Unfiltered

On the first episode of my 2024 guest series, I am joined by my friend Afiya, who shares how her relationship with religion and spirituality has evolved from her childhood to now. We talk about everything from growing up religious and questioning one's faith, to creating space for religion in college and its role within medicine. Everyone's journey to spirituality looks, manifests, and sounds different...and Afiya's is definitely one worth listening to.

2023 has brought a lot to the table--old and new love, solitude, travel, burnout, gain and loss, tearful endings, and joyful beginnings. On today's episode, and for the fourth straight year in a row, listen as I share (and expose) all that I've experienced and learned. Happy new year to all <3

As a socially conditioned forward-thinker, I focus on the future quite a bit. Though this is somewhat helpful in the academic/career context, it's not as healthy when applied to my personal life. On today's episode, I'm sharing all of my thoughts on my relationship with the future. The older I get, the less motivated I am by “success,” and the more motivated I am by my health and internal happiness. The journey is one to be enjoyed, not understood. Healing isn't about being upset about the parts of me that aren't healed. And though the future can be overwhelming, there is a time and place for everything.

It's been a heavy year. And for the past month or so, I've been clouded in a mental fog, hitting lots of walls, feelings lot of feelings, having lots of identity crises, experiencing what I refer to as "life burnout," and losing myself along the way. So what have I done in response? What have I done to "find myself"? From learning to not fear my emotions, to prioritizing my health over my pride, to deconstructing labels of "okay" versus "not okay" and "good" versus "bad," I have tried to slow down and take care of myself. I'm certainly not 100% better, but I firmly believe that the process of losing myself, finding myself, and everything in between, has been such a beautiful and powerful lesson for me at the age of 22.

I have experienced a lot of failure and rejection in college in the context of classes, clubs, personal goals, and people. I grew up thinking that failure is inherently negative because I believe it to be a reflection of my self-worth and character, causing me to bottle up emotions such as shame and embarrassment and learn how to cover up my mistakes. However, I have come to learn that failure is a complicated topic, and that it is actually a very important experience that makes us human. On today's episode, I share my many thoughts on rejection, failure, and disappointment -- we avoid hard things out of fear of failure, rejection therapy helps normalize disappointment, and failure can force us to reflect on the standards we are setting for ourselves.

<3

My beliefs and experiences of friendship have changed dramatically over the past few years. A lot has changed since my freshman year, and I've recently spent a lot of time reflecting on the people who have been in my life since then. What does it mean for each friendship to fill a different niche? How are friendships like seasons? How and why do I tie specific people to specific places, objects, and songs? And finally...looking ahead to next year, what will it mean for me to leave college, a place that has an inherent social infrastructure and carries so many of my past memories, conversations, and emotions?

Being comfortable and having routine in life is good -- it can mean stability, and I want that one day. But I think that comfortability can also be complacency. And right now, as a young college student, I don't ever want to slip into this state. On today's episode, I talk about how I know when I'm too comfortable (the thought of changing my routine makes me unusually anxious or upset, I avoid my problems, I romanticize another life), and what I do to fix it (I try new things, set new goals, and physically put myself in situations where I cannot be comfortable).

I'm entering my last year in college, and I have an overwhelming amount of thoughts and feelings leading up to it. I hope you all enjoy!

As a college student, I have at times subscribed to the phrase "rise and grind," which has made me think about the notion of productivity that it carries. The conversation surrounding hustle culture has two extreme opinions. On the one hand, there is the glorification and praise of those who dedicate their lives to their craft, and on the other, there is the rejection of this culture entirely. On today's episode, listen as I discuss the pros and cons of hustle culture -- one that has taken on a spiritual dimension, redefined buzz words such as "ambition, visionary, and grit," and set up the expectation that we must be overly dedicated and constantly passionate about what we do.