How To Not Lose Your Sh!t
Want to know how you can make a difference without losing your sh!t?
Join Katie Paris and LaFonda Cousin, two moms with very different backgrounds who together run Red Wine & Blue – an organization of over half a million diverse suburban women working together to defeat extremism. Katie, the org’s founder, has worked in political organizing for most of her career. LaFonda, the Chief People Officer, is a wellness expert on a mission to reimagine self-care.
Each week, LaFonda and Katie talk to experts and everyday women who are getting involved, building community, and feeling better in the process.
How To Not Lose Your Sh!t
Quesadilla Diplomacy (with Julie Jahde Pospishil)
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When Julie joined us on our Heather Cox Richardson event this month, she shared how she's supporting immigrants by taking groups of friends to Spanish-speaking restaurants in her town. Heather was so excited about the idea, and Julie was such a ray of sunshine, that we knew we needed to bring her on the podcast!
Julie's a Spanish teacher in Omaha, Nebraska, but she doesn't stop at teaching the language. She shares cultural information about the many Spanish-speaking immigrants in their community and, of course, their delicious food. Food brings us together! The more we can understand and empathize with our immigrant neighbors, the better we can protect them from ICE.
It's been a particularly heartbreaking week as two fathers -- one in Houston and one in Maine -- have been murdered by ICE agents. Resistance to their inhumane methods can take many forms, from protesting detention centers to vigils to legal support. Going out to dinner may feel like an impossibly small way to oppose ICE, but for the immigrant restaurant owners in our communities, it makes a huge difference.
We can't only fight against what we don't support; we also have to fight for the better world we want. By patronizing immigrant-owned restaurants in our own towns, we contribute not just our dollars but our emotional support.
And as a bonus, it tastes pretty good too.
If you want to learn more about Julie and her chat shows and restaurant outings, you can visit her website at spanishchatshow.com. And if you'd like to join or start a Bonfire group, you can learn more at redwine.blue/network/bonfire.
For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.
You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media!
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How To Not Lose Your Sh!t Episode 43: Quesadilla Diplomacy (with Julie Jahde Posphishil)
LaFonda: Hi, everyone. Welcome to How to Not Lose Your Shit. I'm LaFonda Cousin, a part-time yoga instructor, self-care advocate, and the Chief People Officer here at Red Wine and Blue.
Shannon: And I'm Shannon Gallagher, Red Wine and Blue network organizer.
LaFonda: Welcome, Shannon. It's so exciting to have you on the pod! Thank you for filling in for Katie today.
Shannon: It's been my pleasure. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. First one. I feel like I need, like, a button or something.
LaFonda: I love it. I know. We need, like, a first time on the pod-
Shannon: First time, yeah. Little badge. A little bling.
LaFonda: A little badge! I love it. Um, Shannon, today we talked to Julie, who is leading one of our Red Wine and Blue Network groups, a Bonfire group, and you actually introduced us. Talk a little bit about meeting Julie and why you thought she would be a good guest, because she is absolutely delightful.
Shannon: Isn't she? She just radiates joy. Yeah. Um, yeah, and I had... After the Heather Cox Richardson event, I had one of our leaders reach out to us, one of our Red Wine and Blue leaders, and, like, this is the quote from her: "Julie radiates joy and so much enthusiasm and love for what she's doing."
And you discover that right away, like, from the first word that comes out of her... You, she doesn't even need to talk. It's just, like, as soon as you see her face, it's just joy and embracing every moment that she's experiencing. And so, yeah, that was when I reached out to Amy. I was like, "Oh, my gosh. You have to meet her." She's amazing.
LaFonda: I popped on the screen today, and she was already there, and she, like, had this, like, bright blue shirt on and had this smile, and I was like, "Yep."
Shannon: Right?
LaFonda: "I like her." I've never seen that before, I like her.
Shannon: Right? I know. “Will, will you be my friend?”
LaFonda: Yes. Yes. Please talk to me and teach me Spanish.
So Julie is a Red Wine and Blue Network Bonfire group leader. What exactly is a Bonfire group? How is it different? Can you talk a little bit about that partnership? How is it different than our regular, like, Network groups?
Shannon: So basically, all the resources that Red Wine and Blue offers, their local, uh, network groups and the Bonfire groups and the News Not Noise, our different partnerships, it's all the same.
LaFonda: Mm-hmm.
