Being Mary
Mary Johnson Van Den Berge is a "wear your heart on your sleeve" kind of woman, an unapologetic bookworm, and an online shopping champion. She devours murder mysteries in every form — whether in books or podcasts — with an enthusiasm that surprises even herself. Raised on a farm near St. Marys in Southwestern Ontario, she now calls Petrolia home, nestled in Ontario’s scenic “banana belt.”
Mary is a proud advocate for women’s rights and believes deeply in the power of honest conversation. On her podcast, she creates a safe and open space for women to explore the emotional layers of life—through candid conversations about relationships, identity, healing, motherhood, and more. It’s not just her story anymore—it’s all of ours.
Being Mary
To the girls that are different
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
"Today’s episode of Being Mary is for the outsiders—the deep feelers, the ones who never quite fit in. 💫 Your strangeness isn’t a flaw—it’s your gift. Listen now!"
www.beingmary.ca
https://www.facebook.com/beingmaryvdb
https://www.instagram.com/beingmaryvdb/
https://www.youtube.com/@BeingMaryVDB
https://www.tiktok.com/@maryvdb
I read something that @stephveltman posted that really struck a cord with me and she has given me permission to share this with you.
I want to talk to the girls who have always felt like outsiders.
The ones who felt like they never quite fit in.
They never felt like the cool girl.
They always felt a little bit removed from other people.
You move through the world with a sense that you are different.
You feel things more deeply, more intuitively, more heavy than most people do.
And you might think that that’s a weakness.
That you were too soft, too emotional.
That is actually your gift, because the world needs more people like you.
So please start owning the fact that you are a deep thinker and a deep feeler.
Please own the fact that you can sense things that others can’t.
And there are things you can’t always explain.
Please own the fact that you want to talk about deeper things than the people around you do.
It’s ok if your family don’t get it.
It’s ok if your current friends don’t join in.
The more you let yourself become, instead of trying to fit yourself into a box that actually isn’t meant for you, the more you are going to attract who and what is specifically meant for you.
So no, you are not like the others,
And that is actually beautiful.
You need to own that because your strangeness, your quirkiness, your depths …. That is your magic.