you’re still figuring out who you are?YOU SUPPORT US BY SUBSCRIBING TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL, THANK YOU.In this episode of **BreakingViews1on1**, MJ sits down with Amal Osman, a young Canadian storyteller, to talk about identity, leadership, belonging, culture, and what it means to grow into your own voice.Born in Canada and having spent part of her teenage years in Finland, Amal reflects on growing up between cultures, feeling pressure to fit in, and later having to “grow back into” her own voice after returning to Canada.The conversation moves through questions many young people face today: How much of your identity is inherited? How much do you build yourself? What does it mean to belong somewhere? How do you stay authentic when your environment expects you to conform?Amal and MJ also talk about **young leadership, confidence, community, life in Canada, newcomer experiences, culture shock, family expectations, self-censorship, AI, and human connection**.One idea keeps coming back throughout the episode:*Be a leader, not a follower.*For Amal, leadership is not about having a title. It is about understanding yourself, thinking critically, speaking up, accepting feedback, and being willing to question what you were simply told to accept.The episode also explores what young people in Canada are navigating today. From building careers, finding community, balancing different cultures, dealing with expectations, and to trying to create a life that still feels like their own.If you’re a young adult, student, newcomer, immigrant family member, or someone trying to figure out where you belong, this conversation will probably feel familiar.===============================================In this Episode of BreakingViews1on1:

00:00 Don’t Dim Yourself03:10 Meet Amal Osman03:48 Rapid Fire05:01 What Language Do You Dream In?06:54 What Makes Someone Memorable?07:21 Understood by One or Heard by Millions?09:37 Food, Culture and Growing Up14:19 The Bad: Borrowed, Inherited or Built?16:12 Are Traditions Chosen or Inherited?17:53 Growing Up in Finland18:15 Where Do We Actually Belong?19:30 When Fitting In Means Dimming Yourself21:03 Growing Back Into Your Own Voice25:48 Leaving Home to Find Yourself27:23 The Ugly: Keep One, Lose One Forever28:40 Music or Language?29:23 Home Country or Adopted Country?30:44 Community or Convenience?31:15 What Canada Gets Wrong About Community32:19 What Canada Gets Right33:01 What Is Culture, Really?35:48 The Hardest Part of Staying Authentic39:26 Home, Community, Language and Identity40:46 Do We Self-Censor More Than We Realize?42:25 When Did Your Voice Start to Matter?42:52 Stop Waiting for the World to Understand You44:46 Is AI Changing the Human Voice?45:43 Can AI Replace Human Connection?47:05 Why We Still Need Real People48:22 One Thing People Need to Hear48:59 Why Leaders Need Feedback51:30 Leaders Are Human Too52:12 Newcomers, and Culture Shock54:19 Expectations vs Reality in Canada54:55 The Most Rewarding Part of Helping Newcomers55:28 Final Thoughts & BackStage===============================================Follow Amal Osman On:Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/aloveletter...YouTube:   / @alovelettertoptbo  ===============================================Music RightCold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...Source:http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...Artist:http://incompetech.com/===============================================#BreakingViews1on1 #YoungLeadership #YouthLeadership #YoungAdults #CanadianPodcast #YouthPodcast #ImmigrantsInCanada #CanadianImmigration #LifeInCanada #LivingInCanada #LifeAfterGraduation #NewPodcast #Podcast2027 #FunnyPodcast #FunPodcast #Identity #Belonging #FindingYourVoice #SelfDiscovery #HumanConnection #Culture #Community #canadianyouth #identity

If you keep waiting for somebody else to change something, who exactly are you waiting for?What makes a 21-year-old look at one of the biggest leadership roles in his city and think: “Why not me?”Jacob Méthot is 21 years old and running for mayor of Peterborough, Ontario.We invited Jacob to BreakingViews 1on1 because we wanted to understand the mindset behind making a decision this big at such a young age.Jacob describes leadership not as telling people what to do, but as listening to different perspectives, keeping the door open even when people disagree, and finding ways to move forward together."young people are often underestimated precisely because of their age." He argues that being young can also mean bringing energy, curiosity and a willingness to question why things have always been done a certain way.

