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Episode 1: An Introduction
466 Plays8 months ago
In our very first episode, hosts Victoria and Shaun share who they are, why they started the Conversations for Change Podcast, and what drives their passion for mental health advocacy. They talk about their future vision for the Nurturing Tomorrow Foundation, what listeners can expect from upcoming episodes, and how together we can build a brighter, healthier future for kids and families.
Tune in and join us on this journey to nurture tomorrow, one conversation at a time.
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Transcript
Introduction to Nurturing Tomorrow Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Hi there, and welcome to the Nurturing Tomorrow podcast, Conversations for Change. We're your hosts, Victoria and Sean, and we're so glad you joined us today.
Disclaimer on Mental Health Expertise
00:00:10
Speaker
a quick note before we begin. We are not mental health professionals.
00:00:14
Speaker
This is a podcast for educational and advocacy purposes only. Everything we share reflects our personal perspectives and lived experiences. If you or someone you know is struggling or need support, we strongly encourage you to reach out to a licensed mental health provider.
Background Stories of Victoria and Sean
00:00:31
Speaker
Let's give the listeners a little a little sense ah who we are. um Let's take it back a few years ago. ah Tell me, what was the wild idea, hair, what have you, you ran with? um how how did How did we get here? what What prompted you to found Nurturing Tomorrow?
00:00:55
Speaker
Sure. So... The Nurturing Tomorrow Foundation was always my, um I guess, lottery idea. So I always had the idea of of... And I feel like most people have this conversation with like friends, significant others. Like, if we won the lottery one day, and and half the time those people aren't even buying lottery tickets.
00:01:16
Speaker
So there's no way for them to win the lottery. But it's beside the point. so um It was always my idea that if I won the lottery one day, i knew I'd still want to work.
00:01:27
Speaker
I can't sit around and do nothing. Literally can't sit around and do nothing.
Importance of Childhood Experiences
00:01:31
Speaker
ah So I was like, okay, I'll help children's mental health and i'll I'll do something with children's mental health because I'm a strong believer of you know both with my job and with my personal life, like looking at root cause, what brought us here today. And when we look at some of the adults out in the world today that are maybe not the best type of people, it's not always their fault. It's a lot of you know experiences that they lived, things they've gone through,
00:02:08
Speaker
And um that starts in the childhood. And if we can support some of the situations that those kids go through in their childhood, then can hopefully, fingers crossed, create better adults, create a better a world with um more supportive people, happier people.
00:02:33
Speaker
And that was kind of my idea. so i I'm not a mental health
Sean's Mental Health Journey
00:02:40
Speaker
expert. I am a consultant as that's my career. I'm a consultant. I've been in contact centers for the last 15 years.
00:02:49
Speaker
And um so I try and use a lot of what I've learned in my career mixed with the mental health items that I've experienced through my life. So I was diagnosed with depression at 16, anxiety shortly thereafter, ADHD, OCD, and then more recently ah received my autism level one diagnosis.
00:03:18
Speaker
So I try and take all of my lived experiences, my professional career, and um my idea was to one day put that towards a nonprofit when I win the lottery.
Foundation's Immediate Start
00:03:31
Speaker
And then I decided, well, the chances of winning the lottery are low. So why not just do something now? And i started the foundation and here we are.
00:03:43
Speaker
Wow. So that's that's awesome. So what i'm what I'm hearing here, takeaways are people people first, lived experience, building community, and kind of leading with not what's wrong with you,
00:04:01
Speaker
but um how did we get here? Exactly. How did we get here and and understanding that we can't change what's happened in the past, we're here.
Building a Supportive Community
00:04:13
Speaker
So how do we use what's here with us today to both help ourselves because we need to you know help ourselves to be able to help others, but how do we help ourselves and help others at the same time?
00:04:29
Speaker
To go back to the question though, sorry. Was it just, you didn't win the lottery. We established that. I was i haven't won the lottery. Not yet. and I think it can still happen. So you were like, let's let's do it. let's Let's build this community. That's amazing because um I know myself personally, um and I don't think I'm alone in this.
