Dear Teenage Me: Reading YOUR Stories to your Younger Self! | DoP#53

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:09

Hey besties.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

I'm Danielle.

SPEAKER_03 0:11

And I'm McKinley. Welcome back to Dash of Pink Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

This one is for you guys. Listen, listen, listen, listen. We did. We did an episode. It was a very difficult episode. Not that it was bad.

SPEAKER_03 0:23

It was a very like emotionally hard episode almost, but not in like a bawling way. Like it was almost kind of like you had to pull it from your soul.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Yeah. It was a lot of like digging. We did the dear teenage, not dear.

SPEAKER_03 0:35

We did like the message you would tell your message younger self.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

And we decided that it'd be really cool to have you guys submit your dear teenage me. So like what you would tell yourselves. What you would tell yourselves. I will say it was very confusing. Oh no. It was very confusing going on a submission form and seeing both Dear Teenage Me and M I the A whole submissions, and it was really random because some of them were like, Dear me, what is this? And the other one was like, Well, my mother-in-law.

SPEAKER_03 1:08

Let me explain. I was in charge of making the form, and usually I'll just like copy the form so that I don't have to like put in all of the different things. I didn't copy the form, I just started changing things. So there was my A-hole submissions and these. I'm so sorry. Did I warn you before? You did. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

It actually wasn't confusing once I realized. I was like, oh, so instead of like starting at the beginning of the submissions like you usually do, I had the starting. So I just like I went on the end and went backward. And every once in a while there was a random like, am I the I'm like, oh, no, whatever. So we got your submissions and we did not get any names. We're gonna keep this fully anonymous always because this is a little bit more vulnerable. So we're gonna keep it a little a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 1:55

Do we need to change the names or just keep them anonymous?

SPEAKER_01 1:57

I there shouldn't be names in there. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:59

But if there are these shapes, okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Yeah. Do you want me to start? Yeah, you thought it's a long wand.

unknown 2:06

Good luck.

SPEAKER_03 2:06

Here we go. Okay. Are these gonna be emotional?

SPEAKER_01 2:10

I don't know. I didn't read through them.

SPEAKER_03 2:11

I just know. Okay. Dear teenage self, hi, I just wanted to tell you that you're perfect the way you are. It doesn't matter what your GPA is or how you look today, all that matters is how you feel. In your childhood, act like a kid. It's okay to relax sometimes. You don't have to be doing school work chores all the time. It's okay to take some time for yourself. Also, living to wait. Also, living up to your name is not the biggest priority. You don't have to be handsome and fireborn.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

What?

SPEAKER_03 2:39

What does that mean? I want to know. Like that's like a very ring true to whoever this is.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:44

Also, if you haven't started dating, I recommend you wait until after high school. There's this one boy who will ask you out when you're 14. You will say no at first, but within the next four months, you'll change your mind. He'll end up telling you that he loves you before you even discuss dating. He'll emotionally manipulate you. Though when you find finally fall for him, he will tell you he doesn't like girls that way over text. You should know what you should know that you also should eat whatever you want. Don't give yourself an eating disorder. If there's anyone you should listen to, it would be your future self who could who still struggles with one. Also, don't forget to spend time with your best friend, your BFF. I forgot while I was hung up on a boy for a month or so. I'm still trying to mend the friendship. She seriously, she got seriously injured, and you were there. Thankfully, I'm still only 16, so I don't know where your life will go after. All I can say is from the little experience I have is to always see the best in people, but have your guard up just enough to where you can protect yourself when you see them at their worst.

unknown 3:40

Hmm.

SPEAKER_03 3:41

Life is all life always has its tricks. You can never be prepared for them, but you should have your friends and families there to support you. Do not shut them out. From your future self. P.S. Danielle, I love your videos. I love watching your family's videos since I was around seven years old, which is crazy at least to me. Also, both of you, your podcast has helped me get through my chaotic life. So thank you for having a channel up and running. I never really comment or do submission forms, so this is really weird to type out. I'm very sorry for my horrible grammar structure of this letter. But anyway, sorry again for the hectic letter. Just slight trauma dumping. Hope you guys have an amazing summer. That was supposed to be actually pretty good. You didn't so good.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Your credit ball was fabulous. I think there are a lot of things in there that would be a good, like, like I imagine, like you get zapped and you have like one minute to tell yourself something. I feel like you hit a lot of like good, like, okay, listen, just trust me. Don't do this. Yes, don't do this. You've got yourself.

