This episode is alongside my not so lil cousin Isabel, who's 16, a junior in high school and navigating the world as a teenage girl. This episode is about Moms. Mami. Tia, My mom. Her mom. When we first recorded it, we went into it with the topic someone suggested of 'Dominican moms and their old school mentality' until we realized a lot of Black + Latinx moms are exactly the same.

We talked about what it was like growing up in a household with old school mentalities and their old school ways of catering to men especially the men in our families. Keeping up with the same mentality and ways that were used to raised them, to raise us. (Although that was not going to work). Not being allowed to have the space to do what we wanted/want to because we are girls/women. Our siblings aka our brothers being treated different and most definitely better because they were boys/men. We talked about their patriarchal, misogynist, sexist ways of thinking and raising us. The attachment to one's hair. This episode is dedicated to old school moms everywhere. We heard you. But we ain't following. There's also a lot of frustration in this episode, but this is the perfect space to let it out and finally release everything that has been bottled up.

Cheers to breaking generational curses, being our own people, standing up for ourselves, and for once making our own decisions.

To Mami and Tia, (y todos las mujeres en nuestra vida) estamos muy agradecidas de todo lo que ustedes han hecho por nosotras. Aunque no estamos deacuerdo de sus maneras viejas de tratando de educarnos. Las amamos como quiera. Y vamos hacer lo que nos da la maldita gana.

To Episode 3, Thank you Isabel. Thank you for being apart of this with me. I am honored to have recorded this alongside you. You are magical.

To Grieving, Growing, and Glowing with Gisela (and Friends). Thank you for believing in me + my project + my vision. Follow @gggwithgisela on Instagram to stay updated! 🌱🌻🪴💐🌼

In honor of his 30th birthday,

I decided to release the first EVER episode I recorded alongside someone. This someone happens to be my older brother, Briant. This episode was a conversation of all sorts where I asked him questions about growing up in NYC, being raised by two parents to then one parent, trauma, school experiences, the block experiences, etc. I wanted this episode to be/feel like a conversation for us, by us, And it was. We discussed things we'd never really talked to each other about and how it has hurt or transformed us. I was able to see a different side of him while recording this and got to know more about him and who he is and why he does what he does. Because we are 8 years apart, I don't have childhood moments or memories of us that I can say are my favorite. But this conversation was definitely one. (Although, I fought with myself and did not want to release this episode because of how trash the audio was. I realized this episode was more authentic and genuine than when we tried again. And showing y'all the rawness and the realness of technical difficulties).

To Grieving, Growing, and Glowing with your older sibling.

I think this is exactly how I want the flow of my other episodes with people featured on it, FOR US BY US. Every single time. Except with better audio.

Again, thank y'all for all the love + support. It means the absolute world to me. Thank you for believing in me and my lil project.

To Grieving, Growing, and Glowing with Gisela (and Friends). Follow @gggwithgisela on Instagram to stay updated! Thank y'all for rocking with me. 🌱🌻🌹🪴💐🌼

To Episode 2, Happy 30th birthday Briant! Thank you. For all that you do and have done. I love you.

❤️

This first episode happens to be way different than what I imagined. (Things change, plans change). Because I had been in such a different headspace and super deep in my thoughts and feelings, I felt like this episode needed to be out first. I found myself wanting to talk about my thought process and feelings these last couple months more specifically after graduating college. Part of it was thinking about it as post-grad depression and to be honest it might be. It looks different on all of us. The uncertainty, Nothing set in stone. Wondering. Exploring. Figuring things out. Taking up space. Staying in a place out of comfortability. Self-care.

This episode was dedicated to this idea of not knowing what is to come and somehow having to be okay with that. Trusting one-self and the universe. I also feel like this episode allowed me to remove this mask..this superhero cape I have been wearing for days...really years. I finally have allowed myself to just be. I think. (I know many of y'all can relate). To this episode of Grieving.

Thank you so much for supporting + believing + loving me. I appreciate every single one of you. I am so grateful.

Cheers to Grieving, Growing, and Glowing with Gisela (and Friends). Stay tuned for many more episodes.

Follow @gggwithgisela on Instagram!

🌻🌹🌸🌼🪴💐💓

This is just the beginning, an intro, a preamble, whatever we, you, want to call it. Introducing the purpose and reasoning behind this podcast and a little bit about myself. I even decided to explain why I chose to call it 'Grieving, Growing, & Glowing.'

To my podcast Grieving, Growing, and Glowing with Gisela (and Friends). I can’t wait to share this with y’all + have amazing features and just a space of conversation, vulnerability, uncomfortable talks, tears, laughs, and love. A girl from Harlem just wanna talk, talk with her Friends.

Thank you for supporting me and believing in me!

Follow @gggwithgisela on Instagram for updates. Stay tuned. 🫶🏽