00:04:52
Speaker
So many people have the calling, um you know, for... for the betterment of humanity, right. In different capacities and areas. And I think so many of us, um, have that same, that same vision as you do and really want to help people and have ideas and think, you know, if I, if I had the money or the time one day, um would love to just dive in and help this cause and start that. And, you know, you, you did that. Um,
00:05:21
Speaker
So I think that's big and in ah in itself that you took the initiative and and you know dove into something that you truly care about and you love. um I think that speaks a lot to who you are and it speaks a lot to um how you plan to carry out the mission um of nurturing tomorrow.
00:05:45
Speaker
And hey, that's what nurturing's all about, you know, and ah building something um from the ground up, becoming a you know a parent, you know, you're never, you're never ready and until you dive in and just, and just get going. That's, that's what, ah that's what I really, that's what drew me to the foundation was, you know, truly your initiative. So thank you for sharing that.
00:06:09
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And, and it's one of those things that like, as you were talking about, like nurturing things, it, I thought long and hard about how to start the foundation. what the I knew what the purpose was and what our mission was, but i didn't know what exact activities that, and and I know we'll talk through that a little bit, but I didn't know exactly what activities we'd be able to start. I had you know no fundraising at the beginning, still very low fundraising. so like my my thought process was just like, you know, let's just go.
00:06:43
Speaker
Like if if I help one person, two people, five people, fantastic. Like maybe it won't be thousands upon thousands of people, you know, reading the message, hearing our voices, seeing our faces.
00:06:55
Speaker
But um if we can help anybody, then hey, that's just taking our time. So that's a good good way to use our time. Absolutely.
00:07:06
Speaker
That, that is, that is how I try to lead. um And, you know, it's, it's difficult, right. To do that in the, in the society that we live in, especially how, i mean, even us right now, you know, how digitally connected we are. you don't, um I see a lot of, you have to really work on building human connection more so, more so now I think than any time that we know to human civilization.
00:07:38
Speaker
Let's switch over to you, Victoria. So let's learn a little bit first about your background and your personal connection to kind of mental health advocacy.
Victoria's Mental Health Advocacy
00:07:56
Speaker
Thank you. i would love to jump into that. and Before I get into my background, I'd say I'm going to jump right into the advocacy. My advocacy, my advocacy for mental health comes from my lived experience. um You know, ah we all, if we're lucky are, have a mental capacity at some sort and ah health is a whole mind body connection, right? So I think for,
00:08:31
Speaker
you know, I can't wait for the day that the stigma is truly taken away from focusing on mental health because, you know, I think so many of us don't think about mental health until there's real problems there. Right. And so, you know, let's go ahead and say, you know, my, my, my advocacy comes from lived experience. Right.
00:08:52
Speaker
um You know, I know what it feels like to be 11 years old and feel down and destitute and and helpless and that the, that the world is, ah you know, ah ah sad, dreary place. And to feel that way 11, looking back on that as an adult, man, that's, you know, it it pulls, it pulls at the heartstrings for sure, because something that I didn't understand then, you know, and it was something that I really, at at that point in in life, um didn't have the means or the capacity to
00:09:28
Speaker
to speak about it. and when I did, um think this really speaks to the times and to my age without revealing that, but it was more so than, you know, well, you shouldn't feel that way. You have everything you need in the world. You are loved, you are fed, you are cared for, you know, all your basic needs.
00:09:49
Speaker
um And at the time, I'm sure that advice coming from, you know, family, adults, friends in life, I'm sure that came from a good place, but man, to tell that to someone who's really struggling to find inner peace, that just hits on all the wrong ways. It makes you think like, you know what? You're right.
00:10:11
Speaker
i do have all this stuff. There is, there is something wrong with me. I shouldn't feel this way, but there were never any solutions um or options for me at that point. Um,
00:10:23
Speaker
I had bad therapists when I was a kid who put me on the wrong medication. But medication, if if we touch on that quickly, like I'm fortunate to have a really good health provider and he's said it to me a lot in the years that I've seen him where medication is only a part of it and unfortunately he says that because i know i've been to doctors before psychiatrists before that are like here's your concoction of medication that's going to keep you numb enough to the world that you're not going to be depressed you're not going to be happy either you're really just going to be there as a living thing barely
00:11:08
Speaker
and I'm so happy that my normal provider has always talked about like medications only a part of it. Like I can give you something to help with, you know, XYZ, but you really need to be doing these other things as well. You need to be taking care of your body. You need to be, you know, going to talk to a therapist to, you know, talk through these things and figure out how to cope. So, um, it's but you're right. When we were younger,
00:11:34
Speaker
and And I'd say even now, there are still doctors that are just, here's some medication. Good luck. Have a nice day. That'll be $25. Yeah, especially in the world that we live in with, you know, the online, like you could go in, you know, I know I remember when I was 19, it was no easy process to get a diagnosis. It was, you know, you waited months for the appointment.
