stranger turned friend 💌

stranger turned friend 💌

By GladysSociety & Culture
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stranger turned friend 💌 episodes

  • #054: Clarence | The Autistic David Goggins

    Hi friends,


    One day in July 2023, I stumbled on a reddit post of someone pouring their soul out, talking about how they transformed their life through small, incremental changes.

    They started from rock bottom - trauma, nihilistic depression, the whole nine - and was at a point where they had to find a way to... live.

    I was so compelled to know their story that I messaged them. And that kids, is how this episode was born.


    Here's all the magic:

    - How Clarence fell into nihilistic depression
    - Being autistic, being told you're not good enough
    - Why Clarence only knew about the pandemic 4 months in
    - Why do we tend to get more motivation when doing things for others rather than ourselves?
    - The reason why Clarence became obese after being sexually assaulted
    - Clarence's process of overcoming his early age speech impedients and what it taught him about communicating with neurotypical people
    - What can neurotypical people do to understand people with autism
    - Clarence's encounter with a police officer
    - What advice would Clarence give to a 15 year old with autism?
    - Benefits of meditation


    Above all, Clarence is one of the most genuine and sincere human I've had on this podcast. Please enjoy this lovely conversation :)


    Till next time, 

    Gladys 💌


    Come say hi (I answer everything!) :

    Instagram - @strangerturnedfriend

    Blog - strangerturnedfriend.substack.com

    TikTok - @strangerturnedfriend

    1 hr 11 min
  • #053: Ross | On balance, parenting, and understanding our place on this earth

    Hi pals!


    Excited to share this personal conversation with stranger-turned-friend, Ross :)  


    We talked all about:

    *Ross' (slightly turbulent??) relationship with God growing up as a Catholic
    *His experience with rejecting everything - God, religion + trying to uncover what he actually believes in?
    *How to stay rooted in reality and centre yourself
    *Our approach to life
    *Ross' parenting advice on how to get your kids to fall in love with learning / education
    *How to balance our hobbies, personal life, career while everything is going downhill?


    Please check out Ross' podcast [The DARU Project] here:

    Spotify - The DARU Project


    Enjoy!!


    Till next time, 

    Gladys 💌


    Come say hi (I answer everything!) :

    Instagram - @strangerturnedfriend

    Twitter - @strangertfriend

    TikTok - @strangerturnedfriend

    1 hr 30 min
  • #052: Darren | On turtles, art, nature & viking music

    wowie, can't believe it's been 2 months. I hope all 4 of you have been doing dandy :)


    here's a lovely conversation with stranger-turned-friend, Darren!

    we talk about things that bring us joy and make us feel alive in this one.


    enjoy!!


    Till next time, 

    Gladys 💌


    Come say hi (I answer everything!) :

    Instagram - @strangerturnedfriend

    Twitter - @strangertfriend

    TikTok - @strangerturnedfriend

    1 hr 5 min
  • #051: Kale | On having a sense of wonder with surfing, music, and being a free-range parent

    Hi friends :)

    I hope you're having a lovely, lovely sunday.

    In this episode, stranger-turned friend, Kale joins me from Melbourne as we reminisce and marvel at his:

    - Reoccurring sci-fi dream

    - Childhood skateboarding days

    - Love for surfing (and his dad!)

    - Job as a free range dad (lol)

    - Daughter's curiosity and love for books

    - Love for making music

    - Dope tattoos


    and so much more 🔮. Grab a hot cup and cozy up, friends. Can't wait for ya'll to dig into this. I think you'll fall in love with Kale's colorful personality as much as I did. Enjoy!!


    Till next time, 

    Gladys 💌


    Come say hi (I answer everything!) :

    Instagram - @strangerturnedfriend

    Twitter - @strangertfriend

    TikTok - @strangerturnedfriend

    1 hr 7 min
  • #050: Eric | What's our Personality Tests?

    Hoooowdy ya'll.

    Coming at you with a chill chit chat session with stranger-turned-friend, Eric :) We winded through a whole range of topics:

    - Eric' dragon boating hobby

    - Experience flying planes

    - Fears

    - Personality tests

    - Reminiscing Eric's (rough) childhood in Chicago


    and so much more 🔮. Grab a hot cup and cozy up, friends. Can't wait for ya'll to dig into this.


    Thanks Eric!


    Till next time,

    Gladys 💌


    Come say hi (I answer everything!) :

    Instagram - @strangerturnedfriend

    Twitter - @strangertfriend

    TikTok - @strangerturnedfriend

    56 min
  • #049: Toni | Take the (life) lessons and look forward!

    Hi pals!

    It's sunday, and you know what that means. Another banger of an episode.