SPEAKER_03 4:33

Yeah. Don't give yourself an eating disorder. That's a huge one. That's a huge one.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

I wish I would have gone back and told myself. I know.

SPEAKER_03 4:38

I wish I would have just gone back and told myself, love yourself. Love you at every single phase. Yeah. Because your body's just gonna change and you're gonna get older, and it's you're always gonna be okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

But I think you hit a lot of good.

SPEAKER_03 4:51

You did so good. I'm very impressed. And the friend thing, listen, you're still young. Friends, friendships are hard, but they are very important.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

They will come and go.

SPEAKER_03 5:01

They will come and go. But I do like that.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Keep working on money looking at yourself and saying, you need to put in effort because I feel like putting in effort is good until you realize there's no effort to be put in, if that makes sense. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

No, that totally makes sense. Another thing where you are like 16, always try to put your girlfriends before the boy that you're dating because the boys you're dating when you're that young probably aren't gonna stick around. But those girls might stick along under. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

You never know. You lucky. Two is something I would tell my younger self is to stop caring what others think of you and know that you matter and know your worth because at the end of the day, you are doing what you love most. Yes. I love that. Love it. Love it. Couldn't have said it better. Oh, oh, oh, hold on. We're having a situation. I feel like that's something we should all wish that we could go back and tell ourselves though. Because like stop caring what others think. That is such a huge thing, especially nowadays. Yes. Yes, people are so concerned about what other people think and comparing. And well, what if you have another one?

SPEAKER_03 6:03

It's fine. Well, it's hard when everything is broadcasted and you see the highlight real and you're like, this isn't what my life looks like. Yeah, but they're choosing. Yeah, like even if they're showing you the bad moments, they're still choosing which bad moments they share. Yeah, like it's hard, it's hard to compare apples to bananas. You never really know what's going on. And comparison is the thief of joy. Yep. Alrighty, this one. Hold on. We need we need a swig on the diet coach. It's like I gotta fuel up. We had to prep for this one. Oh, dear teenage me, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for letting you believe that you had to live for other people. I'm sorry you constantly changed your life to fit in. I'm sorry I led you to believe that you should let everyone walk all over you just to keep peace. I'm sorry. Nobody did you more wrong than I did because deep down I knew I should have just lived our life and not gave it should I swear? You can ding and not have a ding about who said what. We were just babies who had lost their parents and didn't know to the full extent how much damage we were really doing to ourselves. I hope you can forgive me for not standing up for us. We have a beautiful daughter now. She's gonna be one at the end of May. And we wouldn't want her to change, and we wouldn't want her to change for the whole world. So why did we feel like we had to? Although I might not be far from teen far from the teenagers that we shared to wait. Although I might not be far from the teenagers that we shared together, just know that you are doing so well, I'm proud of us, and I always will love and cherish you. This was so sweet.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

That lasted a little bit. Like, oh, I love and cherish you. That's so cute.

SPEAKER_03 7:33

Because it's hard when you know you're going through a stressful time period and when you're like saying sorry, but like you're doing so well, I'm so proud of us. Like, that's so true. Like it's some just hearing you tell yourself, like, I'm so proud of you for what you're going through, that means a lot.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

That was something that I was thinking about the other day editing the teenage one. Is it's like you were always like, Oh, I would never ever go back to being a teenager. I would never go back to being a teenager, but like if you did, would you give yourself a chance to say, look, I'm proud of you. You're doing what you can. Because like being a teenager was a lot, like for everybody. It was just all over the place.

SPEAKER_03 8:06

And to know that's coming for yourself though, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Like we should be proud of our teenagers because we survived them, and yes, it was crazy, and yes, we probably messed up a lot, but like man, that's a lot.

SPEAKER_03 8:18

There's so many changes happening in your teenage years that you kind of don't really realize how formative they are. And I feel like the older I get, the more I'm like, oh wow. That that like specific moment actually had a lot more weight to it than I realized, even. Yeah, I don't know. I'm that was a good one. Like, I loved how that was worded. It was really cherish you. That was cute.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

That was so sweet. Okay, dear teenage self, skip college.

unknown 8:42

Get it!

SPEAKER_01 8:43

I get it snaps. You're going to get your degree and become an art teacher just to suddenly meet your husband right after and have a baby right away that you cannot bear to leave. You quit your job and never go back to work again, which makes money very tight. And now you have a student loan. Oh, student loan debt. Just skip college and start an art business on the internet instead. Yes. I love this.