00:12:01
Speaker
You saw multiple people. You were there there for six hours or so doing different types of testing. And now you can go online.
00:12:12
Speaker
My passion for mental health comes from my own lived experience, right? um We all, you know, hopefully, if we're lucky, have brain, have a mental...
00:12:25
Speaker
have a mental you know, system that we've got going on a cognitive, you know cognitively functioning brain. Right. um And exercise and fitness, I think we all know now to some degree, to some level is extremely important, right. Moving your body. So I think we'd all be remiss to not think that exercising your mind is not the same thing. If, you know, turning a blind eye to mental health, because you yourself may not think that you struggle
00:12:56
Speaker
um doesn't you know doesn't mean mental health isn't just for those who have a problem, right? I mean, of course, ah what most other there is a good majority of us out there that we're not we're not going to go get those wellness checkups.
00:13:11
Speaker
We're only going to go to the doctor unless there's something wrong. But imagine a world if we did. If you know if if our if we all were more focused on you know those fine tunes, it's like people are crazy about well, people are crazy about, i guess this is only me personally, people are crazy about, uh, changing the oil, you know, keeping up with their car maintenance, right. You know, well, why wouldn't we want to periodically like fine tune our mind find, you know, so I think even if you personally don't think that you have, have struggled or no, you know, with your own mental, I think mental health is important for all of us. Right. Um,
00:13:55
Speaker
And ah I started noticing ah shifts in mine at ah at a very early age and and didn't understand why. I, and i ah that to me, it spoke to me then in a way that I didn't understand. um And now looking back on it, I'm like, wow, I i wish that I myself um had,
00:14:21
Speaker
a voice to advocate for my own mental health then. I wish that I had more of an understanding, those resources. And also i wish that my parents had, had the resources, um that are out there available to us now, you know, I think, you know, and I, and I bring that up about my parents because, you know, I i remember being as young as 11 and, and just feeling super,
00:14:47
Speaker
down on myself and not understanding why I felt that way. Right. Um, and, uh, you know, my, my parents, I think like with the resources that they had and with what they, what they knew at the time did the best that they could for me, you know, um, I did see a few therapists and, you know, we can get into that at some point. Um, none that, none that stuck then. Um, but,
00:15:13
Speaker
you know I think that speaks to the times as well. you know We
Need for Trauma-Informed Care
00:15:17
Speaker
have a lot more resources available to us ah now than we did 20 plus years ago.
00:15:25
Speaker
Yeah, and if you think back like that long ago, it's it's kind of similar with me. like My mom did the best she could, and I feel very confident that my mom did the best she could with the resources that she had available, but was...
00:15:41
Speaker
i was I was going through it as a kid, as a teenager, still as an adult. And, um, you know, my mom was working full time and, and doing as much as she could. and um,
00:15:59
Speaker
Now, if if we think through, if we kind of took, if I was that young now with all the tools that are available today, it's like if we can use the internet, if we can use technology, if we can use, to your point, everything else that is available to us today to help my mother of today, then that's a great thing.
00:16:24
Speaker
So yeah. Absolutely. And I think that speaks back to you know, really, I think that what we were sort of talking about earlier, um is being trauma informed.
00:16:37
Speaker
And I, I think truly the root of, you know, trauma and form. And and I think, know, people hear the word trauma and they're like, Ooh, you know, trauma comes in all forms, shapes yeah and sizes and measures. Right. Uh, it does not have to be,
00:16:58
Speaker
ah catastrophic world event for someone to, to be traumatized. Um, and I think, you know, that, that needs to be said and and understood over and over again, and you know, being trauma informed really just means looking at an individual an isolated situation or whatever situation you're in and, and not
00:17:29
Speaker
looking at this person or this and and thinking, what is wrong with you? It's approaching that situation with curiosity and being like, man, you know, like how did, how did we get here?
