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Let’s Talk About Love, Baby
26 Plays3 years ago
Happy Black History Month y’all! In this episode we discuss Black love and dating in medical school, as well as the current mental health crisis and how we can show love to and support to our peers when they may be suffering. In the Financial Corner, Aldwin shares how to build and maintain a good credit score to keep your finances looking right!
To share your thoughts on our discussions or if you have any questions to ask our hosts, email podcast@snma.org for a chance to be featured on the show!
Disclaimer: The opinion and views expressed on our podcast do not reflect the official stance of Student National Medical Association.
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Transcript
Wilbert C. Jordan Research Forum Announcement
00:00:00
Speaker
What's good, family? We need judges for the Wilbert C. Jordan Research Forum. The research forum will take place in person at AMEC on April 15th and 16th in Orlando, Florida. Those with experience in research are invited to volunteer to judge our pre-medical and medical student poster presentations and oral presentations.
00:00:23
Speaker
A scoring rubric will be provided. Register by March 14th to be considered. The form is available in the SNMA Opportunities newsletter. So if you have questions, contact Whitney George and Bisola Dada. SNMA Wilbert C. Jordan Research Forum committee coaches 2021 to 2022 at diversity at snma.org. Now you already know what time it is. What time it is.
00:00:53
Speaker
Let's
Introduction to SNMA Presents the Lounge Podcast
00:01:11
Speaker
Welcome to SNMA Presents the Lounge. Whether you're in the student lounge, doctor's lounge, or lounging around at home, get ready to join SNMA for meaningful conversations on topics affecting minorities in medicine and groups that often sit at the margins of healthcare.
00:01:19
Speaker
start the show.
00:01:31
Speaker
I am student Dr. Erica Dingle, what's up y'all? And today in honor of Black History Month with a little twist, our icebreaker is going to be, what is your favorite hashtag Black Twitter moment?
00:01:49
Speaker
And I guess why.
Cultural Highlights from Black Twitter
00:01:50
Speaker
So mine is the white people put this much salt on. Do y'all remember that? Where they were showing it was like a little bit of like a pinch of salt and then they would go around to like a pot of chicken. Yeah. So that was, that was my favorite one. Right.
00:02:09
Speaker
All right, well, hey, guys, I'm student Dr. Isabella, my favorite Black Twitter moment. You know that trend where it was like the African American or the Black urge to and then like it drifts off and like someone says like what that urge? So like, that was just funny to me, because it was just like, I remember one, there was one that I remember to this day, it was like the African American urge to like take all the napkins at Chipotle. Like crazy, because that's the thing.
00:02:36
Speaker
Yeah, because I really do have that urge all the time. So that was so funny to
Impact of Black Panther on Black Community
00:02:41
Speaker
me. So yeah, that was my favorite black Twitter moment.
00:02:45
Speaker
What's poppin' everybody? Student Dr. Alderman. I'd say my favorite Black Twitter moment would be seeing everybody after the Black Panther movie, Wakanda Forever, everybody standing in front of the movie theaters and just feeling like, just empowered. I had to see that movie three times, and I still get chills when I watch it. So, I don't know, it was just something different, something that we could claim, stake for our ownership, for our communities, like, yo, this is for us.
Significance of Black History Month 2022
00:03:10
Speaker
by us and forever on us so shout out to Wakanda shout out to you know everybody that's representing and Chadwick Boseman made his spirit live on forever ever ever oh wait you saw it three times in the theaters now
00:03:24
Speaker
Oh, wow. I spent the breath. That's supporting Black creation. I mean, it's on Disney Plus now. So I've seen it multiple times, like past three times ever since they put on Disney Plus. But I think that's like, that's still the album to be hidden to make sure you check out the album. Oh, wait, did John hit all when he said no concession stand so we can concur and conclude together that it was not a date because you got to hit the concession stand.
00:03:53
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. Except no, you don't pass the cap. What? What? Oh, so what you think? Wait, hold on. So what you doing? I put the popcorn, 25 cent popcorn in the bag like I was 10 years old with a little 25 cent drink. And we just walk right in there like we just chilling. Oh, no. You bring your food to the theater? I'll stir in the pot. Yeah, sometimes. I'm getting ready for this black love segment.
00:04:17
Speaker
always, always takes chicks out on a date with popcorn. All right. So you guys know what time it is, right? It's time to run the list. So
00:04:36
Speaker
For our preclinical students, running the patient list on the wards allows the team to address pressing matters of the day. In this segment of the show, we'll be discussing some recent events in medicine and beyond affecting our communities and the populations we serve.
Wellness Practices in Black Communities
00:04:50
Speaker
All right, guys, let's get right into it. It is literally February 1st as we are recording this episode. So we all know what February 1st is. Happy Black History month, Black Folk. Yes. Hey, Banks.
00:05:03
Speaker
It's a holiday for us, and even though it's annoying that we have to spend this holiday still kind of in a pandemic slash whatever you want to call it, I'm just going to call it like...
00:05:14
Speaker
real life, because I feel like this is real life. Now, to me, calling a pandemic wouldn't even make any sense, because this is just how our lives are now. So yeah, but Black History Month, post pandemic, or I guess, peri-pandemic, whatever. And so the theme for 2022 focuses on the importance of Black health and wellness and kind of paying homage
00:05:35
Speaker
to Black medical providers and scholars. And so basically, we're just kind of considering activities, rituals and initiatives that Black communities have done to be well. And so kind of just mulling over those things. I mean, what are you guys, what resonates with you guys when it comes to just Black History Month and just like,
00:05:53
Speaker
what are some wellness things or like things you guys do to encourage wellness throughout your lives and how do you guys think you're gonna amplify that during this month? I think that's taken like a, it looks so different today than it did years ago. One thing that came to mind was, you know how black churches always do like these health drives and I feel like
00:06:13
Speaker
That is one way to definitely get engaged with the Black community regarding health. Today though, how that might look, maybe doing yoga, tapping into the health aspects that really draw people in now, stretching, meditation, things that aren't necessarily medicine specific, but still engage people.
Honoring Ancestors and Equity vs. Equality
00:06:39
Speaker
So very different from before.
00:06:43
Speaker
Yeah, for me, just like Erica mentioned, you know, getting tapped, I already do like yoga, meditation, mindfulness. I got this app that allows me to see like affirmations every morning and just like self-affirming myself and believing in my confidence, believing the ritual that as a black man, I have to represent something greater than myself.