Shannon: But they kind of have different focuses. So for Bonfire, it's the personal, professional, and political, so it's kind of a three-in-one that they like to focus on. It's also hyper local. Like, we have groups- groups that are just, like, within their couple of blocks.
Bonfire groups, it was created by Shannon Watts, who started Moms Demand Action, she’s the founder of Moms Demand Action, and she has 25 Bonfire groups as of right now, and, uh, we would love to have one in every state. That's Shannon's goal by the end of the year, so if anybody's wanting to start one, please, please, please reach out.
LaFonda: I love this. And why that hyperlocalness – is hyperlocalness a word? – the hyperlocalness means so much for this particular podcast is our guest Julie has taken that hyperlocalness and used it to help her community find local restaurants, because she is a Spanish teacher, and she's absolutely incredible, and she's, like, taking her friends to local restaurants in the community and helping just, like, support local businesses, helping people learn Spanish, but also just creating community. So what did you think about our conversation with Julie today?
Shannon: My cup is full and overflowing. I think it's so easy for us to kind of stay siloed And we get in our cars, and we drive to our location, and then we g- get back into our cars, and we go home, and it's very easy to feel disconnected. Mm-hmm. And, uh, I think, like Julie said, bringing food into it also just, it just kind of brings people together.
You know, culturally, everybody comes around the table and shares food, no matter what you're doing. Like, they love to share their food. They're proud to share their food. There's always a story behind the food. And seeing, I think, what makes us similar versus what separates us is so important right now. Oh my gosh, especially right now. And we all sit around a table and we eat, you know?
LaFonda: Yeah. I think it's also important to just think about the connection to community and making people feel connected to the community around them, because we've seen so much in the news about ICE, right? And like just last week, ICE killed someone again, um, a father in Houston who had been in this country for 35 years.
And so I think what's important is Julie is helping people feel connected to the community around them, and I think more, the more connected you feel to the community around you, the more protective you are of the community around you, and I think that's really, really important, that people protect the community around them.
Shannon: 100%, and seeing the humanity in every individual and not just a number or, you know.
LaFonda: Yeah. And she said that. You're walking into these local restaurants, I think, and you see people for people, you're sharing a meal with people. Can't share a meal with someone and start to learn the language and be human alongside someone and not feel that level of connection to them, and feel like these things should be happening to people.
So what she's doing at that hyperlocal level is really, really important, not just for everyday community, but also politically, even when it doesn't seem like it.
Shannon: Right. The bigger picture. It all just builds.
LaFonda: Yeah. So with that, let's bring on Julie.
Julie: Hello!
LaFonda: Thank you for joining us.
Julie: Thank you. I'm excited to be here.
LaFonda: So Julie, you do so many things, um, so I wanna talk about it. You're a Spanish teacher. You lead one of our Red Wine & Blue Bonfire groups. You've written Spanish chat books. You organize group outings to Hispanic restaurants. And we wanted to start by asking you, why Spanish? A lot of our Spanish-speaking neighbors right now are being terrorized, harassed by ICE. Do you see Spanish as political?
Julie: Well, I think, um, for me, my whole purpose is to create cultural awareness, like, through language experiences, and so I feel like we really, instead of isolating people, I think right now what we can do is understand each other and, um, build communities. And so I feel like I was, um, inspired by Heather Cox Richardson touse my voice, and my voice happens to be bilingual, and I can use my voice to really help other people understand and bring awareness and take away those barriers.
Uh, so for example, if you don't know, uh, where a restaurant is located or you don't know what to order at the restaurant or you might not go there by yourself, if I just invite you as a friend and you know there's gonna be a lot of friends there and we're gonna order and we're gonna have a really cool experience, then I feel like I'm gonna open people's minds to other cool experiences and meeting other people.
So I think if I can kind of take away that, the barrier of the language and the barrier of coming to a new place, a new restaurant, then I feel like I can just help everybody connect. And I think that, to me, is what we need to be doing, is connecting to our global community.
LaFonda: I love this. It sounds like you're building, like, these small communities, which is great. You're also helping people connect to people around them, which is also great. You're helping people connect to language.
Um, this is gonna be a little personal. Can you help me learn Spanish? 'Cause I've tried since middle school. It's not, it's not taking. Shannon is nodding her head. I don't know what is wrong with me, Julie. Can you help me?
