200. Multi-Generational Reflections: What Would You Tell Your 20-Something Self Today?
Girl, Take the Lead!November 15, 2024x
200
00:33:0130.24 MB

200. Multi-Generational Reflections: What Would You Tell Your 20-Something Self Today?

We've hit a milestone, 200 episodes, and we're doing something special - this episode is a compilation of 17 different voices from different generations who answered the question: What would you tell your 20 something self today? The answers are amazing!!

When considering this question as your host, I see some of my own optimism and naiveté during those years. As a warning my comments speak to Roe v Wade which greatly impacted my 20s and I wanted to speak about that. So if abortion rights are a trigger for you, you may want to skip this episode.


Generational Voices & Episode Links:

GenZ 

Hannah

Ep. 161, Balancing Act: GenZ Insights on Work and Life with Hannah MacDonald-Dennecker

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/HZnRmQ2vwOb

 

Millennial 

Dom & Julie Anne

Ep. 157, Mothers’ Day Movement 2024: Supporting African Education Program

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/Z2IqqR2vwOb

 

 

Julie Bee

Ep. 173, Conquering Burnout: From Recognition to Recovery – Meet Author, Julie Bee

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/M3NK5fRvwOb

 

 

Chrissy

Ep 192, The Ladyshark Mindset: Abundance, Bravery & Courage w Crissy Grigoropoulos, Esq.

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/i2OR4AFvwOb

 

Gen X

 

Melissa

Ep. 176, Mind Your Own Karma: Melissa Brunetti on Somatic Mindful Guided Imagery and Healing

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/U8WfffRvwOb

 

 

Claire

Ep. 165, Global Impact & Leadership: ReSurge International’s Mission with Claire Lachance

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/Fcx1eP2vwOb

 

 

Anne

Ep 178, Self-Care in Times of Change: Anne Shoemaker’s Advice on Letting Go of Control

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/bEPCGeRvwOb

 

 

Suparna

Ep. 169, Suparna Vashisht: Creating Pathways to Sustainability, Conservation, Gender Equality and Mental Wellbeing

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/KMJTaO2vwOb

 

Janine & Andrea

Ep. 196, Avatar-Led Learning: Revolutionizing Emotional Intelligence Training by Innovating Difficult Conversations

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/ljm4UzFvwOb

 

 

Kim

Ep. 185, Leadership w Heart: Kim Dechaine on Intuition, Self-Awareness, & Mental Wellness

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/biYLtSOvwOb

 

Boomers

 

Paula

Ep. 184, The Sacred Journey to Authentic Leadership & Gender Equity with Paula Stone Williams

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/UHEHjbRvwOb

 

 

Lida

Ep 187, Redefining Influence: Lida Citroën's New Rules for REAL Leadership

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/epVLpCFvwOb

 

 

GenZ/Millennial/Boomer

 

Kiki, Em & Yo

Ep. 172, Brandy Melville to Facebook: Cultish Traits in Pop Culture – Insights from Cultish by Amanda Montell

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/d70vmgRvwOb

 

How to reach Yo Canny: 

 

Our website:

www.girltaketheleadpod.com 

You can send a message or voicemail there. We’d love to hear from you!

 

email:

yo@yocanny.com (Yo)

 

FB group: Girl, Take the Lead

https://www.facebook.com/groups/272025931481748/?ref=share

 

IG:

yocanny (Yo)

 

YouTube

 

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yocanny/

 

[00:00:08] Welcome to episode 200 of Girl, Take the Lead, where each week we explore womanhood and leadership. And I'm your host, Yolanda Canny.

[00:00:16] Well, it's a milestone to hit 200 episodes. Wait, let me toot my own horn. And my daughter, Kiki, said I should do something special. So here it goes.

[00:00:31] At the end of my episodes this year, I've asked our guests, what would they tell their 20-something self today?

[00:00:39] And I have loved so many of their answers. I put some of them together for you. You'll hear their amazing voices and I'll have links to their episodes in the show notes.