00:07:02
Speaker
And also like every day, like I'm educating myself. We talk about black medical providers and scholars. We talk about Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller, the first black neuropsychiatrist. I mean, I'm applying to neuropsychiatry who helped founded Alzheimer's. We talk about Madam C.J. Walker, who had a billion dollar industry, like going through the beauty supply line. We talk about Marshall Walter Taylor, who was the first African-American to get a gold medal in cycling. So for me, just seeing all of these greats and resonating with what
00:07:31
Speaker
the greatness they had and how I could be great just like them in just a different fashion in a different time. It's the most beautiful thing you can do. And then also, there's a lot of opportunities even in New York City, they actually have an opportunity where you could actually do like underground, the New York City Underground Railroad, it's like $35. So they started that today actually for the month of February.
00:07:51
Speaker
The New York Historical Gallery in Manhattan is also having a gallery of famous Black artists from the past presenting their work. So there's a lot of different ways in which you can get to them with Black history. Our employer, please, is one of the greatest things that we could contribute to ourselves is learning about our history, because without our history, we'll never know our history. That's true.
00:08:09
Speaker
Right. And I'm glad you touched on that, Alduin, because that kind of speaks to the importance of honoring those who came before us in order to now continue this fight for civil liberties today.
Understanding Equity in Society
00:08:22
Speaker
But do you guys feel, even with doing that, as you mentioned, Madam C.J. Walker, the first black neuropsychiatrist and all these other figures,
00:08:32
Speaker
do we feel like since their time that, you know, that they were able, or, you know, some of them are still living, some of them are past, but like since the time that they kind of started this, this like initiative to like, create more equality, or as I like to say, equity, I prefer equity over equality, because I feel like
00:08:51
Speaker
equality kind of assumes that everybody is starting from the same level when we know that for black and brown folk, we don't have that. So it's really equity, which is trying to get everybody first and foremost to the level that will equalize or that will kind of make us all on the same path.
00:09:09
Speaker
even with those who didn't have the same foot, the same head start as of our white counterparts. But do you guys feel like we've reached that point of equity yet? Or do you guys think you know? Is he explaining the difference between equity and equality for us that are less intellectually served?
Explaining Equity vs. Equality
00:09:25
Speaker
Okay, yeah, because I kind of rushed through that explanation, but you know, for our beautiful, amazing listeners, oh, yeah, no, this is the kind of pimping that I like. So my surgical resident pimping last week, I was, you know, shaking in my boots, but you know, this is the kind of pimp you gotta like.
00:09:43
Speaker
But yeah, so equity, so let's think about it like this, right? Where every, I don't know if everyone has seen that image that kind of circulated on social media, where somebody's trying to look at a field, right? So you have like a small boy, you have like a father who's like clearly much taller. And yeah, so then like,
00:10:01
Speaker
the father doesn't need a step stool in order to see the field. He can just stand and just look over it, right? But the small boy, he just doesn't have the height to get him to be at the same level of his dad. So the small boy requires a step stool, right? To step on so he can be level with his father.
00:10:18
Speaker
So in that same vein, in, say, equity versus equality, with equity, we're assuming that Black people, we were lower, right? Like, we started at this bottom portion, and white people were already above us. So now it's like, in order for us to even be at the same level as them, we need something that's going to elevate us to a point that we can be
00:10:36
Speaker
on equal standing with our white counterparts. So that's kind of the difference versus equality assumes that everybody has the same resources and everyone started the same. And now we just want equal. Exactly. But equity is actually like bringing to attention that no, there's some people who didn't even have that, that's that like head start and they need that push first and foremost. So that's kind of the difference between the two.
Mental Health Stigma in Black Communities
00:10:57
Speaker
And I love you mentioned that the difference between the actual wording because this is my thought on it until that black boy from the South Bronx has the same opportunity to go to medical school, to be entrepreneur, to be a sanitation worker as that kid in Greenwich, Connecticut, which is one of the richest cities in America.
00:11:15
Speaker
Until that happens, there ain't no equity. And obviously, there's no equality, in a sense, in many ways. And so we have to envision that for our futures and really help create the resources in our communities to revolutionize our perception, how the world thinks of us, how we feel about ourselves. And as we mentioned, affirmation, self-affirmation, having a confidence. This is Black History Month. We got to cherish everything we got, but also cherish how much we can do and how much further we need to go.
00:11:43
Speaker
And I always envision this. I always talk about this collaboration. Collaboration. Never share animosity toward the same person who has experienced animosity throughout their life. The generational trauma. All of that, man. Let's rid that, bro. Gotta squash it. Live, love, profit. I love that. I'm here for it. And you posed a really good question about honoring those who came before us.
00:12:08
Speaker
So I think as medical professionals or students, whatever have you, it's so hard to stay the course sometimes. But imagine you had an ancestor that literally this is all they wanted to do and they didn't have an opportunity. I feel like keeping that in mind would be something that pushes me forward. Nobody in my family was really anything medicine centered.
00:12:35
Speaker
My goodness, the impact or just the magnitude of that weight. Like if somebody did and they weren't able to succeed to know that you have that opportunity in 2022, that speaks volumes, you know?
Mental Health Pressures: Chesley Christ Case
00:12:53
Speaker
Right. I agree. And it's, it's like, it's just, it's such a, it's such a balance, right? Because, you know, we talk about, like, in terms of like, we just talked about, you know, honoring our ancestors and trying to get to a place where we can, you know, show that we want to continue pushing forward and
00:13:10
Speaker
you know, continuing their legacy and putting in the work, but you know, you have people, you know, who do that every day in their lives, you know, they're, they're making, they're making achievements, they're putting in the work, they're setting like, new firsts and like setting new boundaries in terms of like, how far we can go, but then it's like,
00:13:29
Speaker
What about like, the space for you to just be able to just like, like be a regular human being and not have to be so superhuman, like, you know, and like, kind of like being the one that has to break all of these like barriers for people. And you know, this kind of comes into tribute of Lawrence Smith Fields who recently committed suicide, a very accomplished black woman. She was Miss USA for I think 2019 was the year that she was crowned Miss USA. She was a lawyer, she had her MBA,
00:13:57
Speaker
She was even like a TV correspondent for Extra. So many accolades and like so many things, you know, that was, oh wait, I think, am I mixing up? I'm so sorry guys.
00:14:14
Speaker
So let me backtrack. Okay, so I guess we're just gonna let's let's go actually to that person who was actually Chelsea crit. Yeah, I think it's Christ. Yeah. So that's what I was talking about. But we'll go back to Lawrence Smith fields.