Julie: Absolutely. Now, this is what I do. I have taught Spanish for 32 years. Um, I would absolutely love to help you. I mean, that, I think, right there, just the willingness to try is half the battle, and then it's just like exercise. The more time you put into it, the more you're gonna get out of it. And I would love to help you or anyone else to, um, start on your Spanish speaking journey, 'cause it is a journey and it's amazing.
Shannon: Oh, I was telling, uh, LaFonda last week that I know 100% if I'd had you as a teacher when I was in school, I would still remember Spanish.
Julie: Well, let's start. Why not? Yeah.
Shannon: I'm ready. I'm ready.
Julie: Yeah. And, and that's one thing I do, is I, um, at the restaurant, I give a little cheat sheet with some Spanish phrases and the pronunciation. So instead of... We're not a grammar-based, you know, class or anything, but on my, on my cheat sheet is kind of what to order, some ideas of what to order, but also how to say thank you, how to say have a great day. Just some key phrases, and once you start using those phrases, you can build on other phrases. And it's really all about teaching useful Spanish.
LaFonda: I think that's what, I think that's what I need. I always get, like, in my head about all of the grammar things 'cause it's so hard. It's really hard. Does teaching Spanish feel different now than it did 30 years ago? I mean, for me it does, 'cause, you know, middle school was really hard to learn Spanish.
Julie: It has. Spanish, just like anything, has kind of morphed and there's new ideas of how to teach it and everything. But I really like connecting the language, because I think if you're connected, you will learn. So if you're kind of invested, if you're connected to things.
So that's why I started my Spanish chat shows, because also I was still inspired by Heather Cox Richardson, 'cause she said to use your voice. And I thought, "How can I use my voice? I'm not a historian." And so I, um, started a TV show here in Omaha, Nebraska, and it's on YouTube also, but it's called The Spanish Chat Show, and my goal was to interview my friends from different countries and talk about their journeys and their, their country, and really honor their country.
And so that way, if you are in maybe a small town here in Nebraska and you don't have contact with people, you could watch these Spanish chat shows and understand more about immigrants and different countries. Because I think sometimes we have, when you asked about the political part, I think we have made immigrants into a certain one type of community. But when I interview someone on my Spanish chat show that has a PhD, that was an engineer on the Panama Canal back in the '90s, a woman engineer from the Panama Canal, and y- you know, and like, all of these people have something to offer and a story to tell us.
And so I love, like, sharing their stories and it's-- we think of a Spanish-speaking culture as a lot of people think that everyone's from Mexico, when really there's 21 different countries, but even within those countries, say a country like Guatemala, there's all the different Mayan cultures. There's like 20-plus Mayan languages and cultures, and the food from Guatemala is different. So that's how I started my restaurant thing, is I was going to do an episode on Guatemalan food and I went to a restaurant and they were really struggling. It was in January and they were really struggling. Um, she said it was worse than the pandemic. So I said, "I will bring my friends." So that was on a Tuesday, and then on Saturday I brought 52 people.
Shannon: That's insane!
Julie: And they got a D- they got a DJ for us, and we made up Maestra Julia's special plate to try different sample things, because Guatemalan food is really different than Mexican food. And now we've been to restaurants from Puerto Rico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile, right here in our hometown.
Shannon: So I have a question for you.
Julie: Yeah.
Shannon: So when you're bringing in all of these people and have different levels of exposure, like I know for me, kind of what we were talking about earlier, I am so afraid to use the little bit of Spanish that I have because I'm worried I might be, I might offend somebody. So did you have people that were nervous and hesitant, and how did you help guide, kinda guide them through that?
Julie: Yeah. And I mean, that always is the thing, like you d- it's human to not want to make a mistake, right? And so we want, we have this perfection, like, “well, I have to be perfect speaking Spanish,” or “I have to…” But sometimes when you speak your Spanish, however that might be, it gives them permission to speak their English 'cause they're like, "Ooh, my English might be better than that."
Shannon: I guarantee it is. Yeah.
Julie: I mean, that happens to me in France when I, when I try to speak French, and they're like, "Whoa, my English is better." Right? And so I think it, it also sets the tone of like, we're learning together, and I think most people, in general, are honored if you try to speak their language. Even just saying, "Have a nice day," which is, "Que tenga un buen día," just have a nice day. Que tenga un buen día. And that is just a great phrase that you can use. It's my favorite phrase in my book, my Spanish Chat book.