[00:00:52] So shout out to these guests, Gen Zers, Hannah McDonald and my daughter, Kiki. Millennials from Mother's Day Movement, Dom and Julianne, and Julie B, Chrissy and my daughter, Emma.

[00:01:07] Gen Xers, Melissa, Claire, Ann, Suparna, Janine, and my sis, Andrea. Boomers, Paula, Lita, and me.

[00:01:20] When I was answering the question, my view of speaking to myself at 20 reveals some of the optimism and naivete I had at the time.

[00:01:30] As a warning, my comments today speak to Roe v. Wade, which greatly impacted my 20s.

[00:01:37] And I wanted to speak about that.

[00:01:40] So if abortion rights are a trigger for you, you may want to skip this episode.

[00:01:49] Thank you for being here.

[00:01:51] I wish I could thank each and every one of you because without you, there wouldn't be 200 episodes or more than 20,000 downloads.

[00:02:01] If you went to my heartfelt card and gift store, I'd send each and every one of you the cheers card that says, you made it look so easy.

[00:02:13] Let's keep doing this, okay?

[00:02:16] Our voices are needed now more than ever.

[00:02:20] Let's keep exploring leadership together and examine how we can support and inspire each other.

[00:02:28] So other women with brave, courageous wings keep flying to pursue the highest offices.

[00:02:38] Enjoy the lesson.

[00:02:40] And here you go.

[00:02:45] What would you tell your own 20-something self today?

[00:02:51] I think that I would tell my younger self, oh, you know what?

[00:02:55] I read this quote today and it was really, really good.

[00:02:59] Your life is being written out in chalk, not in ink.

[00:03:05] And it can feel like life is in ink all the time.

[00:03:11] The decisions that you're making, you can never step away from.

[00:03:15] But realistically, you can always pivot one way or another.

[00:03:18] And so just take it one day at a time.

[00:03:23] Because as intentional as you can be, as crazy as you can be, and I am crazy and intentional about everything in the future.

[00:03:29] I swear I'll have everything mapped out to the day that I die.

[00:03:33] But also if something changes, something changes.

[00:03:37] Like that's so outside of my control.

[00:03:38] And so just do what you can do.

[00:03:42] But don't freak out.

[00:03:45] Life's not me.

[00:03:46] Yeah.

[00:03:50] Not to judge.

[00:03:51] Don't judge people.

[00:03:53] No matter what.

[00:03:54] No matter how much you disagree.

[00:03:57] Don't judge somebody.

[00:04:01] That's honestly one of the hardest lessons I think I've learned.

[00:04:05] I had a lot of years of just righteousness.

[00:04:10] And now it's like everybody's just trying.

[00:04:13] I mean, I think for most of us, most people are just trying to show up.

[00:04:18] You know, do their thing.

[00:04:21] Yeah.

[00:04:22] Leave some kind of impact that's better.

[00:04:24] Leave a little bit of a legacy and go home.

[00:04:27] And you never know what kind of day somebody's having or what they're dealing with.

[00:04:31] So just don't judge.

[00:04:32] Don't judge people.

[00:04:33] Yeah, definitely.

[00:04:34] Definitely.

[00:04:36] Okay, girls.

[00:04:37] But would you tell your 20 something self?

[00:04:42] Trust yourself.

[00:04:44] Trust yourself.

[00:04:45] Be more confident.

[00:04:46] It's cliche, but.

[00:04:49] Yeah.

[00:04:50] I hear it all the time.

[00:04:51] I heard it then.

[00:04:52] I should have been paying more attention.

[00:04:56] I love that one too.

[00:04:57] It's like listening to your intuition more.

[00:05:00] Yeah.

[00:05:01] How about you, Julianne?

[00:05:03] I was actually exactly along the same lines.

[00:05:07] Trust the journey that you're on.

[00:05:09] You know, there's going to be ups and downs.

[00:05:11] There's going to be winds and turns.