00:14:29
Speaker
like after this person. But Chelsea Christ, you know, 2019, like I said Miss USA, she was an attorney, she has an MBA, she like did all this like great work for the community, but she still found herself in a position where like it was just too much for like after all of the hard work that she's done and like all the precedents that she set, she was still battling her own inner demons. And I think that's difficult to kind of like do when
00:14:54
Speaker
you know that you have the public eye on you and it's like everyone's kind of watching what you're doing and then you still have to kind of put on this like perfect air and it's just I always find it so sad when like when you have no suspicions that somebody's depressed or like something's going on that all of a sudden they just happen to just like
00:15:10
Speaker
you know, they just commit that's always something that kind of gets me. So I don't know what you guys's thoughts are kind of just like on that happening because that's that's crazy. Yeah, for me, I think trauma in itself is not just a trauma that we like the actual event that happens throughout our lives, but also our reception on our perspective on it. I did some research and one of her cousins apparently told one of the news articles that she was called ancient at the age of 28. And in the world of pageantry, she actually won at a
00:15:40
Speaker
uh age that was significantly older than the average woman you know at the age of 29 and most of these women unfortunately are they experience you know incessant psychiatric issues because they have to uphold a standard at every moment that they can whether it's physically whether the way they communicate whether the way they dress i mean there's things like incessant standing
00:16:01
Speaker
They have to shop for meals, constantly watch their calorie intake. I mean, one of the women that on the research articles I looked at, she said that she spent $500, $5,000 on one event just so she could accessorize herself. And so there's this constant pressure that doesn't necessarily become a narrative that is communicated.
00:16:19
Speaker
And we don't know, obviously, on the back end what really was happening. At the end of the day, she left a note for her mother saying, leave my belongings to her. And then, you know, her last post was, you know, basically, like, everyone rests easy. I mean, basically, everyone finds peace, essentially. And that was very touching. And, you know, I ain't gonna lie, like, I really shed a tear about that because here's a beautiful woman who
00:16:42
Speaker
So everybody celebrated, loved, cherished in so many regards, and I'm not in a pageantry world, but especially for a Black woman, we know that statistics are, you know, very alarming that it pertains to suicide and mental health issues. And so, you know, it really left me speechless, and it convinced me to say, everybody, please find a therapist. Please always ask. It's not enough to ask, how are you? It's always good to ask, how are you mentally?
00:17:06
Speaker
can I help you? This is something that we have to create a narrative in our communities because we pass by each other every day in the hallways, in the residency lounge. Like when I seen that, like today, I was at the Capitol building downtown Atlanta. I saw another brother. I was like, it was good. How are you doing my brother? Like, how are you mentally? Like I see him every day and I literally reinforce that every day intentionally. So the intentionality to protect ourselves and protect our communities and our women and our men is so important and crucial.
00:17:33
Speaker
Yeah, I took it. I can't even front. I took it pretty hard learning about Chesley's passing. I think there are many of us black women, black girls that love the pageantry life, whether we've competed ourselves
00:17:51
Speaker
in the past. Um, and there was just something that year. I don't know if you guys remember 2019 was a rough year. There was a lot going on, a lot of racial injustice, a lot of just civil unrest. And we had three or four black Queens that year.
00:18:12
Speaker
And it was all the whole everything. The entire Miss Universe organization, I think Miss America as well. So that that was huge. And pageant girls are not like Chesley in terms of she was a lawyer. Yeah. So you're not talking about. Yeah, like this isn't somebody that's just
00:18:39
Speaker
Oh, she's just pretty. Starting their life, essentially. Yeah, well, you know, she was established. So she represented a lot for a lot of people.
00:18:50
Speaker
it, what a way to start. I mean, not start Black History Month, but you know, like, it's just, it's sad. And I hope that the conversation of getting our minds right kind of continues. And it's not such a stigma because, I mean, we're going to touch on him in a minute, Regina Kingson, you know, like there's, we're still facing mental health issues
00:19:19
Speaker
at the end of the day. And y'all know here on the lounge, we want to uplift in any way possible. This is health care at the crux of it. So we got to do better at getting our minds right. And rest in peace to Chesley, man.
Perception of Mental Health in Sports
00:19:35
Speaker
Beautiful soul going too soon. So beautiful. Yeah. But yeah, we mentioned, or I mentioned, sorry, Regina Kingston, Ian Alexander, Jr.
00:19:48
Speaker
Another young man who suffered from mental health issues committed suicide on January 19th at the age of 26. I want to say on his birthday or like right around very close to it and yeah.
00:20:04
Speaker
We were talking about, you know, you're our resident mental health specialist, but recent research indicates that blacks and African Americans believe that mild depression or anxiety would be considered, quote unquote, crazy.
00:20:22
Speaker
in their social circles. I want to put a pin in that. Furthermore, many believe that discussions about mental illness would not be appropriate, even among family. So I'm putting a pin in this because my friends and I, I don't know about y'all circles, but we are like, I'm in therapy. I'm going to therapy tomorrow. Like we talk about it and celebrate it at this point. Love it. What about you guys? Yeah. Love it.
00:20:46
Speaker
I think, you know, this is a really important conversation, especially in black men in my personal circle. This is not something that's commonly encountered. I actually have a friend who's had multiple thoughts of suicidal ideations and wanted to commit suicide. But we always urge them to go to therapy. He's like, yo, you think I'm crazy? Like, yo, I'm not going to know therapy like that.
00:21:06
Speaker
Some sucker, you know what I'm saying? And this is a commonality where, and then this gets reinforced because there's another one of my boys that they're always in the same environment. They're always like urging each other, egging each other on like, oh yeah, he the ops. Like they always say this about everybody else because we don't agree with the things that they be doing.
00:21:30
Speaker
You know, you've dealt with physical abuse, like you've never like been loved in many ways. You have to start working at a very young age, you know, and then was in the streets and all that kind of stuff. And so I feel like I urge black men, like in this space, like we got to, you know, find a way to organize and strategize toward
00:21:49
Speaker
creating peace in our own personal lives. And there's nothing to say, there's nothing wrong to say, I love you bro. There's nothing wrong to say, I'm emotional today. I don't feel well. There's nothing wrong to say, I need to see somebody. I need someone to help alleviate some of the stresses in my life. And there's studies that have shown that suicide rates for black boys have increased from the year 2003 to 2017 incrementally.
00:22:12
Speaker
And the crazy thing about it is that, especially Regina King's son, you go on his Twitter, his last Twitter post, it said, I don't think IG is healthy for me. And then prior to that, he had a post of a SpongeBob, like his apartment, something like that, was on fire. And it was like, this is how I feel when I think about things. This is where my mind is at, you know?