And you know, one thing that was really cool, for me, is I was teaching, um, teachers here. We got a grant, and we were teaching teachers Spanish so that they could talk at their parent-teacher conferences, and one of the principals that I didn't know came up to me and she's like, "I'm taking a Spanish class." And she's like, um, "Que tenga un buen día." And I was like, "What book are you using? Are you using The Purple Book, Spanish Chat book?" She's like, "Yeah." I said, "I'm the author of this book!" S
o she quoted, like, my favorite phrase, the que tenga un buen día, back to me, not knowing that she had a, she had a different teacher, so she didn't know that I was the author of that book. And I thought that was really cool that, you know, I think if we can just do one little step at a time. Like, you might not feel like you're doing much, but one phrase at a time, one step at a time.
I mean, if there's ever anybody in my neighborhood helping in some sort of construction thing, I, I bring them quesadillas. I call it muffin diplomacy or quesadilla diplomacy. So these are things we can do. You can, you can, you can do that without much... Take some Gatorade to people. Like, you can, you can show up at a restaurant.
I think I was really proud when my friends from Atlanta, or my friends were in Atlanta, for a swim meet and texted me and said, "Look where we w- are," with a, a photo of a Venezuelan food truck. And they were like, "We wouldn't have known what to order unless we were here." And someone else just texted me last Friday night and she's like, "Okay, I'm at the Guatemalan restaurant. What was I supposed to order? Where's the cheat sheet?" You know?
And so I, I love it, like, because that means that they're going on their own too. So it's almost like taking that first step of the barriers. We kind of all get in our little isolated neighborhoods or our isolated bubble almost, and if we can get ourselves and our family and friends, and even just a few people, um, it really makes a difference, especially to local restaurants, I think, or local businesses. I mean, those dollars are amazing for them.
LaFonda: Have you had any of the conversations directly with any of these restaurant owners? Or, like, what is the impact that it has had on them? 'Cause I can imagine that it's been not just the financial impact, but just the impact of having people feel connected to the community around them, people coming in who may not normally come in and just be supportive of not only the business, but just them personally, right?
Julie: Yes.
LaFonda: What has that been like?
Julie: I feel like the first one I did in January, they, I mean, they were crying. The owners were crying that day. Like they, I think we brought them, more than anything, we brought them hope, right? And we've actually gone back with other groups, um, since then, and, but we've, we've just brought something...
I think it's hard to be a small business, and it's a lonely feeling, and there's a lot of trying to divide us. And I think if we can change the narrative and figure out what could unite us, and I really think food unites us, and friendship, building community unites us. So even me bringing a few of my friends, whether it's eight people, whether it's 50 people, I mean, just bringing a few friends and trying something new, you almost feel like you're traveling in your own city, you know? And I think it's almost just changing that mindset to, um, support local and our global, um, restaurants. So I, I feel like these restaurant owners are very grateful.
I mean, to be honest, one time we really completely stressed out a restaurant 'cause we thought we had 15 people, then 30 came, and we tried to do this special. And, and I, so I feel like it's only fair to them if you're gonna bring a, bring a big group to let them know ahead of time and maybe create a special that they can have prepared and ready, or they can have enough staff ready. 'Cause some of these restaurants are smaller, and so I think that is kind of to honor their… 'Cause they wanna do a good job too, for you.
And so to honor them, I think doing some sort of RSVP system or knowing your numbers of how many people. That's one thing I have learned through the process. Um, you know, if you're bringing a group of six or eight, you're fine. But if you're bringing 50? Make a plan. But otherwise, I think the owners have been just amazed. Like, I mean, I I don't know. It's, it's really cool. You feel like you're making a difference. It's like that starfish poem. You might not make a difference for everybody, but maybe you can make a difference for this one, like, for this one restaurant or this one community.
Shannon: And you'll never truly understand the ripple effect of that, right? Because you have your friends now who are going out, and they're probably bringing their friends and their family and exposing them to this.
And so if somebody... So you're fortunate to speak Spanish. We've had a lot of our members, Red Wine & Blue members and local group leaders reach out, and they love this idea and they want to, to do it. But they don't feel like they know enough of a language to go into a restaurant and start this process. Do you have any words of wisdom, some encouragement to just kind of, like, you can do this, you don't need to know the language?