[00:05:14] But each moment is leading for you, my 20 something self, to be exactly where you should be.

[00:05:22] And I would tell her to trust herself, trust her intuition, and most importantly, trust her vulnerability.

[00:05:28] Because it's her greatest strength.

[00:05:30] And she really should not shy away from it.

[00:05:32] I don't know.

[00:05:34] This is a good question.

[00:05:35] I would definitely say to give myself some grace here.

[00:05:38] Like I said earlier, we're really hard on ourselves.

[00:05:40] And you always want more and more and more.

[00:05:43] And you always feel like failure is so imminent.

[00:05:45] And you don't always take a step while you're going through a process to really take in how far you've come.

[00:05:53] And I think that the stress and the insomnia that I experienced in my 20s, I would just take a breather and just tell myself that, you know, you're doing fine.

[00:06:03] Everything will be okay.

[00:06:04] Although you basically tell yourself that not knowing that it will be.

[00:06:07] But in retrospect, I think I would have told myself to calm down.

[00:06:11] Everything will work itself out.

[00:06:12] You'll make babies.

[00:06:13] You'll find the right person.

[00:06:15] You're going to find success.

[00:06:16] And whatever hard work you're putting in will come back.

[00:06:20] Beautifully said.

[00:06:21] So my darling, we could go on for like ever talking.

[00:06:27] Just beat off of each other in our energies.

[00:06:31] So what would you tell your 20 something self today?

[00:06:38] I would tell my 20 something self, you were born to do great things.

[00:06:45] Don't be afraid to make mistakes.

[00:06:48] Because that is telling you what you don't want.

[00:06:52] And clarifying what you do want.

[00:06:55] So don't be afraid to be yourself and be curious and make mistakes.

[00:07:03] Everything you have been through has not been wasted.

[00:07:06] Everything you've been through, the pain can be turned into superpower.

[00:07:13] So nothing's wasted.

[00:07:14] Nothing you've gone through, whether it's good or bad, is wasted.

[00:07:17] So I think that's the main things I would say.

[00:07:20] I just love the answers I hear to that.

[00:07:22] Question.

[00:07:23] Okay, so before you go, I have to ask you both.

[00:07:26] What would you tell your 20 something self today?

[00:07:35] Oh, 20 something.

[00:07:36] Well, that's a range of bad choices.

[00:07:40] Okay.

[00:07:44] You know what I think it would be?

[00:07:45] I probably wouldn't have listened to myself because I'm stubborn and who I am.

[00:07:50] But I never, I would always look at people that were successful or had achieved things.

[00:07:55] And I was like, look at that.

[00:07:56] Look at them.

[00:07:57] And I never thought it could be me.

[00:07:59] I never believed that.

[00:08:02] And it can.

[00:08:04] It really can.

[00:08:07] And yeah, I just wish I'd.

[00:08:09] And I think it's just that love of self, right?

[00:08:12] That belief that you could do things.

[00:08:14] But I just remember being like, look at them achieving.

[00:08:16] You can't do that.

[00:08:17] And thinking that way.

[00:08:18] And I really wish I could have reversed that at a younger age and really.

[00:08:22] But you know what?

[00:08:23] I think it happens as it should, I think.

[00:08:25] And the timing happens the way it should when you're able.

[00:08:28] But yeah, that's mine.

[00:08:30] Just believe in yourself.

[00:08:31] You can do anything you put your mind to.

[00:08:33] Yeah.

[00:08:35] What's yours, Andrea?

[00:08:36] I have a couple.

[00:08:40] The first one that came to mind when I just laughed as soon as I saw that question.

[00:08:43] And I was like, oh, don't date them.

[00:08:46] Just don't.

[00:08:49] Just don't.

[00:08:50] And then I thought, okay, I got to give you a real quick answer.

[00:08:56] Don't date any of them.

[00:09:01] Hey, I've been there.

[00:09:03] Yes.

[00:09:03] That's one.