00:22:31
Speaker
So it's like a lot of these kind of cryptic things that were going on. And then you look throughout the years, you see the beautiful photos. Like Regina King was like, my son is everything. When she won her award in 2015, like my most important accomplishment was my son. Like her only son. And that's the thing. Like I feel for this. Her only child. Only child. Great. And I'm only child too for my mother. You know, she went through divorce. My mom went through divorce. And so I can't even imagine like what she's dealing with. And so.
00:23:01
Speaker
Black man, I urge you to help the National Suicid The number is 1 800-273-8255. So if y'all need help, if you feel like you want to commit suicide, please reach out to somebody and don't be afraid that you'll be antagonized. You'll be supported, uplifted. We also have therapyforblackman.org as well, which is a new website that has countless therapists on it that you could sign up for and reach out to and allow them to do free consultations.
00:23:28
Speaker
Thanks for that. Sounds good. Thanks so much to our resident neuropsychiatrist, the one and only. I appreciate that. Of course, as we mentioned, Ian Alexander Jr., we have to talk about Antonio Brown. Now, why am I feeling deja vu about Antonio Brown? Did we mention CTE with him in a prior episode or was that a different- We did. We mentioned him with CTE.
00:23:52
Speaker
And he said, essentially, and Tony Brown was being offered 200 K to go to the crazy house. And again, here's this narrative that going to a mental institution is associated with being crazy. No, going to an institution means that you're seeking help, that you're seeking
00:24:07
Speaker
some form of evolution in your livelihood, something to better your situation. And it's all about mind, body, and soul. And they're all connected. If your mind is not right, then your body's not going to be right. Your soul's not going to be right. And that's going to affect your behavior toward yourself and behavior toward others. And so we need to de-stigmatize what crazy means. Being crazy should not even be a word in the dictionary, in the community, at least how I feel.
00:24:31
Speaker
Same thing when I'm kind of sad today, or I feel like I want to hurt somebody. Those things, even though I hope nobody feels that way, those are the two minds that can happen. But they're real feelings. I think you just said something really profound to me. So we have the word crazy, but whenever we feel like actually emoting or being vocal about our emotions, it's like,
00:24:53
Speaker
Let me replace this word with something like, maybe crazy. I don't know. Cause I know when I feel my emotions are all over the place. I say, I feel crazy today. That's the text message that I send to my girl. It's never, I feel like it's never actually pinpointing what I feel. I'm trying to be more intentional about that. And I, cause I feel like that helps.
00:25:18
Speaker
get through whatever the feeling is quicker than just saying crazy. So I'm 100. Yep, exactly. I'm guilty with that too as well. I mean, sometimes we just get accustomed to communicating in a certain way, but I think if we are acknowledging it and being mindful of the way that we present our information, present ourselves to the world, then we could change a lot of the disparity, especially as it pertains to mental health.
00:25:44
Speaker
It's not crazy. It's just I have a mental illness. Now it's a matter of how do I deal with it? And there's nothing wrong with having mental illness. We also- And I think like we just need to normalize kind of like the same way that we go to a doctor like when our heart feels weird or like breathing is like off like
00:25:59
Speaker
we see somebody to, you know, check it out. But for some reason, when our heads just aren't in the right place, we just kind of like think it's just something we can just kind of solve on our own. And I, I wonder why that is like, I wonder why, when it's your mind, like, it's just so different than say, if it's like some other part of your body, is it because like, your mind is almost who you are. And it's almost like a failing of you who you are, if that's not okay, you know, like, and I think that's,
00:26:25
Speaker
that's the part that makes people like afraid to like seek help or like to say and pinpoint what it is which could be whatever depression mental health issues or you know whatever word you want to use. I think it's just the fact that like the way we associate our minds almost like it's it's who we are you know and I think once we start kind of like
00:26:46
Speaker
realizing that like every other part of your body needs to be checked from head to toe like
Discrimination in Medical Records
00:26:50
Speaker
you got to make sure everything's functioning your head has to be fun and sometimes you just it's not functioning because you're working crazy hours or whatever job you have where like something is like yeah like you haven't gotten enough sleep or like you're having family issues like it could be any multiple things or maybe some people just have a genetic predisposition to depression a clinical depression like there's so many
00:27:09
Speaker
reasons for it. And so I think we just need to change the narrative. We just need to like normalize it and that's will be like a step in the right direction. And it's crazy you say that because my health policy internship that I'm doing this month actually today I was at the again capital building we were actually trying to pass a bill that basically states that the same way that you get reimbursement or payment for
00:27:31
Speaker
diseases like treating cr diabetes, hypertension, t should be screaming for d and normalizing that treat there's a difference in t you don't even realize an people less likely to go it's like it's like now I g pay more money for this c
00:27:52
Speaker
So even that rhetoric at the political level is already manifesting on the individualized level of net. We got to be able to say, hey, I need help. Like I don't need to have to pay two, $300 if I don't need to, you know what I mean? Like I make it reasonable, essentially. So everybody has access.
00:28:09
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's it's it's like it's
Lauren Smith Fields Case and Racial Bias
00:28:12
Speaker
weird. I've just been feeling and that's maybe too cryptic for me to say what I've just been feeling like the spirit of just like death just like with all the this news and it really makes me want to kind of like check out and just like remove myself a little bit from what's going on in the society because you know, sometimes I feel like things like that could kind of like it kind of like
00:28:30
Speaker
you feel, you know, like you feel that like heaviness of like, what's going on in society. And like, you know, we talked about Chesley Christ, we talked about, you know, Ian Alexander, and what about Lauren Smith Fields, who I kind of mentioned got the names mixed up, that was my bad, but you know, she is a woman who
00:28:50
Speaker
was found dead in her apartment after going on some bumble date with a guy who was like a couple years her senior, I think he was like 37. And she was found dead from what seems like it was a drug overdose, I think they said there was some fentanyl involved, alcohol,
00:29:06
Speaker
you know, some other hard drugs. But it's just the fact of the delay in her case, with like them actually trying to figure out what happened to her because apparently the mom came to the house and was like trying to get detectives on the case that detectives were moving slow or they weren't really like collecting the necessary evidence. I just wonder like, why is there all this delay when it comes to a black woman's life? You know, that's that's just like not there. And like, why is it safe? It was a white woman we've had,
00:29:33
Speaker
We've talked about even our previous podcast episodes of white women who were found dead. I think some women by the name of Ms. Petito or something like that. Gabby Petito, yes. We talked about these women and how their case seemed to go by water. It just flowed. Was it a missing white woman syndrome or something like that?
00:29:54
Speaker
I don't know what it is. And you know what? I'm not trying to minimize anybody's death. Death is death, and it's horrible. But it's just the fact that when it comes to now, black women, it's like, why are we not as important? And that's why you have all these missing black people who we don't hear about for years, and they just stay missing compared to what... It's all this...