00:17:41
Speaker
Um, and not to sound like a cliche, but hurt, you know, hurt people, hurt people. Right. Um, and, uh, as someone growing up, I remember feeling so hurt.
00:17:57
Speaker
Um, And I do remember at times, you know, being the hurt person um and eventually in some way, shape or form that comes back out.
00:18:12
Speaker
Yeah. In some way. And, you know, and I and i know that, you know, I've i've hurt other people and and that stings because I didn't and didn't have the tools or or the know-how or really,
00:18:29
Speaker
an under understanding of just being younger. i or just being a young person and going and going through it. Um, it's been a long time since I've been a kid, right? Like I said, 20, 20 plus years, but it, there's still those memories, those core memories that stick out.
00:18:49
Speaker
Um, and you have this, you know, at the age of adolescence, you you get to this point where, you know, you understand the ways of the world, but you're just like, you're not there developmentally. Right. And I think that we need to really tap into that because also like we were talking about right now, we have so many resources and we need to really focus on using those resources for good. Absolutely.
00:19:14
Speaker
Absolutely. And so that's what, you know, that's really what, what, what draws, what draws, what draws me in. If we go back to ah part where you were talking about being trauma informed, and I think touching on the informed piece, being informed on all things mental health, I think is super important because like to your point, if ah you may be in a great headspace,
00:19:46
Speaker
Your mental health may be fantastic. I envy those people. i envy those people. But they're going to have people in their lives.
00:19:58
Speaker
And almost certainly they will have one person in their lives at minimum. That could be a friend, a family member, their parents, brother, sister, whatever, that isn't.
00:20:12
Speaker
in the best of head spaces. So I think being informed, um, on kind of what to catch, what are the, the red flags that maybe there is something going on that with, with one of those people that they're not verbalizing, but you can physically see and, and then also being informed of how do you approach that? What are some things you can do to, um, to help?
00:20:38
Speaker
So ah agree with you. being that was one thing you you said that I was like I need to touch on this but I think being trauma and for being informed in general is super important totally um and uh you know look back on that I just I have to share this because it was just a thought you know in my head and I cannot get it out I just it was like a ah a movie playing in my mind when you were
00:21:11
Speaker
speaking to that, um just seeing young Victoria oh ah acting out, participating in activities, ah ah you know, just screaming out for attention. And I think a lot of people, you know, in the adolescence are like, let's just talk about teenagers for a second because they're, they're a big deal.
00:21:33
Speaker
And I think a lot of people were like, oh you know, that's just ah a teenager being teenager. She's, you know, a lot a lot of people always want to shift the blame onto someone else, especially, you know, someone else. So like, she's just got caught up with the wrong wrong people. I know, like they're they were, you know, kids as well. Right. And um I think looking back on it, I'm like, wow, I wish that There had been more adults in my life at that point who had been trauma-informed because you look at someone like that and be like, man, like, not like what is wrong with them, but like, man, what is going on in your life for us a switch?
00:22:12
Speaker
Like that, right? Because me, was switch one you know, it was a it was a switch one day it you know I went from feeling one way to another and had no no idea how to process those emotions. And you, one thing kids are resourceful and you'll find your own outlet.
00:22:33
Speaker
So I think like a a big thing for me, um so my ah for my own son, um for other parents, um they a really anyone who has any interaction with with children who has been a child themselves. So this includes everyone.
00:22:53
Speaker
think it's important for us to, you know, to understand ourselves, to better understand others um is to, is to read those actions in a different way and really approach it, approach it with curiosity.
00:23:10
Speaker
yeah And i think that's, that's the best way to do it. Even if it's on a small interaction and a gas station or a fast food line and Or a grocery store, you know, you you you might have ah a bad interaction with a clerk or another customer and you're like, you know, what a, your knee jerk reaction might be like, what a jerk.
00:23:30
Speaker
But I mean, man, you don't know what, you know, you don't know what they just walked away from before they walked into those doors. Right. So I think humility, humility curiosity, compassion are are three things that that drive me.
00:23:47
Speaker
So, Victoria, you and I met, I don't know, how many years ago. It's been... Pre-pandemic. So, it's like crazy. ah So, wow. 2018...