[00:09:04] That was a first instinct.

[00:09:06] But my second one is more of just like a physical one is just like, don't stop working out.

[00:09:13] Just don't stop.

[00:09:15] But the philosophical one is I would have to really sit 20-year-old me down and just say,

[00:09:24] listen, kiddo.

[00:09:26] If you don't, like just do your best to find out how to love yourself sooner than later.

[00:09:33] Because if you keep going on the way you are, you're going to spend more than half of your life

[00:09:39] not loving yourself.

[00:09:40] And that's not the way life's supposed to be.

[00:09:43] It's just get on it.

[00:09:46] In the exploration and rumination and considering all the options and trying to make an optimal

[00:09:52] choice about what it is that we actually want to do.

[00:09:56] And I don't want to short circuit the importance, short circuit that process or minimize the

[00:10:01] importance of that learning and introspection.

[00:10:05] But I think people can get stuck in not taking a small action, just a small low risk action

[00:10:12] and getting a reaction out of ourselves.

[00:10:15] You know, I went and had this coffee or I went and signed up for this class.

[00:10:19] And after it, I felt relieved, more stressed, you know, too much.

[00:10:24] You know, what are, you know, what's the reaction that we get from these actions that we take?

[00:10:28] But we don't necessarily learn about the new person we're trying to grow into just by thinking.

[00:10:39] We learn by doing and by taking an action.

[00:10:42] So I like to hold space for the thought, but not to camp out there for too long.

[00:10:47] We need to think about it.

[00:10:49] We need to make some choices.

[00:10:50] Then we need to do it.

[00:10:51] Then we can come back and think again.

[00:10:52] But we have to do something.

[00:10:54] Yeah, I think that's so key because, you know, I was a marketing professional for a long time.

[00:11:01] And when I would introduce a new product, we do a test market.

[00:11:05] Right.

[00:11:06] Right.

[00:11:07] It would be a small exercise to see what we got from it before we went national or whatever

[00:11:16] and spent a great deal more money.

[00:11:18] And I find these little, along the way, there's always going to be some new things to learn

[00:11:27] and some new challenges to overcome.

[00:11:31] Right.

[00:11:31] And the small steps, like we think success is getting to the journey, getting to the destination,

[00:11:39] right?

[00:11:39] Right.

[00:11:41] And maybe a way for us to look at it is that success can just be the start of the journey

[00:11:50] and what we learn in the journey and how we show resilience, right?

[00:11:56] Absolutely.

[00:11:58] And the adventures that we can go on just by, you know, boarding the train, right?

[00:12:04] Just by starting the journey.

[00:12:06] And I think sometimes we can be too focused on that end goal and put our blinders on and

[00:12:15] not be open to all of the other possibilities that can happen when we are willing to say,

[00:12:22] my intention is to get to point X and I'm open to what happens along the way.

[00:12:29] So that's an interesting question.

[00:12:31] I think I would just tell my 20 something self to just follow your inner voice because

[00:12:43] I always did follow my inner voice, but I did have people telling me that, you know,

[00:12:52] sometimes following my inner voice made other people very uncomfortable.

[00:12:54] You know, like I was talking about advocacy and when people would ask me, why have you stopped

[00:13:00] eating meat?

[00:13:01] And I would tell them in pretty graphic terms and it made a lot of people uncomfortable.

[00:13:07] I gradually found better ways of saying it so that I got the results I wanted in, I guess,

[00:13:18] less disruptive way as well.

[00:13:20] But I would tell my 20 something self to not, to not be afraid and to just, you know, be disruptive

[00:13:29] because that's how you bring about change.

[00:13:32] But learn to do it in a way that wins friends and influences people instead of, you know, just

[00:13:43] ruffling the feathers so much that they can't see a way to be your ally.

[00:13:50] You know, I think that I would tell her that, um, that to let go of perfectionism, there's no such

[00:14:00] thing.