00:30:19
Speaker
domino effect of like things just being nonchalant when it comes to our lives. And I just think we need to like, we need to change something. I don't know what is left to do to figure this situation out, but I don't know what you guys' thoughts on the story. Because I felt kind of like, I don't know if I could say I was necessarily surprised after hearing about things like Brianna Taylor and just people whose lives have just been thrown, like seen as garbage. Like, I just don't know if I was surprised, but it's definitely disappointing to see that we're still continuing this like, this charade of, you know, not caring.
00:30:49
Speaker
We know why they don't care. We know why. We've seen every Breonna Taylor. We see with Sandra Bland. They don't care. It's the structure of supremacy, the lack of perception and awareness of why Black women lives matter, just as much as anyone's lives matters.
Systemic Racism in Healthcare Leadership
00:31:05
Speaker
Especially to me, they matter even more than anybody else. But at the end of the day, it took them two days.
00:31:11
Speaker
Yeah. Her mother had to literally go to her daughter's apartment and they left a note saying, hey, like we've conducted an investigation here. Call us at this number, like one, two days after the fact that she died. And then the family contacts the detectives. And the response is when the mother asks, hey, so why you didn't let us know, like, what's going on? Because he seemed nice. You guys didn't need to find out. Like, huh? What kind of response do you have? He was a nice guy. He seemed nice.
00:31:41
Speaker
but like there's just something that's just like really fishy about that, right? And one of the, there was two detectives on the case, one of the detectives, he just retired last Friday. The other detective is currently suspended by the mayor of Bridgeport for mishandling of the actual investigation. You know what I mean at the end of the day.
00:31:58
Speaker
Now, not to place blame, you know, like, people, they could deal with whoever they want. But if you find one person living and another person that there is, should be suspicion, there's drugs involved. There was a common human involved. Like, there should be some type of suspicion or awareness of what's going on. Like, yo, like, we need to do investigation. We need to figure out, like, if he could have brought the bag of fentanyl, whatever, and then help the overdose. That's still a criminal charge at the end of the day.
00:32:25
Speaker
You know, it's not a legal drug to be using regardless. So minimum something either be placed down on this man And I just feel sorry for the family at the end of the day Like I'm sorry like if that was my daughter like I would have to I would have to take a body son Like there's no there's no there's no repercussion for this man. He walking around smiling living his life He still got him as an engineer making his bags where we we lost one of our beautiful black woman Like we need to stand up for this. This is ridiculous, bro
00:32:55
Speaker
What did he do like I just I think I'm missing the part where like this man was like trying to actively reach out to Family for this girl. Like did he do did he reach out at all? Like I'm just confused because it seems like he found her dead
00:33:28
Speaker
minimum way, right? You can have sex with her, right? You can drink and party with her. But like reaching out to the family about their dead daughters too much of an ask. I'm just, I'm sorry. Here we are. It's sad, but are we surprised?
00:33:39
Speaker
to reach out.
Impact of Black Doctors on Healthcare
00:33:44
Speaker
Like how many stories have we heard similar? I mean, it sucks.
00:33:50
Speaker
But are we surprised that none of this ever, I see it and it's, I don't know if I live in a perpetual state of jadedness at this point. It could very well be, but the amount of stories we've shared like this in the last two years, y'all.
00:34:09
Speaker
are we surprised too many that's why like I'm recalling stories we've talked about in previous episodes like that's how recent these events have been like it's crazy you know and yeah it's crazy but you know with Lauren Smith fields and her death it's like it's sad because situations like this in terms of just disregard for black life even trickles down to the health systems um
00:34:30
Speaker
setting. And this has to do with a study that was recently or kind of just yeah, a study that was actually recently underwent from the timing of during like COVID-19 from January to October 1 2020. And they pretty much just found out in the study like
00:34:47
Speaker
how black patients tend to have more negative patient descriptors and racism in their medical records compared to their white counterparts, right? So in terms of like using words like a patient is non-adherent or aggressive or agitated, like these are things that were more likely to be associated with a black patient's
00:35:06
Speaker
medical history than a white patient. And I think this, you know, I'm sure we all have our thoughts on this. But I think, of course, this trickles down to systemic racism, historical racism, medical racism, all the types of racisms that you can think of, it's it all still functions within our society. And the sad part, and not to say that this is like the part that's like going to solve all types of racism, or especially medical racism, it's just the fact that like,
00:35:31
Speaker
it's filled you when you have just a physician workforce, that's constantly like just, inunduated with like just white physicians and work, but then still having to treat majority black patients, all of their biases and all of their, you know, like, their rate, I'll say their racism will then boil down and affect their patient. And I think that like the fact that we haven't solved this
00:35:56
Speaker
this gap when it comes to physicians who are minorities, who then can treat other minorities and help to kind of minimize that gap, we're still in this crappy position. So I don't know, what are you guys' thoughts on this situation? I think it's not to take us as medical professionals being in places of power to be able to train these physicians and get them to see
00:36:22
Speaker
see it from our lens, if you will, you know, like if every program director is a white male or white female and that, you know, they their patient population may very well be more more African-American, but the experience is different. Remember, we talked about there was a study or something, maybe a survey. I remember seeing like a YouTube clip of it where they asked residents about black people's pain tolerance.
Debate on Black Love in Media and Life
00:36:52
Speaker
And they all were like, oh, yeah, black people, they they can tolerate more pain for whatever the reason was. And then I think it had to do with like the the drug epidemic, like the narcotics epidemic, epidemic, et cetera. And like sickle cell patients and how they're treated for pain. They think that our bodies function differently. Like we're built for pain. So I think all that to say, because I'm meandering.
00:37:20
Speaker
It takes us being in positions of power to where we can actually teach and have these conversations. Because if they don't hear it, they may never even think about it. And these biases that they have will perpetuate. We need more of us in leadership, point blank period.
00:37:37
Speaker
that's
00:37:58
Speaker
I mean, we look at the countless issues where they've experimented with black bodies and have accepted that as a standard in medicine. And so this has kind of perpetuated through time. And just like anything else, when we talk about trauma, which is a different issue, it evolves in a different way. And I think in this instance, it's evolved in the way that we're perceived by our medical physicians and providers.
00:38:18
Speaker
And it's the actual study was crazy, like alarming statistic that I was like, wow, it's crazy. But I believe so. I mean, it makes sense. But it said blacks had 2.54 times the odds of having negative descriptors than whites. And some of these descriptors meant non-compliant.