00:24:00
Speaker
twenty eighteen 2018, that's what you're locking in. Final answer. Final answer. 2018, I'll trust you on that. i don't i don't have it in me to look, but my wife and I met you before she was my wife. So um Emily and I met you quite some time ago and you know, life happened and and whatever. But and i know...
00:24:26
Speaker
looking at social media what was that last year ah saw you share some some school project you were doing and it was mental health related and i said ooh i need to to to have a conversation with her i i always knew you and the people you surrounded yourself with were were good people so i was like i need to to have a conversation learn more um so After that, we had quite a few conversations and ultimately we decided to to bring you on as our chief operating officer to keep us both responsible and our interns responsible and our volunteers responsible to kind of work towards the projects we're committed to and and stay on track. So...
00:25:13
Speaker
Tell us or tell tell our the listeners, our viewers, our watchers. I can't believe we're on camera and people might watch this too. um Tell everybody.
00:25:25
Speaker
hi Tell everybody about that project ah you worked on and then um talk to us about kind of what your role is as the COO and kind of what's important to you in that role. um So I started grad school a ah year ago last fall.
00:25:43
Speaker
um And ah at Wake Forest University, I had the opportunity to get involved um with a hackathon up at the medical school. And that's what you're
TheraVoyage: A Hackathon Success
00:25:56
Speaker
referring to. You saw on LinkedIn, which is really cool. um You know, I know I and didn't know much about computer science, but the the basis of The event was come bring your ideas ah to ah build a mental health platform um or some sort of digital tool to benefit the mental health sphere. And so I thought, man, I've got all these crazy ideas for apps all the time. I love mental health and, you know, anything I can do to get involved.
00:26:30
Speaker
Yeah. on campus. I, you know, I'm always trying to meet and and network, um, with people within, you know, community. So I went, uh, and I ended up, it was, I'll go ahead and put this out there. It was like being on the kickball court and being last picked. Like I said, I was not a computer science engineer, um, nor were the two other people that I were partnered with, but, um, we all three had different backgrounds.
00:26:59
Speaker
Um, we came together and our concept was to build, um, a digital space for specifically specifically for, um, neurodivergent, uh, children and youth diagnosed with autism, uh, to meet with their therapist in a virtual reality space. Um, the name of our concept is called TheraVoyage,
00:27:23
Speaker
fair voyage um And in this concept, ah we start off with a prototype that would be in a clinical setting. um We also were coming up with a concept for some goggles that would be more um geared towards you know sensory you know sensory focused.
00:27:46
Speaker
So in ah with TheraVoyage, our primary goal was to give children and therapists a place to connect.
00:27:56
Speaker
It makes no difference whether you're neurotypical or neurodivergent. Meeting with a therapist um can be grueling for people. It takes absolutely a very long time to establish a connection like that, right? And to feel comfortable. So um although are our focus was geared towards neurodivergency, I mean, a platform like this could help many people connect. So The basis of it was, you know, you choose an avatar, whatever makes you comfortable. If your avatar is to be an armchair and you would like the therapist to be an Ottoman, cool.
00:28:34
Speaker
You know, we've got that. We've got that capability for you. It's whatever is going to make you feel comfortable, right? um And, you know, within reason, if, you know, there's all different kinds of exposure therapy, it just, we really got excited about the concept. But again, we kind of forgot that it was a contest and that there was a prize at the end. we were just three people getting together, having a blast.
00:28:58
Speaker
It was something that we were all passionate about. um I could tell by your posts. I remember at the, your posts you were making at that time, I was like, she is psyched about this.
00:29:09
Speaker
Absolutely. it it was, it truly was a marriage of all three of our ideas um and and something that we really saw a need for, right? um Especially what we were really considering were ah ah rural communities where you don't have, ah you know, there there aren't they're not the options to meet, you know, that you don't with with therapists, we we were thinking long-term, you know, once this technology is a little more advanced and it's sort of like how our
00:29:43
Speaker
our phone, everyone's got our tiny computer in our hand. Once VR is more accessible, you know, this can reach out of a clinical setting. This goes, this goes bigger than, you know, the office. Right. um So I think that that's what our goal was. And I think that the big thing there was, this is all something that the three of us were very passionate about. So we pushed the idea forward. We, this is not something that was graded. it was something that we wanted to do. yeah,
00:30:11
Speaker
and with that being said, you know, we, we won first place and yeah, i was super proud of that. So that's how we reconnected on, on LinkedIn. um And it was sort of crazy because here you are here building a foundation that literally the, the basis of the foundation is what we were building our digital concept on. So ah when you reached out, it was no question to me that um I wanted to be involved in any way that I could. i was so excited.