[00:14:02] Um, and to be in the moment from the beginning, like don't, we always say life passes us by,

[00:14:10] right?

[00:14:10] But to really just take in what you're doing, just be really conscious, um, of that and, um,

[00:14:21] and laugh often.

[00:14:22] I'm, I'm always, you know, we need to have fun.

[00:14:25] We have to prioritize, um, having fun and celebrating our wins.

[00:14:34] What would you tell your 20 something self today?

[00:14:39] Oh my gosh.

[00:14:40] Well, it's funny.

[00:14:44] Someone recently said to me,

[00:14:48] gee, it's too bad.

[00:14:51] You weren't in this flow earlier in your career.

[00:14:56] In other words, I always, I loved my career and it was awesome.

[00:14:58] And it moved and I, it was, it's been great.

[00:15:01] I wish I had been more confident earlier, uh, and not in an arrogant way, but if I could

[00:15:09] go back and talk to myself, like I'll give an example, going to Harvard business school,

[00:15:13] you know, not an easy place.

[00:15:17] And I was, I went in the mid nineties.

[00:15:19] And at that time, only, I think 20% of the student body was female.

[00:15:25] It's definitely gone up, but it was, you know, it's a tough environment.

[00:15:29] It's you're graded based on how you debate in class primarily.

[00:15:34] And for me, I tended to be on the quieter side, believe it or not, I've come out of my shell

[00:15:40] since then, but I think that's what helped it.

[00:15:42] I used to get so stressed out.

[00:15:44] And a lot of us did in those classes, every day you had to be on, you didn't know if you're

[00:15:50] going to get the cold call, but that I wish I could go back and say, enjoy, like be, you're

[00:15:57] there, like just enjoy it.

[00:16:00] And by relaxing a little bit, you'll actually do better.

[00:16:06] And, and so I would, I would say that, that I, it's not, again, it's not an arrogance thing.

[00:16:12] It's about being comfortable in your own skin and knowing what's uniquely you and saying,

[00:16:19] yeah, you know, and so I, I think that would have maybe accelerated this,

[00:16:27] this flow, you know, this, this ability to be in a full, like joyful pursuit of one's career.

[00:16:34] It's not, it's not just a job.

[00:16:37] It's, it's, it's this interwoven life, which I think you can probably identify with,

[00:16:43] uh, you know, yourself.

[00:16:45] It's like, it's, we don't, we're not just doing this to, to earn a paycheck.

[00:16:49] It's like, no, it's our full expression in our life.

[00:16:53] So I would love to have told myself that, that just relax.

[00:16:57] Yeah.

[00:16:58] Yeah.

[00:16:58] It all, I guess for me too, like it'll all unfold exactly as it should.

[00:17:04] And when it should, you know, that there isn't a time I used to think, oh, I've got to do this

[00:17:10] by this time, you know, just pushing myself really hard where if we just sort of lean back

[00:17:19] into it and have that confidence that you talked about, that it's all going to work out just fine.

[00:17:25] And it's going to be exactly as it should, but I'm sure.

[00:17:29] Thank you for saying that.

[00:17:30] I, I, I, yeah, very, it's, it's, I think it's something to, it's funny because it's,

[00:17:35] it's a great question to reflect on for us.

[00:17:37] And also if someone's listening to this and they are, you know, in the third, in the twenties,

[00:17:42] thirties is yeah.

[00:17:46] To be in that trust.

[00:17:48] I always believe if you're putting the right intentions out and, and I would say, yeah,

[00:17:54] to, to follow now I want, yeah, to follow, to follow that intuition, that calling, but

[00:17:59] to maybe relax into it.

[00:18:01] So thank you.

[00:18:02] It's a really good question.

[00:18:05] I would say you can wait because there's a lot more rich life much later in your decades

[00:18:15] than you were aware of.

[00:18:17] You know, I read a study not long ago that said our happiest decade is our sixties.

[00:18:22] Their second happiest is our seventies.