00:38:35
Speaker
was very aggressive, rude, argumentative. And how does that affect the actual patient care at the individualized level? When they see a black man, for instance, who comes in with a do-rag and they come from an enriched area, you know what I'm saying, and Calabasas or Malibu, something like that.
00:38:50
Speaker
how will they interact with that patient? And that's why we have to be, as Erica said, in these places and be a source of inspiration and encouragement for our own people so that we know we can relate to them, we can connect with them, we can treat them in a way and the perspective that we understand where they're coming from as opposed to someone else that comes out of communion. It's like, oh yeah, this man, let's just do whatever. Oh, you have diabetes. Okay, well,
00:39:14
Speaker
I don't know what to tell you. It gave you this man's top on your merry way. We understand the environmental impact. We understand what medicine has constituted and led us to this place. And so I think we just have to bring that broader awareness. And the issue, again, stems from the lack of us being represented. We only make a 5%. We got to get up to 13%. So med schools, y'all got to catch up and stop playing these games. There's a lot of black med students.
00:39:38
Speaker
Bring the numbers up. Yep. And I mean, it's sad that we're ending run the list on this note, because like, I feel like it's supposed to be a month of love and everything. But we're getting to that, right? I mean, we're getting to that with Erica. She's gonna come with it soon enough. This guy is singing.
Challenges of Black Love for Professional Women
00:39:54
Speaker
But that was missing. Okay. Okay.
00:40:04
Speaker
The next Frank Sinatra. Thank you so much. I can't wait to AMEC. I'm going to showcase that voice off. Thank you. I appreciate the encouragement. Got you. Okay.
00:40:23
Speaker
Well, anyway, that was it for Run the List to all our listeners, so we hope you guys enjoyed. Be sure to reach out to us at podcastatsnma.org if you have any questions or you want anything featured on the podcast. But thanks so much, and we will see you guys in the next segment. Black love. All right, y'all, so as we enter February,
00:40:48
Speaker
Love is in the air, I guess. Is that because of Valentine's Day? Anyway, okay. And we're all, well, y'all know, love is in the air all the time with us here on the podcast, but we're all about black love, obviously. Right? Yes. 100%. We are. We are. We're trying. We're trying to maintain. So.
00:41:17
Speaker
What is black love? I want to have this discussion with you guys. And then we go, we go. Okay. I'll give you, I know all of them is going to come with something today. So what is black? And then how many, this is a good question. How many positive role models do you see for black love, whether it be in personal life or in the media? So let's do those two questions first.
00:41:42
Speaker
I'll let, let's let, let's let the gentlemen go first. So what's black love to you all? Thank you very much. Such a gentle woman.
00:41:58
Speaker
I'm glad Erica said go first because I was ready to, you know. It's better this way. It's better this way. So that way I have a direct answer to whatever Alden says. So I'm very grateful for you. Honestly, I'm trying to drag people, but honestly, no, honestly,
00:42:20
Speaker
Like, for me, you know, I've always embraced black love. Again, I believe that I'm going to have a black woman. Like, I will marry a black woman. I will have a black son and black daughter in the future. And I think black love is a representation of what we need the most in our community because we've been in such disconnected spaces and there's so much tension that's been built.
00:42:40
Speaker
based off of the infrastructure of white supremacy, institutionalized racism, stereotype, and the like. And so we got to continue to empower each other and create these conversations and dialogue where it's between us as men and the woman and understanding each other's psyche, understanding each other's grievances, understanding why we don't necessarily
00:43:03
Speaker
connect in many ways, but we do connect in many ways and celebrating the similarities that we have. To me, black love is the greatest thing that you can find. I mean, you see Barack Obama and, you know, Michelle Obama, you see Jay-Z and Beyonce. I mean, these are the people that often are spotlighted, but I think we don't spotlight it enough at the end of the day. We spotlight people twerking. We spotlight cars, jewelry, people using the B word.
00:43:27
Speaker
I mean, we look back at the 1990s, 1980s, it was nothing but love. You know, see Lionel Richie, you know, like doing his thing with the Jerry Girls. That's one of my man's, man. My mom used to play him on Sundays, you feel me? I should be jamming. Like, hello? Is it me you're looking for?
00:43:44
Speaker
Oh, okay. That's, you know, bringing it back to them days. But now it's just like, it's just so much animosity toward each other, animosity toward the opposite gender. And to me, Black Love resembles being able to recreate that connection that we once had and that we lost. Look at R&B, like, who's a top R&B artist right now? Like, ain't no love making songs no more. I was just saying that today.
00:44:05
Speaker
Oh, that's real. You know what I'm saying? But black love is there. You just gotta be able to find it. And even social media is not what is reality at the same time. So I will say this, I love black women, cherish black women, I support black women, I protect black women, and I will forever be connected to black women. You know what I mean? So shout out to y'all.
00:44:25
Speaker
Thank you. What a beautiful, beautiful start. It's unfortunate that I'm going to have to take it down.
00:44:37
Speaker
You know, when I think of black love, I think fantasy. Ouch. And you know what? There was a moment of my life, Aldwyn, where I really believe that black love is like something that is just so achievable and it's just so common and it's just waiting for me hand and foot. That's a lie. It's a lie. And you know why? Why do you lie?
00:45:04
Speaker
Because I'm a black woman in medicine and already I've decided that my life is going to be based on getting through a program where there's going to be very little black men that I'll probably be able to interact with outside of like, say, you know, in a work setting or even just time after like a work because the training is so long and
00:45:26
Speaker
And you know, like medical school plus residency, like that's, those are isolating times, especially when you really have to put in all those hours for it. So the likelihood that you're just gonna have, like find your knight in shining armor, knight in your, or woman, or your like damsel in distress, like within that, those periods of time is on the lower side. And so that's why it's become more common that you see black women sometimes, you know, dating outside of their race.
00:45:55
Speaker
vice versa for black men if you look at the black men right now who are in your field aldwin most of them are not dating people who look like me right now he's with a black woman but that's your friends that's
00:46:16
Speaker
Let it be known. Hold up. I knew all was gonna say cap in this conversation. Your friends are not the best. They're not they're not the they're not the focus group. You can't use them as the as the proxy for what I'm saying. Numbers wise, I want you to look at the 90% of black men are with a black woman. I want to check this.
00:46:43
Speaker
Where's the statistic? Erika, you got a fact check.