    One of the big joys of chatting with strangers on this podcast is having the space to allow serendipity to do its thing. Sometimes, the conversations are deep, dark, introspective, and insightful. Other times, it's lighthearted, random, and delightful. I think this episode has a gentle blend of both.

    Anyway, we have Toni from Romania today! It was 3am for him, and boy did we spend a beautiful hour together. We talked all about:

    - Toni's reflections on his time working at a Romanian casino

    - How casino life ruined his English lol

    - What he learnt about himself during therapy

    - Learning how to accept our parents

    - Dealing with our own emotions

    and so much more 🔮. Grab a hot cup and cozy up, friends. Can't wait for ya'll to dig into this.


    Toni, you're awesome.


    Till next time, Gladys 💌


    Come say hi (I answer everything!) :

    Instagram - @strangerturnedfriend

    Twitter - @strangertfriend

    TikTok - @strangerturnedfriend


    1 hr 3 min
  • #048: Josh | Accepting our finite nature, addiction recovery, battling our ego

    Hi pals!

    Happy sunday 🌞 I come bearing this gift of an episode that is sure to rock your lil noggin' off.
    I loved loved loved chatting with Josh. He's so thoughtful, so inquisitive, and so self-aware. And I had the pleasure of meeting him in London back in June - it was wonderful getting to catch up with him!
    Josh splits his time between being an emergency medicine doctor and a medical lecturer. No wonder this man has a deep fascination with the universe and space and time.

    Here are some of my favorite topics we covered:

    - How do we balance the idea that we’re a blip in the infinite universe?

    - How do we find meaning in a meaningless world?

    - Is life inherently meaningless? Or maybe it already has meaning, we just have to live out that meaning

    - Josh's self-inquiry as he embarked on his journey to addiction recovery

    and so much more 🔮.

    Grab a hot cup and cozy up, friends. Can't wait for ya'll to dig into this.
    Josh, I'm so grateful that I got to spend this lovely and vulnerable hour with you :)
    Till next time,
    Gladys 💌


    Come say hi (I answer everything!) :

    Instagram - @strangerturnedfriend

    Twitter - @strangertfriend


    58 min
  • #047: Massi | How do we embrace self-reflection & mindfulness?

    Massi is on a quest (see what I did there?) to help you to love yourself a little bit more, one introspective card at a time.

    She is the creator of Quest of, a delightful deck of self-reflection cards, that encourages its players to sit down and be present with themselves. How often do we make time for that anymore?

    I'm so glad I got to spend an hour with Massi, chatting all about her path in youth crisis intervention that started Quest of, her passion for helping others to understand themselves a little bit more, whether science and spirituality were friends not enemies, her experience living with bipolar, taking responsibility for ourselves, and way more.

    Grab a hot cup and enjoy!


    Give her some love!!:

    Instagram - @quest.of


    Come say hi (I answer everything!) :

    Instagram - @strangerturnedfriend

    Twitter - @strangertfriend

    1 hr 2 min
  • #046: Rene | Road Tripping Adventures

    What a hiatus! So much happened in the last 3 months boy oh boy. Aaaaand I'm back with a full spirit, ready to take on the world. One episode at a time.


    Which brings us to this week's lovely stranger-turned-friend, Rene. We chat all about:


    *Rene road tripping across America during COVID

    *Coping with feelings of wanderlust

    *Using flight time to journal, read, and enjoy music

    *Holding onto anger

    *How to have a successful long distance relationship

    *Thoughts on the idea of manifesting


    I hope you got your tea ready... it's a cozy one.


    Thanks for being here!


    1 hr 3 min
  • #045: Amanda | How To Treat Yourself With Kindness (BODY POSITIVITY)

    Hooowdy!


    Stranger-turned-friend, Amanda, joins the pod this week. This episode is all about self-love. Amanda suffers from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and has been battling with the physical and mental pain that comes with it for most of her life. As you listen to the episode, she opens up about her tough yet rewarding journey towards embracing her body and mind, building self-love, and leaning into her strengths of empathy and intelligence to create a life that she's proud of.


    Amanda, thank you for being a curious and kind human being. We need more of you in this world!


    We talked all about: 

    1. How Amanda dealt with depression, eating disorder, and other body issues from PCOS

    2. Amanda's thoughts on building a good relationship with ourselves

    3. Amanda's love for learning and education

    4. What parts of our personality do we have to turn off when we're around people?

    5. Finding things that make time slow down


    Grab your favorite beverage and cozy up with us :)

    1 hr 1 min

About stranger turned friend 💌

From the publisher's feed

A podcast that explores what it means to be human. Each episode, Gladys will sit down with a complete stranger and have an unscripted, laid-back, and soulful conversation about the human condition while getting to know each other.