Trying To Figure It Out

This week, Goodboy Noah joins TTFIO to chat about his rise to TikTok fame. Despite childhood dreams to hoop in the NBA, Noah has recently found himself more often in the recording studio than on the court. With strong R&B influences, Noah and his sidekick, Cheetah, are all over TikTok singing and cooking together. We also dive into Noah's childhood and realize that, like me, Noah began to experience more mental health challenges in the wake of his parents divorce. He talks about how he learned to manage his OCD and shares advice for other men who may be struggling with their mental health. Noah is a true comedian, so I hope you enjoy! Disclaimer: In this episode, Noah and I discuss OCD and mental health struggles that we both experience. We have found humor to be helpful at times to cope with the challenges we face; however, this is not meant to make light of the matter in any way and we both take mental health very seriously, as everyone should. For more resources on OCD, check out iocdf.org.

Beau is back on TTFIO this week to help me wrap up Toxic Friendship Awareness Month. Beau is the furthest thing from a toxic friend, and this episode we share more of our adventures together. You'll hear about the highlights and struggles from a sushi dinner date, my alter ego that comes out at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights, and Beau's botched attempt at remembering the characters in Stranger Things.

There was no better way to wrap up this mini-series on friendship than with my best friend, so I hope you enjoy!

Toxic Friendship Awareness Month continues this week with a friend group that can teach us a thing or two about healthy friendships. TTFIO welcomes Miles, Jutes, Julian, and Anthony, a friend group that spans countries and ages but is one of the most close-knit groups I've ever seen. This episode they spill stories about each other, like how Anthony used to spend Jutes' sound checks throwing up and how Miles is always blowing up the group chat. They also dig deeper and speak on what they appreciate most in one another. I love spending time with this group and I think you'll understand why. Enjoy!

Toxic Friendship Awareness Month continues this week on TTFIO with psychologist and therapist Dr. Lauren Cook. Dr. Cook provides an expert's opinion on the ins and outs of toxic friendships—how to recognize them, the effect they can have on our mental health, and how to navigate friendship breakups. She also gives advice on how to make new friends and how to keep friends over time. This episode is the ultimate guide to friendship, I hope you enjoy!

To learn more about Dr. Cook and her work, go to https://www.drlaurencook.com.

Welcome to Toxic Friendship Awareness Month on TTFIO! This month we will be exploring the complexities of friendship—how to have healthy communication, how to make new friends, how to spot toxic friends, and when to cut someone out of your life. We'll have guests on all month, but we're starting this week with a solo episode. I explore some of my earliest friendships and how I realized I do NOT have to offer people Nutella pancakes for them to be my friend. I talk about all the ways my life improved after I went through some tough friend breakups and how special my current friends are. I can't wait to go on this friendship journey with you!

Part two with Haley Jakobson is here! In this portion of our conversation, Haley shares how she celebrates Pride in her writing and among her community. Haley shares her advice for other bisexual femme individuals. We also discuss her upcoming debut novel, "Old Enough," which led us to a conversation on sexual abuse and what it means to be a survivor. It was a privilege to speak with Haley and this interview was deeply impactful for me. I hope it is for you too.

Content warning: timecode to skip conversation on sexual abuse: 12:58-18:45

To seek support for sexual violence, please visit rainn.org

This week, TTFIO returns with a special guest. This month is Pride month and I had the honor of interviewing New York based author, Haley Jakobson, about mental health, trauma, abuse, and her debut novel, Old Enough. This episode touched me deeply and I learned so much from Haley - I am humbled by her intelligence and grace in all that she does. I am excited to share this special two-part interview with you all.

Note: To learn more about OCD and to find an OCD specialist, go to iocdf.org.

This week, meet my best friend, Beau Stone. You'll hear how a fire and a trip to Tulum sparked the beginning of our friendship and learn all about Beau's journey from his childhood on a marijuana farm to working at one of the top hair salons in LA. Beau is the most reliably spontaneous person in my life and I know you'll love him just as much as I do.

This week on TTFIO, we bring you a solo episode. In September of 2020, I had surgery to remove micro-adenoma in my pituitary gland, located at the base of my brain. The tumor was not cancerous. The surgery went well and I will be forever grateful to my amazing doctors, friends and family for taking incredible care of me during that time. The recovery was harder than anything I could have imagined. Mentally, I am still processing this trauma. In the aftermath of my surgery, I had deep anxiety that became so severe, it took more than 6 months before I started to feel like myself. Though I still have tremendous fears around my health … today, I am healthy. The reason I am telling this story is to share my experience with PTSD, how it has affected me and offer support to anyone struggling in any way. I hope you all tune in and I am excited to share this with you all.

This week, I sit down with content creator Brooklynne Webb. Only 18 years old, Brooklynne has grown to over 10 million followers on TikTok and has a thing or two to teach me about TikTok dances. More importantly, she uses her platform to help her followers find confidence within themselves and she is a shining young voice in the body positivity community. We talk about our own mental health journeys and, for the first time, Brooklynne opens up about her experience dealing with depression.

True to her musical theater roots, we finish the episode with a theater-themed Al P's Three…and a refresher on what Post Malone looks like.