Relationships Dynamics in Medical School
00:46:48
Speaker
I mean, I'm okay. If that's the case, great. Even if it's not the case, I'm great. I don't love his love. Because it's like, it's media that try to like, media creates this perception that you see all these celebrities, for instance, like the NBA and all that, like you, every one of them, it looks like they're all with other women, white women, Asian women in the case, maybe
00:47:07
Speaker
But that is a small percentage of what is the reality, right? And obviously I'm using anecdotal evidence, but I'm also using statistical evidence to say that I truly believe and know that there are Black men that mostly, preferentially date and marry Black woman. And that's very nice.
00:47:23
Speaker
You can have all the preferences you want, but the reality is what are the numbers showing? What are the results? The results are that either black men are probably dating, and let's just, and let me just, let me preface this by saying this.
00:47:38
Speaker
But you're one person out of, let's, let's find, let's, let's use, let's use, let's use. Yo, this is right. Black men don't get with black women. Like, yo, no, like there's black women out here. It's like, oh yeah. Let's talk about.
00:48:00
Speaker
Hold on, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. No, no, no, no, no. Flag on the play. This is black. We're talking about black love. This is, this is the love, the month of love. Y'all are not about to be on here fighting back and forth. No, no, no, listen. This is all love. This is all black love. This is all in good faith. Yeah. We're not. We're not. My God.
00:48:23
Speaker
Yeah, I'll say this right. I think that black love is loved like is cherished more by black women than black men. I feel like black women hold on to that concept of black love better than black men do. And then if I and it puts us it puts us in positions where black women stay single.
00:48:40
Speaker
for long periods of time because they're waiting for this like thing to happen. And black men just they don't care. They're just whatever comes, whether it's you know, like an Asian white woman, whatever, as long as she like has the qualities that he needs in a spouse, he's not really looking at race anymore. And I feel like black women will actually like
00:48:58
Speaker
say no, I do not want to date outside of my race specifically because they're looking for black love. And then they sit here single for like longer than they need to be. And I think that's why I'm saying that I think black love can be a fantasy if you allow it to like remove all your other options. And like now you're, you're stuck on this dream. Like, that's me trying to be realistic.
00:49:19
Speaker
There are a lot of black men out like what is a prince charming or a king to a black woman that's in the professional space? Number one. Number two, there are plenty of black men that are out there. I think another thing is taking initiative to be in places you can't just sit at home and study all day and think you don't meet your king or queen. And same goes for men. You can't be inside when everybody's outside and not literally like being at a party or whatever. But conferences, going to virtual webinars, going to art
00:49:46
Speaker
going to AMET, even if you can't attend in person, like being able to connect to people in these spaces is just as critically important as much as it is to know your physiology or know that cholecystitis causes bilirubin, elevated bilirubin, whatever the case may be, right? So we got to invest in having a relationship as well as we invest in our own personal lives in terms of getting all these accomplishments and accolades. And I think oftentimes people, they be, they complacent honestly, like it's like,
00:50:12
Speaker
get the degree, like even for myself, as opposed to like developing these personal connections that even outside of relationships, like people that could help me build my business, you know, get all of these networks, like get all of this podcast and stuff going on. You feel me? So that's how I feel about that in particular. That was a healthy debate. I appreciate the perspectives. So I'm a, I'm a
00:50:35
Speaker
Yeah, I'm gonna give you all my perspective. I posted this last year on Instagram for Black History Month. Show proof boom is right here. This is an original. So, and this is how I feel about black love. So black is not considered a color as it absorbs all the colors of the visible spectrum and reflects none of them to the eyes. Black is beauty, complexity, strength,
00:51:04
Speaker
Glory. It is history, the present, and the future. It's a vibe. That's how I feel about black love. I love that. That's beautiful. That's a great way to end that question. Because I'm not going to be on my soapbox the whole time. Now we got to end it at some point. But this, you guys, you got all three perspectives. See, Erica has to end on the lighthearted. You know, Alden has his dreams and I have reality. It's great.
00:51:31
Speaker
Now we need to talk about dating in school, right? Right. Dreams come into reality. Okay. You saw all of us hurt when I said that. That's why I said it. Yes, I did. I can't with y'all. Listen though. Come on.
00:51:54
Speaker
Are we gathered? Because it's the love episode right now. You're right. How do you find love and or keep the love alive while juggling medical school? I could speak on that. Please do. Y'all want to go first? I want to hear. I think it takes somebody that understands
00:52:19
Speaker
at that, like they have to have a life of their own, right? They have to have something that they are working towards because we're too preoccupied to just be present at all times. But I think it takes somebody that understands your desires, your dreams, your passions and respects them.
00:52:43
Speaker
above everything because people can say, Oh yeah, I know. Oh yeah, I'm dating someone. So he knows I'm in medical school, but does he respect
Respect in Relationships During Medical School
00:52:51
Speaker
it? Because respecting that looks completely different than just knowing respecting it is okay. She has these hours, X amount of hours that are dedicated to study. I'm not going to be on her phone being the temptation because you know, sometimes we can succumb to the temptation, whether
00:53:10
Speaker
whether we think it's best or not. But I think it takes somebody that truly understands and respects your grind. And they have to have their own. Period. If they don't, they'll be all up in your Kool-Aid, mixing up your flavor. Texting you out during business hours. Oh, no. That's not cute. You won't know whether you're coming or going. So that's my perspective.
00:53:38
Speaker
Hope it helps. So I think we ended on a great note, unless Izzy, you've got something else to say. You know, I think I've said enough. I think I'm a bear. I was trying not to bring a gray cloud onto this Valentine's Day month, but I couldn't let my sisters down who was listening to this. We have to be released, guys. It's time. It's time for us to remove the shackles. She's the shackles.
00:54:07
Speaker
Ain't no shackles over here, everybody free, and predetermined to live a life they choose. Dreams become reality, period. Period. My dream is black love, but am I going to die before it happens? No, I will not. I'm dying for black love, so there ain't nothing about that. That's how I feel. I die and stay on that.
Improving Credit Scores: Strategic Advice
00:54:28
Speaker
So you feel how you feel. I respect it. But at the end of the day, we love and cherish each other. And that's what matters at the end of the day. We can still cultivate our communities in one shape or form. And I appreciate you, Izzy, doing your thing. I appreciate you, OG. I agree to disagree. We always do. And it's still fine. It's still OK. Right. Well, we didn't do this time around. We didn't do the draft.
00:54:54
Speaker
Remember we did the draft last year? We did the draft for Valentine's Day.
00:55:02
Speaker
Y'all remember what I'm talking about? It was like the dating draft, like between these months and these months, that's when you got your starting line up and dating. Yeah, we didn't do that this year. I feel like we gave announcements every episode where we were at prior to Valentine's Day, so we got a draft in the playoffs right now. That's the fact.