00:30:51
Speaker
So that's how we reconnected. know that, you know, we had some some conversation. We probably met like three or four times after we re reconnected. and And it's so funny because i remember the day you were like,
00:31:07
Speaker
okay, like we've had these conversations. We both have great ideas. We both have this like initiative and this drive to like go work on some stuff. You were like, what's my official role?
00:31:20
Speaker
And was so funny because I already knew what your official role was going to be. like I already made that decision. i just hadn't told you yet. And i was like, I knew and it worked perfect because you were in school for project management. And, and as you and I have talked about plenty of times now, it's like you and i both have a billion ideas and fantastic.
00:31:44
Speaker
difficult in this ever-changing world of technology and and mental health is in a really kind of funky space right now with what's being focused on, what's not being focused on, what's kind of um okay to talk about, what's not okay to talk about. And so things are changing so quickly. And i was like, I knew I needed help.
00:32:05
Speaker
But at the same time, I have a specific vision for the foundation or some aspects of the foundation and between you being in school or project management, me being a consultant project management, being a big part of my day to day job.
00:32:25
Speaker
Um, you it it was a clear like yes to bring you on as the COO and for having both of us hold each other accountable
Connecting and Spreading Awareness
00:32:37
Speaker
and encourage the good ideas and maybe tone down or put on the back burner, the ideas that are maybe just not a key priority at the moment. So I i remember that.
00:32:54
Speaker
um So what are some of the things as, as it's been what a couple months now, maybe what are some things that that um as COO you're excited about?
00:33:07
Speaker
Truly by the most exciting thing about, being COO. And I hope this does not come off cheesy because I mean it, but it's connecting with others and and meeting other people through through the foundation and through our initiative.
00:33:28
Speaker
Because even in the converse short conversations that i've I've got to have with people, you know, who have either seen something they may not have, you know, we may not have even got any likes on the post online, but they've seen, maybe seen me in person and they come up to me and they're like wow, you know, I saw what you're doing. And then it gives people a vehicle to, to share and to open up about themselves, um, which, you know, and I i think, you know, it also speaks to what you said. If you can just like impact one person, um, you know, you,
00:34:05
Speaker
you may not get, know, I think that right now in the ah digital age that we're in, we gauge and we measure a lot of things like by engagement, like share comment.
00:34:16
Speaker
hu But it's crazy because the conversations that I've had with people who are most excited about what we were doing, they didn't like share or or comment on the post, but they they saw it online, right? So, you know, you you don't know the impact that that you're going to make. And i am just so it so excited to meet other, be connected with other people who are as motivated and connected to the the mission of de-stigmatizing and creating a safe space for mental health and to have these conversations.
00:34:53
Speaker
It's funny because when you first suggested a podcast, like I've never been huge in the podcasts. It's not an idea I would have had myself, but i know podcasts are a lot of people have the time in the car or just working out or whatever to listen to a podcast.
00:35:13
Speaker
And you brought it up and i was like, that's an interesting idea. and And, you know, I think we talked about it probably a couple times before i was like, okay let's go. um But. but very similar to what you just said coming out of that when we've posted you know our LinkedIn posts or Facebook posts or whatever like I've connected with so many new people on LinkedIn I've conversations with people I've had people ping me on on Facebook and and
00:35:48
Speaker
whatever, just asking me questions. And ah it's, it's so funny because my LinkedIn Facebook, followers or connections or whatever was very you know i've i've been in contact centers for almost 15 years so have a lot of contact center people in there and but now my connections are expanding out to ah therapists to psychiatrists to neurodivergent folks folks who have neurodivergent um children and i'm connecting with all these other people that
00:36:27
Speaker
I don't know, that's what kind of fills my cup, I guess, where it's having those conversations and learning new things and seeing that like, oh, that thing I went through that I felt was weird because my colleagues weren't doing the same or whatever. Like all these other people are going through the same thing.
