There's a one-ton elephant seal named Neil currently shutting down towns in Tasmania, and the whole internet thinks he's a rebel — but the scientists know he's just a young creature practicing to become what he's meant to be. 

In this lighter, breathe-easier episode, Julie makes the case that so much of the teenage behavior that terrifies us isn't pathology, it's practice: half-baked brains rehearsing adulthood on the only equipment available, which is usually our homes and our hearts. Through Neil, some bored orcas off Portugal, and one very over-loved llama, we find the real plot twist — that the wildness is rarely the danger, and the thing to actually guard against is holding on so tight they never get to become themselves. 

Come take the exhale. Find Julie at julie-w.com.