00:55:27
Speaker
Oh, she said undrafted. That's just what it is. Yeah. You're drafted by us. We love you. Aw, that's so sweet. Thank you guys. You all star. That's it. You all star in all my books. Well, this is great. I appreciated this space for us to talk about black love. And now we can talk about money, money, money, money, money.
00:55:53
Speaker
financial corner, the corner, corner, we out here. We gotta get a theme song, bro, all up. We gotta get a theme song. I'm done.
00:56:05
Speaker
Just as much as we are trying to promote black love, you must also promote self-love and love of your finances. And this is what the Financial Corner provides
Managing Credit for Financial Stability
00:56:14
Speaker
to you. Today, we'll be talking about how to improve your credit. Because credit is the gateway to other opportunities, whether it's buying a home, getting a new car, whether it's building business credit so that you can open your own practice, or building the opportunity for the future for your loved ones, for your children.
00:56:33
Speaker
So one of the first things people ask is like, my credit is bad. Like what is one of the things, how can I improve my credit? Well, one of the first things you could do is pay your credit card balances strategically. So most people that have credit cards, the most strategic people that have credit cards, they use less than 30% of the limit on their card. So for instance, if you got a $2,000 card, you want to ensure that at any given point, you don't have any more
00:56:57
Speaker
then $700 that you gotta pay back on that credit card. And most of the highest scorers that use credit cards, they have less than 10 at 7%. And another thing is, when you got a credit card, if you use your credit card to purchase any items, please, please, please, within that actual month,
00:57:14
Speaker
pay it back. So if you got a $700 TV that you bought, if you can't afford it, do not use your credit card on it. Because we get into this, we try to glorify things like, oh yeah, I need this new, this accessory, this new, this and that, these new Gucci belts, these, ah, you know what I mean? But at the end of the day, is it worth it? Because you want to create assets over liabilities and creating a liability is going to ensure that you stay impoverished. So please, please, please.
00:57:40
Speaker
If you have a credit card, keep your balance to less than 30%, and that will create more opportunities for you in the future. Another thing, pay your bills on time. See, what I do is I automatically authorize my bills. I have them, for instance, I know every month, my AT&T bill for my internet is $60.60. My mortgage is
00:58:00
Speaker
you know, over $1,500, whatever the case may be, but it's authorized on February 1st, you know what I mean? And also my light bill as well. Because it just keeps it simple, especially we as med students, we're always busy, always studying. So it's easy to get lost in nuances. And once if you lose that ability to pay that payment within 30 days, then
00:58:19
Speaker
A lot of these people, they go in a collection. Sometimes it takes even longer. Sometimes they give you like a little lead way or whatever the case may be. But that could drop you. Like that happened to me three, four years ago, where I forgot that I had a bill that was like three months, four months, and it dropped my credit score by 100. You know what I mean? And there's no way to really predict.
00:58:50
Speaker
like your credit score.
00:58:53
Speaker
I have this app that I use. It's called Experian. And for me, I pay monthly. It's what it is. It's $26 a month. But I could check my credit score at any point in difference. I could log in right now and look at my credit score and look at anybody if they want to send for collections. And I had a collection
00:59:08
Speaker
for a federal loan from Rutgers. You know what I'm saying? Shout out to Rutgers, but not so much shout out to Rutgers because they try to, you know, curve me on that. And I was, I typed in, I was like, yo, I'm disputing this because I'm in school. Like I can't pay these loans. And they were like, you owe this man and such amount. Like, please check your credit history because people will go after you.
00:59:26
Speaker
and not even acknowledge the situation you went. There's sometimes ways that things just get through. Although you may be in deferment or forbearance or whatever the case may be, please check your credit report and look through it one by one. So I advise people, get an app where you could look at your credit score monthly. Because it could shift from month to month. Literally, one error could shift your credit score by 30, 40 points. And I told you, it happened to me. One by 100 points, I lost. You know what I'm saying? You're right.
00:59:55
Speaker
And then another thing is you could actually get and improve your credit score based off of increasing your using your rent and utility payments. So you could even Netflix, you could use things like Hulu, you could use your actual mortgage payments that you're paying on a monthly basis to increase your credit score, which is one of the most beautiful things. And some of these credit scoring agencies don't utilize and there's actually over 100 credit scoring agencies that are out there.
01:00:19
Speaker
So the most typical, you know, our trans union experience and the like. So I think one of the things you can do is, you know, be able to utilize, you know, your rent, utility payments and add that to your credit because it's obviously building a sense of this guy or this woman is able to pay on time and is very responsible. And that's what credit is a representation of what you do. And then last, please, please, please.
01:00:43
Speaker
add to your credit mix. You know, you want to have different accounts, right? So sometimes it's cool, have one credit card, but sometimes have another credit card that you can use because it's like you're building credit in a different area. So you might have a credit card for Macy's. You might have a credit card for Bank of America. So every time you go to Macy's, use that Macy's card only when you win Macy's. Use that credit card for Best Buy only when you're in Best Buy and make sure that you pay it down as soon as possible. And I mean, within that same month, and that will improve your credit score. So more credit,
01:01:13
Speaker
more opportunities, more opportunities, more money. And we out here trying to get the back. So if you with the back on the financial corner. We're in the corner. I actually love this because like I was really thinking about because I had to pay bills today. It is the first of the month, you know? So and like, you know, I have a credit card. And so like I've just been trying to be modest with that. But I definitely like hear what you're saying once we're like keeping it low because I don't like to use like the max on my credit card. It just makes me feel like that's just a lot of stuff to pay back. Yeah. So like
01:01:43
Speaker
I think this is really, yeah, interest grows, all that stuff. So like, yeah, I think this is really applicable to like a lot of us, because like, a lot of us probably have like a credit card or so, but like, you want to still be mindful, like, you know, we're also most of us like using just loans right now to like pay for majority of things. So like, this is money that has to be paid back eventually. So it's a good reminder, like, you know, for us to be mindful of like all the ways that our money is kind of being, you know, sorted out so we don't end up
01:02:08
Speaker
Being in more debt that we need to because we already are in a lot of debt, you know being in this field So yeah, I appreciated that our financial corner export expert slash resident neuropsych You have too many hats although you got to give me one of those hats You know when she comes over to
01:02:42
Speaker
All right, guys, well, that is our show. Thanks so much for joining us for this episode of The Lounge. Let us know your thoughts about the discussion we had today or ask us a question for a chance to be featured on consoles by emailing us at podcast at SNMA.org.
01:03:03
Speaker
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01:03:25
Speaker
Alright, we done? Oh, are we done or are we finished? I'mma holla at ya, I love ya.