00:36:46
Speaker
And it's like, oh, well, that makes me feel better. but So I'm excited for, i'm super excited that you came on, that you suggested this idea.
00:36:58
Speaker
i know we already have like some super exciting guests in the pipeline that I'm excited to meet with. So um that's awesome. That's right. And as a project manager now, I don't and't like to focus on time wasted, right? um But looking back, you know, just on on all the time that you know you I felt that I'm going through this alone. what is What is wrong with me? Why does everyone else seem to be making it through okay? And here I am struggling internally. in
00:37:40
Speaker
And this is a broad but broadly speaking, right? No, the world is a big place. And all of our DNA is quite similar. to So I don't want to look back and be like, wow, we've got all that time time wasted I spent.
00:37:55
Speaker
feeling so alone ah in my feelings and that my feelings weren't valid and were wrong. Right. But now i I realize that instead of like, man, that was such a lot of time I spent ah feeling horrible about myself.
00:38:15
Speaker
The only way to look at it is just to turn it around and and make it fuel to the, the fire to ignite, to, you know, put that passion in there to, to let others know, like, no, it doesn't, it doesn't actually have to, to be that, to be that way. There are so, there are our so many others out there who are, are here, are, are here in this. Um, and I think it kind of sounds cheesy to be like, you know, we're in this together, but, um,
00:38:45
Speaker
you know, we we live in a global village now, so like let's use it and and put it to work. that Yeah, the Internet's helped us connect with not just kind of the the people we've grown up with our whole lives and have really experienced the same things that as each other.
00:39:02
Speaker
and our whole lives, we're able to connect with people that have... had very different experiences, but also similar in a lot of ways too. And we can that allows us to expand our knowledge to to to help support them a little bit better, helps support ourselves a little bit better. So absolutely. Yeah, I think at this point, maybe a lot of people want to know, what what is this podcast? what so what what what do you what would you like our subscribers to to get out of this podcast?
Diverse Conversations with Guests
00:39:39
Speaker
What's in it for you and them? Yeah, i'll I'll kind of answer this in two different ways. So I think the podcast is kind of one avenue. And I want us to able to have real conversations with people. and And, you know, we have that little script we read at the beginning of this podcast. You know, we're not mental health professionals, et cetera, et cetera.
00:40:01
Speaker
ah And that's true. and And we will have some mental health professionals on the podcast. But the biggest thing is the conversations and I want us to, you know, you and I, guests, um,
00:40:18
Speaker
and through our social medias with our viewers and our listeners to have those conversations and and and understand the real experiences we've all gone through and some of the things that we've done to help work through and then having the conversations, you know, to fill in kind of the gaps that we have. So that's the... um That's kind of the purpose ah that I see of of the podcast. And like I said, we're going to have so many cool people on the podcast that we're going to have folks who, you know, maybe haven't been to therapy or haven't found that therapist that that's really helped them. And they've had to, you know, learn ah or they've learned songs and and music has has helped kind of guide them. um So we'll have some of that. And then we'll also have those therapists who, you know, will hear why they got into that career and some of the personal ah items that have happened to them that have contributed to that decision or things with their children.
Extending Reach Beyond the Podcast
00:41:25
Speaker
And um so I'm really excited about that. And then I'm excited how we can expand that conversation and have our listeners go to the website and read our different blog articles that we're posting on a weekly basis. And ah hope one day, you know, we have, you know, a bigger newsletter and, and we've talked a lot about, you know, handouts that parents and ah kids can, can print out and have on their fridge to remind themselves of, you know, some activities that they can take to kind of fill in those dark moments ah with some light or activities that they can do when they're bored and their minds racing and they need something ah to help slow them down. So i'm I'm really excited that this can be one avenue to expand on all those other things that we're either doing already or or looking to do.
00:42:17
Speaker
i love it because I think one big takeaway For me is that there are so many online communities, platforms, um, ways to be involved already out there. Right. But with that comes so much noise.
00:42:38
Speaker
Um, and so i think knowing that the Nurturing Tomorrow Foundation, um, this podcast in particular, um truly is a place where ah you can come and, you know, know that it's just all grounded in support and and community, um, in a positive way. I think for us, it, it doesn't matter the number of subscribers we're, we're measuring ours by impact. And yeah, we, if this can impact one person, ah
00:43:19
Speaker
then it's just time. Like we're just spending a couple hours here recording. As we look to kind of round out this episode, Victoria, let's, let's hear from you.