[00:18:25] Our third is our fifties and the worst is our forties.

[00:18:30] And I think I thought back then I had to accomplish everything right then.

[00:18:35] And now that I'm living a second life, a completely different life.

[00:18:42] And I'm 11 years into that.

[00:18:44] I realized, Oh, there's plenty of time and it's all right to grow and mature and develop

[00:18:51] in your own way.

[00:18:54] I also would have said, spend the time with your kids that you're going to spend with

[00:18:58] them.

[00:18:59] Do not put them second, put them first, because that pays off like nothing else.

[00:19:05] And I would say that to every father everywhere mothers do it anyway.

[00:19:09] But I think most fathers think that they're providing, that they're doing what they're

[00:19:12] supposed to do.

[00:19:13] And I was never one of those fathers and I'm very glad that I was not.

[00:19:19] It's a beautiful way for us to end our episode today.

[00:19:22] Thank you, Paula, for joining us.

[00:19:25] Really, really love listening to you and talking with you.

[00:19:28] So thank you.

[00:19:29] Well, it's been a pleasure being with you.

[00:19:36] I wish someone had had conversations with me at that age.

[00:19:40] Like I have conversations with the reader.

[00:19:43] Just to, I was pre-law.

[00:19:45] I was supposed to go to law school.

[00:19:47] That was the path I was on.

[00:19:49] Everything was designed for that.

[00:19:50] I didn't want to be a lawyer, but I didn't know enough to say time out.

[00:19:55] Like, let me take a beat and figure out what I want to be.

[00:19:58] I didn't have really good role models.

[00:20:00] So I would love for that 20-year-old version of myself to just know that you're not going

[00:20:06] to make mistakes because everything's going to get you where you're supposed to end up

[00:20:09] a little later in life, but you'll get there.

[00:20:12] And the world's going to be a better place because you're in it.

[00:20:16] And let's give that message to young people because wouldn't that be a confidence boost

[00:20:21] no matter where you are?

[00:20:25] So girls, welcome.

[00:20:28] Hey!

[00:20:29] So we're celebrating our 200th episode.

[00:20:34] Can you believe it?

[00:20:36] That's crazy.

[00:20:37] That's awesome.

[00:20:39] 200.

[00:20:40] I can't believe it.

[00:20:42] It seemed like when I was first starting in, I would see the 200 plus episodes that other

[00:20:48] podcasters would have.

[00:20:49] I'd go, whoa, they've been doing this for a long, long time.

[00:20:54] You know, that kind of thing.

[00:20:57] And I don't think I ever had too much of an ambition to say, wow, I hope I get to do that.

[00:21:04] But here we are, 200 in.

[00:21:08] Woo-hoo!

[00:21:09] Should we do a woo-hoo?

[00:21:10] Woo-hoo!

[00:21:11] Woo-hoo!

[00:21:12] You guys have listened to me and advised me.

[00:21:16] And I'm just so grateful to have you there and to kind of take this journey with me.

[00:21:23] And so, Kiki, why don't you start?

[00:21:28] What would you tell your 20-something self?

[00:21:30] Now, we should probably tell our listeners that, you know, you're 27.

[00:21:34] So, right.

[00:21:36] I was going to be like, what phase?

[00:21:39] Because I feel like, you know, there's, even though I'm not finished with my 20s yet, there's

[00:21:44] still many different eras within my 20s.

[00:21:47] Yeah.

[00:21:48] You know?

[00:21:48] So, I don't know which age.

[00:21:50] But I do have, I think, a general theme overall that if I could go back in time and tell myself

[00:21:59] something, it would be, you know, be patient with yourself and don't be hard on yourself.

[00:22:06] Because it's taking, you're taking time to figure out, you know, simple things like your style or,

[00:22:15] you know, who you kind of want to surround yourself with.

[00:22:17] But even more so, you're learning about how to present yourself with authenticity, being

[00:22:25] honest, and being fearless in a way, you know?

[00:22:29] And it takes time to learn those skills.