Julie: I think, I mean, it depends on your comfort level of, um, how, how much you wanna try food. I have a lot of food allergies, so, so I have to make sure I know the, I know the word for nuts and things in, in another language.
But yeah, it depends, it just depends on, like, your exploration level. If you, if you're up for it, just, just go and figure out what people are ordering and point to what the, uh, people at the other tables are ordering even, too. But usually someone speaks enough English about, that they can help you, or their menu, you know. Or look online at pictures for whatever ethnic group. You don't, this doesn't have to be Spanish-speaking restaurants, right? Like, this could be bigger than that.
So yeah, I think my, my thing is just, just start. I mean, when you're looking for somewhere to go out to eat, um, my husband and I this weekend tried a new Honduran restaurant, and we don't know anything about the food. And so we were saying, like, "Well, what are the most popular items?" You know, like, what- "What do you recommend?" Even just asking that in English of the person that's serving you or the owner, as it is sometimes, and it will be a really cool cultural experience.
If all of us kinda interconnected that way and got a little out of our comfort zone, I think it would really help what's going on just in the United States right now. I think if we just could connect and build communities.
LaFonda: To be fair, I point, um, and ask what that is at every restaurant that I go to. So it doesn't have to be... I'm like, "What is that that those people have?" That I walked in and I walked past and that's what I'm ordering.
Julie: Well, you're already ready then. You're, you're, you've already had a lot of practice at this.
LaFonda: I've already got the skill for that particular thing.
Julie: Or usually there's some sauce that you don't know what's in this, or what kind of cheese is that, are you talking about, or-
LaFonda: And I'm sure people think that I'm the weird one... I'm like, "What do those people have three tables over? Lady in the blue shirt, what's she eating? It smells so good.” I walk by and I want- Point it out ... that thing.
Julie: Like- Bring me what this is, it looks absolutely amazing.
LaFonda: Julie, so that you're in Nebraska, which is a really red state. So one, do you think this could work anywhere? And if I am, um, someone who wants to try this, what are your tips for how to start this? 'Cause I'm in Texas, which is a really red state, but we have a lot of diversity here. Lots of Mexican restaurants. We have lots of Puerto Rican restaurants. We have lots of Dominican restaurants. If I wanted to try this, what do I do? What are your tips? How do I start?
Julie: Well, you know, actually, when my husband and I first got married, and we've been married almost 23 years, um, we, we got a map of the United States and we just started putting, um, little stickers on it for different restaurants.
So I think you just start. You just decide a day, pick a day, pick some friends, or just go with whoever. Even you can go by yourself. That's fine, too. I'm just such an extrovert that I just like gathered some friends. I just texted people that I wanted to see from all parts of my life. And so it wasn't even people that know each other, and now they're getting to know each other, too.
So first you just pick, pick a day, pick a time, pick a genre or whatever whatever you want to. I mean, um, I like Latin American restaurants, but you can do whatever. That's just 'cause I'm a Spanish teacher, so I'm trying to get people to know a little bit about each culture as we go there, too, and watch the Spanish chat show and then, um, go see. So yeah, you can even like watch one of my Spanish chat shows about Puerto Rican food, and then you'll see the food, you know, and you'll see what's in it, and I kind of explain these, too. So you could try that, and then go try to find... I think you're gonna be really surprised because I'm even a Spanish teacher, and I didn't know we had all these restaurants here.
Shannon: How do you find them? Because not all of them are gonna have webpages and, you know, um, advertisements.
LaFonda: Yeah. And I'm from the age of, like, a phone book, so-
Shannon: I know, we don't have phone books anymore, so what do we, what do we do?
Julie: That's how long we've been married, is that we, when we first did this, we looked in the phone book for them. And we tried Vietnamese, and we went to an African restaurant, and, but now, I mean, it's, it's online.
Shannon: Okay.
Julie: They have an online presence of some sort. You know, like some sort of social media. They, usually restaurants do. So just type in Latin American restaurants. Start there, as a Spanish teacher. Or, or, you know, whatever, Ethiopian, like whatever, and you might be really, really surprised at, at what you have.
And I don't, I don't think it matters, um, what your political beliefs are. I just am- want to support humanity. I think, you know, it's like creating cultural awareness, and this is just one pretty easy way to do it.