Eventually, watching things happen around his city and repeatedly thinking “someone should do something about this” became a different question:Why couldn’t that someone be me?---------------------------------------------------------------Follow Jacob Méthot on:- Instagram:-- https://www.instagram.com/jacobmpeterborough?utm_source=qr- Facebook:-- https://www.facebook.com/share/1DVp1qroak/?mibextid=wwXIfrFor more information, questions, or to connect with Jacob, feel free to message him through social media or email:[email protected] Related reading-- Peterborough Currents:--- https://peterboroughcurrents.ca/news/big-box-store-property-tax-revenue-low/---------------------------------------------------------------About BreakingViews1on1 Jacob's Episode BreakingViews1on1 is about understanding how people think; not telling you what to think.This conversation focuses on Jacob’s experiences, ideas and mindset as a young person stepping into an unusually large challenge.BreakingViews1on1 does not endorse political candidates.---------------------------------------------------------------Chapters00:00 Why Run for Mayor at 21?01:13 The Professor Who Put the Idea in His Head03:01 Stop Complaining—or Do Something04:15 Learning as You Go08:17 Rapid-Fire: Getting to Know Jacob10:34 Is Experience Really About Age?11:58 What Does Leadership Actually Mean?13:52 BreakingViews Chef Special15:30 The Ugly: What Matters Most?16:13 Integrity, Empathy, Courage or Vision?17:55 What Makes a Good Life?19:28 What Makes a Strong Community?23:08 What Gives Young People Confidence?25:15 The Moment Things Became Serious29:11 Being 21 in an Uncertain Future31:07 The Gap Between Students and the Community35:40 The Bad: The Butterfly Effect38:22 Are We Wasting Immigrant Talent?40:08 What If Social Media Disappeared for a Month?41:54 What If Everyone Got a Year to Learn Something New?42:55 What Has Running for Mayor Taught Him?45:30 Are Young People Underestimated?47:02 Why Being Comfortable Can Be Dangerous48:17 The Good: Dilemma48:42 Comfortable Life or Meaningful Risk?52:34 Win Every Argument or Change One Mind?53:31 Smartest Leader or Best Listener?55:03 Does AI Change What Experience Means?58:37 Does University Prepare You for Real Work?01:01:05 Can a Broken System Be Fixed by Better People?01:07:17 What Jacob Keeps Hearing Door-to-Door01:14:46 Why Should Young People Try to Change Anything?01:15:28 “If You're Young, You're Ready”01:18:05 Final Thoughts---------------------------------------------------------------Music Right: Cold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100499Artist: http://incompetech.com/---------------------------------------------------------------#JacobMethot #PeterboroughOntario #YoungLeadership #Leadership #Mindset #YoungPeople #PersonalGrowth #Community #BreakingViews1on1 #Peterborough #funnypodcast #funpodcast #lifeaftergraduation #canadianpodcast