[00:22:32] So, I would give my earlier 20s self so much love because she was just figuring that stuff

[00:22:39] out.

[00:22:39] It was not glamorous.

[00:22:41] And I'm still figuring that out.

[00:22:43] And I probably will for, you know, because I think growth, you take a step forward and

[00:22:48] then sometimes you take a step back.

[00:22:49] And when you do take a step back, which I think I did a handful of times and continue to, to

[00:22:55] this day, to remain patient with yourself and don't be so hard on yourself.

[00:23:00] And I would, you know, tell her, thank you.

[00:23:05] Thank you.

[00:23:07] Lovely.

[00:23:08] Absolutely.

[00:23:09] Yeah.

[00:23:09] But you, Emma?

[00:23:11] I don't have anything nearly as deep.

[00:23:15] Well, okay.

[00:23:16] So, I...

[00:23:17] Emma is, we should say, Emma, you're 30.

[00:23:20] I'm 30.

[00:23:21] I turned 30 in May.

[00:23:23] And I think when I turned 30, I made like a little reel on my personal Instagram of like

[00:23:28] 30 things I learned at 30.

[00:23:30] Um, and I think like one of them, which is, I think rings true to this day is like wearing

[00:23:36] SPF is like the best thing you can do for yourself and also staying hydrated.

[00:23:40] Um, but I think like on a more serious note, I think it's more like, I think there's thinking

[00:23:47] about it now, like now that I'm, I'm engaged to be married.

[00:23:52] Congratulations.

[00:23:53] Listeners were just so thrilled and we love James and it's just going to be a terrific

[00:23:59] opportunity for us to have two wonderful families together.

[00:24:03] Yeah.

[00:24:04] Um, and I remember I went to school in the Midwest and people get married really young

[00:24:10] in the Midwest.

[00:24:11] And so everybody was getting married in like the mid twenties and like early late twenties.

[00:24:17] And I remember being like, Oh my God, like, am I, it has the wagon left the station?

[00:24:23] Like, has this been like, is this it?

[00:24:26] Like, am I falling behind?

[00:24:28] And I think truly like now that I'm 30, I'm kind of like, you really cannot like, for lack

[00:24:33] of a better phrase, you cannot like your life path.

[00:24:36] I think it just happens whatever you do.

[00:24:39] And it's not necessarily wrong or right.

[00:24:41] It's just like the one that comes to you.

[00:24:43] And like, it's kind of like what you make of it.

[00:24:45] And like, I don't regret, like, not like rushing to get married in my mid twenties and like,

[00:24:52] and like waiting and figuring out like what I wanted and doing the self work to kind of

[00:24:57] get to this point.

[00:24:58] Um, but yeah, so that would be my advice.

[00:25:01] Cause I think like my, my younger twenties self took things very seriously and like, I

[00:25:05] mean, I still take things very seriously, but, um, I think she just was so focused on

[00:25:11] like doing the milestones when it's like the party is the more important thing.

[00:25:16] Like go out and have fun.

[00:25:18] Don't worry about the milestones.

[00:25:19] It'll just happen whether you like it or not.

[00:25:21] And yeah, so that's where I would say that would be what I tell her.

[00:25:27] Very cool.

[00:25:30] And then what about you, mom?

[00:25:34] So I hope I don't get too emotional.

[00:25:38] It's okay if you do.

[00:25:44] The biggest impact in my twenties was when I was 19 and Roe V Wade was passed by the Supreme

[00:25:56] court and it changed my life because I did have pregnancies and I had an option.

[00:26:10] So I guess I would tell my 20 something self, that girl that wanted so much in life beyond

[00:26:21] what her sister had and what other people had around her to just treasure the women that had

[00:26:33] done the work to get those kinds of opportunities for me to have in my twenties.

[00:26:46] And I don't think that I appreciated that work and what that opportunity meant until we lost it.

[00:27:01] And I was definitely in my twenties, very self-centered, concerned about my own advancement.