Shannon: I love it so much. It's so exciting. And I can't wait to hear stories back from our members as they do this and see the pictures. So we'll definitely make sure and share those with you, too. And it was fun on the Heather Cox Richardson call to see how excited she was to see what you were doing, and that, and that, you know, the- I just like, such a full circle moment I'm sure. It was, it was great to be a part of that.
Julie: It was just so amazing. I just felt, I just felt really honored that, you know, someone that I admire so much and has been using her voice, that she liked what I was doing with my voice. You know, like I was like, "Well, this is what I can do, and maybe you can use your voice somewhere else."
And I think sometimes we, we are scared of new things, and if we can just practice that and build that muscle of trying new things and… You know, I just wanna use my energy to help people in our country.
LaFonda: And I love that Heather inspired you to use your voice in a totally different way, and I love that this is what you are doing. You're bringing people together. You're using your voice for community. You're using it to build the community around you, and I think that's beautiful.
Julie: Yeah. And I, and I honor everyone that's listening. I honor their voices. I mean, maybe you'll think of a different way to use this, too. But don't, don't let the barrier of language stop you, you know? Um, just, just try it. And also, don't let the barrier... I think sometimes we kind of get isolated in our own spaces, and I've been doing a lot of kid activities. Mine have just gone off to college now. But I feel like I, I had this time that I wanted to reconnect with some of the people that I hadn't seen for a while.
And so don't be afraid to text them and, or however you communicate. You know, email, text, and just invite people and see who comes because it's really, it's really amazing to just get to share this with other people. I think it just, it kind of flips the narrative to instead of fear, it just is like, "Okay, let's, let's try something, and let's learn from each other, and let's connect the world." I, I really believe that that's where I would like to move my energy into more of like a love and a connection and bringing people together.
And I think the more we can focus on that, and the more we can build opportunities for that, and it doesn't have to be just me. You can do it in your own world, whatever connection looks like for you, whether it's neighbors that you haven't ever met and bringing them muffin diplomacy.
LaFonda: I love it.
Julie: It started 'cause we had a loud neighbor and, and so I just started bringing them muffins.
LaFonda: Food brings the world together every time, every single time.
Julie: I've had so many, like, amazing experiences just by putting myself into whatever s- you know, I wrote, I wrote music for kids, and then got nominated for a Latin Grammy. I got to be on the red carpet. Oh. And then my English music went to the regular Grammys. I made it to the second round, but in the children's category, so I got to go to the regular Grammys. But while I was there- Wow ... I was like, "Well, I'm in California. I'll sign up for tickets to The Price Is Right." You know, like, it was, it was free, and then I won a car on The Price Is Right.
LaFonda: What?
Shannon: What?
Julie: I know. So I think-
LaFonda: Why did we leave that so late in the show? What??
Julie: I feel like if you're just open, it's just like I've traveled to 17 different Spanish-speaking countries. It... And I'm a teacher, and my husband's a teacher. Like, we just, just open to the possibilities of what you can do in life. It, it is pretty amazing. I mean, I'm a mom from Nebraska, and I was, like, on the red carpet at the Latin Grammys.
LaFonda: That is amazing.
Julie: And some people just walk through the, the red carpet, you know, they just walk on by. But I actually, my friend and I were like... We stayed there for, like, an hour. In fact, Una Visión, the TV show, like, kind of kicked us off 'cause we were in the shot too long. But we just, we just kept going back and forth and meeting people.
LaFonda: You were like, "You're gonna have to play me off because I'm not going anywhere."
Shannon: Yeah. I'm not going anywhere.
LaFonda: You're gonna have to, like, find security, drag me off the carpet.
Shannon: The big, the big hook. The big hook can pull you away.
LaFonda: Just, I'm not leaving. I'm meeting everybody. That's amazing.
Julie: Yeah. So I think, you know, just be open to these possibilities in life. Like, you know, there, like, there's some really cool life experiences and communities out there, and I think we just need to meet each other and, and join together, like, to use our energy for good, and spend our energy on positive fun things like that. So I think if we can find those moments and just support each other in those, then the world will be a better place.
LaFonda: Well, Julie, your energy has been used for good today.
Julie: Oh, good.
LaFonda: It has been an absolute pleasure to have you here today. I want to say from the bottom of my heart thank you for joining us on the podcast. You have been a joy.
Julie: Aw. Well, thank you. I hope that it's inspiring for someone to use their voice in their own way, too.