Do you think racism toward South Asian immigrants has become one of Canada’s biggest cultural blind spots?Share your perspective respectfully in the comments.---------------------------------------------------------Today's Immigrants are building tomorrow's Canada too!Canada is known around the world as a welcoming and multicultural country. But some forms of racism are still dismissed as jokes, treated as harmless stereotypes, or simply ignored especially when they target South Asian, Bangladesh and Indian immigrants.In this episode of BreakingViews 1on1, MJ sits down with Derek, a Biomedical Sciences graduate from Trent University who hopes to pursue a career in medicine.Derek speaks openly about the racism facing South Asian immigrants in Canada and asks an important question: Why has it become socially acceptable to mock one immigrant community while condemning racism against others?This conversation goes beyond immigration statistics and political arguments. It is about the real people working, studying, serving customers, building careers, raising families, and contributing to the country they now call home.Today’s immigrants are not temporary outsiders.Their children will become Canada’s doctors, lawyers, business owners, public servants, artists, educators, and community leaders. With time, their families will not simply be immigrants living in Canada, they will be Canadian.Derek and MJ also reflect on their own experiences with culture shock, subtle racism, workplace stereotypes, customer service, and the pressure immigrants sometimes feel to change themselves in order to fit into Canadian society.In this episode, they discuss:Racism toward South Asian and Indian immigrants in CanadaWhy certain racist jokes are still normalizedThe difference between curiosity, ignorance, and discriminationSubtle racism in retail and hospitalityThe pressure immigrants feel to conformCulture shock after moving to CanadaWhy integration takes time across generationsHow immigrants contribute to Canada’s futureWhy today’s immigrant children will become tomorrow’s Canadian professionalsThe responsibility to challenge racism before it becomes normalizedThe conversation also explores human behaviour, communication, critical thinking, influence, medical ethics, and what working in hospitality can teach us about understanding people.Canada’s future is not being built by one group alone.Today’s immigrants are building tomorrow’s Canada too.00:00 What If Nobody Had to Work?00:42 Meet Derek Rodriguez02:02 Coffee, Cocktails and Rapid-Fire Questions03:10 Why Derek Studied Biomedical Science04:42 The Good: Defend the Undefendable09:09 Should Scientists Study Philosophy?15:02 Medical Ethics and a Difficult ICU Decision16:28 Does Everyone Need an Opinion?19:20 Are We Informed or Just Overwhelmed?22:16 The Bad: The Human Experiment22:47 What If Money Disappeared Overnight?24:29 What If Nobody Had to Work Anymore?26:50 What If Everyone Could Read Minds?29:29 Retail, Stereotypes and Immigrant Experiences34:35 The Ugly: Would You Rather?35:14 Understood by Few or Admired by Many?36:16 Unlimited Knowledge or Unlimited Influence?37:34 Remembered for Your Work or Your Character?38:58 Lose Music Forever or Lose Books Forever?41:29 What Hospitality Teaches You About People45:05 Do Immigrants Feel Pressure to Conform?46:01 Culture Shock After Moving to Canada50:47 Racism Toward South Asian Immigrants53:52 Final Thoughts------------------------Music Right: Cold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...Artist: http://incompetech.com/----------------------#RacismInCanada #ImmigrationCanada #SouthAsianCommunity #IndianImmigrants #CanadianIdentity #Multiculturalism #CultureShock #ImmigrantExperience #BreakingViews1on1

Artists are being pushed to create faster, look perfect, stay original, represent their culture, beat the algorithm, and now compete with AI.But can technology really copy the human effort behind art?In this episode of BreakingViews 1on1, MJ sits down with Deji for a deep, funny, and honest conversation about art, culture, AI, perfection, social media, food, creativity, and what it means to stay human while creating.Deji is an artist and computer science student whose work carries emotion, culture, chaos, and human experience. In this conversation, he opens up about what inspires his art, why he does not chase perfection, how Nigerian culture shapes his identity, and why mistakes can sometimes make the work more human.Deji explains:◼️ Why anger and dissatisfaction show up in his art◼️ Why perfection can become ugly when it kills creativity◼️ How culture can inspire art without becoming a cage◼️ Why mistakes can make art feel more human◼️ Whether technique matters more than honesty◼️ Why AI can mimic style, but not human effort◼️ How social media changes the way artists see themselves◼️ Why people romanticize struggling artists◼️ How immigrants and minorities feel pressure to represent culture◼️ Why passion still matters when work gets hard◼️ How jealousy, comparison, and social media can quietly make people resentfulThis episode is for artists, students, creatives, immigrants, young adults, chefs, designers, musicians, writers, and anyone trying to protect their creativity in a world that keeps asking them to be faster, cleaner, more marketable, and more perfect.If you have ever hated your own work, doubted your talent, felt pressure to represent where you come from, or wondered whether AI will change what it means to be creative, this episode of BreakingViews 1on1 is for you.—Follow Deji on:Instagram: @dejdraws[https://www.instagram.com/dejdraws?igsh=MTd2YTlpemZhNTIxMQ==]TikTok: @dejdraws[https://www.tiktok.com/@dejdraws?_r=1&_t=ZS-97oNHEN2Ksz]—Please Subscribe to BreakingViews 1on1 and Support us: @BreakingViews1on1

https://www.youtube.com/@BreakingViews1on1—Question for you:Do you think AI can ever replace the human effort behind real art?Share your view in the comments.—Music Right:Cold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100499Artist: http://incompetech.com/—