00:43:33
Speaker
i know this was kind of your, your, this was your baby. This is your idea. ah What can our listeners expect from the conversations for change podcast?
Goal of Community-Building
00:43:46
Speaker
The purpose really is to, bring people together. um And I think it's the purpose of the podcast for me is just really building that community and giving people a chance to hear from others because, you know, I think that we have so many, all of us have so many parallels, yeah you know, everyone is so unique, but there yet there's so many things that bring us together in life, some good, some bad, right?
00:44:18
Speaker
So I think that's what this this podcast for me is all about. Just um making a space for, you know, we're not experts.
00:44:30
Speaker
And I think that, you know, as much as that's a disclaimer at the beginning of our podcast, it is also something that I think that that's the kind of, that's the vibe that that we're trying to give here. Like, we're look, this is, we're not perfect.
00:44:47
Speaker
yeah We're not professional podcasters. We're not, we're, we're just, we're just real people being people having conversations with people. ah And in, you know, a world that we live in that revolves around people, human connection is lost on us all.
00:45:09
Speaker
So, to me, this is, this is about the raw and the, the raw and the real, just connecting with other people and giving, giving people the opportunity and the, and the platform to have ah have a voice and, and speak, speak to their passion. Um, because i can guarantee, can guarantee, uh, you know, only took a few college courses in statistics, but if you're going through it, there is someone else out there that's going through it too. Um, and no matter how big or how small you think the impact of your story may have on someone, you just, you don't, you don't know.
00:45:53
Speaker
you really don't, don't know. and um and you know, I think like the big thing about the podcast for me is, um, You know, sometimes you don't want to hear from the experts.
00:46:08
Speaker
Sometimes you don't want to hear from people that have they that that that that say they have it figured all out or make that claim. We're figuring out. like We're figuring this out as we go yeah We're trying to make it better, but we're not trying to... We're not trying to fix it. And and I'll say that sentence with the the little asterisk after it to say, like, we don't need fixing, per se. Like, we are...
00:46:37
Speaker
I talk to my therapist about this all the time. Like I'm trying to take what's wrong with me air quotes for anybody who's listening, what's wrong with me and turn that into like a superpower. so you know, I have OCD ah and autism. So if I'm taking those two characteristics, I can make some things very challenging.
00:47:00
Speaker
How can I take the OCD and make me a really good consultant and project manager and, you know, try and make these perfect items that can, can come to fruition and help other people. So like, think that's a big part of it for me.
00:47:16
Speaker
oh I, I love that. Um, and, uh, let me piggyback on that real quick because something that I, that I work on deeply, ah in therapy and talk about therapy that I think that I didn't understand about myself until recently, um, is, uh,
00:47:33
Speaker
ah my propensity for perfectionism. um I've always felt like well I am the furthest person from perfect. So how could I be a perfectionist?
00:47:45
Speaker
That makes no sense to me. um But this, doing this podcast and figuring it out as we go really speaks to my healing. um Because i I, in my life have just missed out on so many opportunities or just not done something or not submitted something because it was not up to a perfect standard that I was so afraid of the fear of failure and not fred projecting as perfect that I either self-sabotaged or just didn't do it at all. Right. And looking back on that, you know, that,
00:48:22
Speaker
That could sting a little bit. So this is like a big jump and a big leap in that. And so maybe for anybody else out there who, you know, needs to hear what we just said, like you, you, you just, just take a, take a, take a check from one of the biggest brands out there and just do it.
00:48:41
Speaker
Thank you everyone for listening or watching today's podcast episode. As a reminder, if you haven't checked out our website already, please take a look. ah It's nurturingtomorrow.org. We have a lot of great blog articles and other good information to help both you and your little ones out there.
00:49:01
Speaker
ah And then don't forget, if you're listening to today's podcast episode, and how about you subscribe to our podcast? I'd be greatly appreciated. We are on all major podcast platforms, so please feel free to ah find us on your favorite platform and subscribe to us there.
00:49:19
Speaker
We appreciate all of you hanging out with us today. Again, don't forget to subscribe and we'll connect with you on the next podcast episode.