[00:27:15] Left a wreckage of guys along the way because I was going for it.

[00:27:21] I was, you know, I moved to New York in the middle of all of that from LA.

[00:27:25] Um, and just carved out a whole different path and, uh, really broke some cycles.

[00:27:37] And I didn't consider myself very brave, but looking back at some of the decisions that I made

[00:27:47] and where I went, I would like you Kiki, give that little girl a big hug and say, you are brave

[00:27:57] and courageous and strong and don't stop.

[00:28:01] Keep going, keep it, keep your mind open.

[00:28:09] And like you, Emma, you know, travel, see as much as you can.

[00:28:16] Um, um, and probably I would say to her marriage is not a death sentence.

[00:28:27] It's not something because, you know, I didn't get married until I was in my thirties and,

[00:28:35] you know, we didn't have our, have the two of you come until I was in my forties.

[00:28:39] So I would just tell her, you know, keep, keep your path, but keep it bigger than just about you.

[00:28:57] So I don't know.

[00:28:58] What do you guys think?

[00:28:59] Kind of swear I am.

[00:29:01] That's beautiful.

[00:29:02] I think that's great.

[00:29:04] Yeah.

[00:29:07] So we don't know until we get something right until it's gone perhaps, or.

[00:29:12] Or yeah, no, definitely.

[00:29:14] I think when I was a little younger too, I think, I don't know.

[00:29:21] I just kind of thought the, I mean, politics, in my opinion, are never really like calm, but

[00:29:29] you always, I just always assumed like, oh, the candidates are always going to be really

[00:29:34] respectful.

[00:29:36] And, you know, there's going to be class and politics and, you know, having like Obama

[00:29:41] for eight years, I just kind of thought like, oh, this feeling of security and everything.

[00:29:48] That's just what happens.

[00:29:50] You know, that's what I assume happens every time.

[00:29:54] And then of course, 2016, all of that, you know, changed and it's definitely been, yeah,

[00:30:01] it's been a lot like, oh, well, yeah, that was really nice.

[00:30:05] I thought it was always going to be like that, you know, I thought we were always going to

[00:30:07] have, you know, that.

[00:30:11] I thought I thought for my whole life I was going to have Roe v. Wade and, you know, all

[00:30:16] of that.

[00:30:19] And now that it's gone, you know, and more, you know, things of that nature to come, you

[00:30:28] know, I'm just like, well, I'm really glad that you had that, you know, in your, in your

[00:30:33] twenties.

[00:30:34] And yeah, you know, that is really great to, to be grateful for all the work that women

[00:30:39] did to, you know, support us and, and you know, the allies too, that helped make that

[00:30:46] happen.

[00:30:47] Yeah.

[00:30:48] I guess one other thing I would say to my younger self too, is that the pendulum does swing,

[00:30:55] you know, just like it was taken away, it can come back and just it's, it's a, it definitely

[00:31:06] is a journey.

[00:31:11] Thank you for listening today.

[00:31:13] And we sure hope you enjoyed this episode.

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[00:31:43] Our next episode will feature our guest, Drew Turner, millennial and my Chiamaica sorority

[00:31:51] sister, who I recently met at the Nancy Walton Laurie Leadership Institute of Chiamaica flagship

[00:31:59] session in Memphis, Tennessee.

[00:32:02] Drew stood out in my group as a leader.

[00:32:07] And I knew she'd be grateful to show and offer us tons of great insights to share with us.

[00:32:15] Drew began her leadership journey in retail at Williams-Sonoma, eventually transitioning into learning and development at Tesla.

[00:32:25] She's passionate about helping women break free from societal expectations and step confidently

[00:32:33] into leadership roles.

[00:32:35] And you'll hear her commitment to others in our discussion.

[00:32:40] Oh, we had such a good talk.

[00:32:43] So please join us again for episode 201.

[00:32:49] Talk to you soon.

[00:32:50] Bye.