This is a very special episode as it will be the final episode of the season. Long story short, my goal was only to keep this up until school started and with school starting in the next couple weeks it’s time for this season to come to a close. That said, I think I might start this up again in a few years when most people are on a different story arc in life and see how things have changed.

So with this being the last episode I thought I’d do something a little different. A lot of my guests were curious how I would answer some of the questions I asked them, so this episode we flipped things around and I answered questions from my guests. Each guest got the chance to submit a question and to help me out, I brought two co-hosts: Marco Pacaide and Chris Sutanto. I hadn’t looked at a single question anyone had submitted so my answers aren't perfect, but hopefully you guys still enjoy the episode. Thanks again to all of you listeners and hope to see you guys around in the next season!

Despite being born and raised in Vancouver, my cousin Bryan moved to Asia to teach about three and a half years ago and has been living there ever since. He explains how after travelling to Asia in university, he would constantly think about travelling again and felt like it was something in his life he was missing. He talks about the cultural differences that he's experienced and how his perspectives have changed since moving. He describes some of the challenges he faced along the way, as well as how reality didn't always match his expectations.

Denise was one of the handful of students who were picked to visit and explore the Arctic when she was in high school. She describes the trip as breath-taking and recalls some of the people she got to interact with and the sights she got to see. She explains how seeing the Arctic in person and meeting the people gave her a new found appreciation for nature and the environment. Since then, she's been more active in fighting climate change by researching economic solutions in the Amazon and exploring different legal policies. 

To learn more about the Arctic program Denise was apart of, you can check out https://www.adventurecanada.com/partners/students-on-ice

Julia recently got into the super competitive Speech-Language Pathology Masters program at UBC and I just wanted to hear about how her journey up to now has been. She explained why she wanted to go into the program and the interesting things she's been able to learn along the way. She also explains the application process and the anxiety she felt during that time. In addition to that, she's very passionate about powerlifting and lifts way heavier than I do. She told me about how she got into the sport and how it has positively impacted her life. She describes how competitions work, how she trains and how she focuses on what she eats.

To support Julia, check out her Instagram @juliapowerlifting where she posts her powerlifting progress.

Many of you might already know Ryan as the 2018 Gundam Builders World Cup Champion but I was hoping to know what experiences built and shaped him into who he is today. Beyond crafting he's an amazing dentist, husband, father, photographer and plays many other roles. This episode goes through a bunch of different stories throughout Ryan's life including how he kept changing cities growing up and basically became illiterate; how he first got interested in dentistry and the people that inspired him to do so; how he met his wife and the way they complement each other; as well as how he found out he was walking around with a ticking time bomb. You can probably tell for the timestamp that there was just so much we covered but Ryan's extroverted nature and storytelling skills kept it interesting the whole way through so just go listen to the episode!

To support Ryan, check out his Instagram account @gunpla_enthusiast where he displays his award winning Gundam models!

Chanelle is a very skilled and creative person and I've always enjoyed seeing her artwork and hobbies. On this episode she explains to me how she started Chinese traditional paintings and how its something she's always really enjoyed and was self-driven about. We discuss all sorts of things on the topic such as having a mentor, how she still tries to improve and tips for beginners. Her other side hustle is her food blog. She describes how she wanted to put her reviews out there and try and give more honest critiques of restaurants. She has quite an interesting story about one of the worst restaurants she's been to so be sure to check it out. 

To support Chanelle, check out her Instagram accounts @chanelle.chow and @channieats for her artwork and food reviews!

With Flora being the only executive member of my dance team that did not physically come to practice, I knew the pandemic must have had quite an impact on her. She shares how she struggled initially to adjust to the quarantine life and how she wasn't used to having so much time by herself. During this time she has a realization that she never really became friends with herself and so her journey of self-reflection began as she tried to determine how her experiences shaped her. We also discussed her parent's strong influence on her wide variety of hobbies and I learned about the love-hate relationship she had with dance. In addition, she explains how her career path is currently a very central part of her life. She describes how she is enjoying her work and her perspectives on burnout and stress. 

When I found out Ashley had just released an EP on all streaming platforms I was quite surprised and instantly wanted to ask her about her process and inspirations. Before she released music I didn't even realize she sang and she confirmed that she mostly kept it as a private hobby. She explains to me how she's always enjoyed singing and wanted to create her own music but with almost no musical background she didn't think it would be possible. However, opportunities arose and she was able to come up with melodies and lyrics and eventually complete her EP. Aside from how she made her music, we went a little bit into how she felt while making these songs and what it meant to her. She explains the emotions that she put into each song and the stress she felt some days trying to break through the creative block. Aside from music she also talks about how her volunteering experience has really helped shape her as well. Working at an elderly home and hearing stories and perspectives from those with more experience than us, she was able to gain some of their wisdom and outlooks on life. 

To support Ashley, go check out her latest EP "from 4am" as well as her instagram!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/79apgkrv144VXEOCfiIMtx?si=2RK61zZsSd26rpOurNmGTA&dl_branch=1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyjli/

Having not dug too deep into Melody's nursing journey, she shared her experience having just graduated from nursing at the University of Alberta. She explains how like many others she felt inadequate and began second doubting whether she was following the right career path. She talks about some clinical experiences she had that really affected her negatively, but luckily she also had a very supportive clinical that gave her a lot more confidence. I got to learn about the things she learned at her neonatal clinical and just how she felt during her time there. Unfortunately, she also tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this year and she describes how that affected her work. 

Basketball had been a large portion of Sean's life growing up and we talked about the anxiety and void he felt when quitting the team in grade 12. However when he had his first heart attack in late 2019, the anxiety and void he felt was almost overwhelming. Sean recalls the events that happened leading up to his life-changing heart attack and relives the thoughts he had at the time. He talks about the long recovery he has been going through both physically and mentally. Physically, it was unclear how to solve his condition and he had to undergo surgeries. Mentally, the fear of another heart attack as well as the potential that he'll never be able to play sports competitively were constantly on his mind. Despite these obstacles, he talks about how he's been slowly trying to move on with his life, return to some level of normalcy and find new enjoyments in life. 

To support Sean, check out his Twitch channel where he plays games with friends: https://www.twitch.tv/choytheboy