SPEAKER_03 9:03

You're like, hey, skip it. Let's just go straight to making money.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Scam anyway.

SPEAKER_03 9:07

It's unless you're going for something.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Unless you're like a doctor. Go for something very specific. But like in this sense where you're like, I could have just started something online. Totally.

SPEAKER_03 9:16

That is one thing. Especially if you're like, no, you want to be a mom and you're gonna want to stay home with your kids. Like, why, why, why don't you know? I don't know, but a lot of people disagree with that. A lot of people disagree with that. I have a funny story about that after we're done. This is not the time. Oh, okay. Um, I have to do that. Not podcast stories. Well, maybe. I had someone, not a family member, a close family friend, um, ask me at an event um if I was ever gonna go back to school. Oh. And I was like, huh? Like it kind of caught me off guard. I was like, what? Like, it's just so important to get your degree. And I was like, well, I don't really need it. Like, we're doing great. Like, I'm like, and I I asked him, I said, can you tell me like why you think it's a good idea? Because I was just kind of pushing buttons and I was just trying to stay in there, like, well, you just never know if you're gonna need it. I'm like, okay, but why would I why would I spend more time away from my kids? And I was like, I'm not never say never, but as of right now, like I don't see any need for me to go back to school. Like, there's no need for it. And they kind of kept pushing me on it. And I was like, I don't think you're clocking. Like, I don't need, there's no reason for any career of mine that I would think about going into to go to school. Like, there's no reason for me to just go to school to go to school. I don't understand that. Am I crazy?

SPEAKER_01 10:33

The second someone says it's so important to get your degree and can't back that with like actual like information of like I get triggered because it's like, okay, why though? Like statistically, if you look into it, it is actually harder to get a job right now if you just have a degree versus if you have experience. Experience, oh 100%. There's a difference if you're a doctor, there's a difference of other things, but like if you have a trade, whatever. There are people who are like actively struggling to get a job because they spent their whatever years in college to get their degree versus just going and getting experience somewhere.

SPEAKER_03 11:06

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

It's like statistically a big thing right now.

SPEAKER_03 11:10

Well, Riley, Riley had years, he's not working now, obviously. We're doing our own thing, but like his years of experience were holding up way more credible than someone who just got out of college.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Well, he could probably go and get any job. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:24

Like still, because of his experience. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

I just feel like it's kind of a scam lately.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

Like there are so many, like No, seriously, and it's so much money.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

I'm also a conspiracy theorist, and in my opinion, if you are not going to become a doctor or something specific, it's just something our world uses to put you in a box to be the same as everyone else. Because if you're the same as everyone else, you're not going to succeed.

SPEAKER_03 11:46

I also feel like it's a way to kind of start like the debt train and like those types of things too.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Because like the world we live in needs you to be in debt. You can't buy a house if you're not in debt, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 11:56

Yeah, but like I don't feel like debt, house debt is that as big of a deal. No. In my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

I just mean like there are like you're not going to be able to do it. You have to go into debt. You have to be in debt. Like it's good to be in some kind of debt.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

But I feel like that's an avoidable debt.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Yeah, I just personally, in my own school experience, having teachers like in my face being like, Well, you want to go to college? I was like, Okay, for what? Why do you need to go to college? And they straight up were like, Because it's what you're supposed to do. I'm like, no, why? Give me a reason why. And they're like, because it's just what's done. I'm like, okay, but that might not take ever do anything if it's just what's done. That's what was killing me.

SPEAKER_03 12:36

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Nowadays it is not.

SPEAKER_03 12:39

And that's another thing, is it was just so interesting because I like like what's the purpose? Like, I I'm already having kids. Like, I'm sorry to break it to you, but like I have a career that's doing pretty good right now. Like we have other things that we can do.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Because people are realizing that colleges kind of scammy. It's just a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 13:00

It's a little off. Why do we always get back on the college scam? I don't know. We always do. We always talk about it. We'll bring it back in. We'll bring it back in. Okay, teenage self number five. I would tell my teenage self, life gets better. Trying to please everyone isn't necessary or only hurt you in the end. Keep your small circle, keep your circle small. It'll be better for your mental health. Please come and go. Yeah, maybe. Oh, here, do you want to wait? We skipped some. Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. We're rewinding. Wait. No. Wait, did I read one? You did skip one. This is called. Yeah, okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Okay, yeah, you're good.

SPEAKER_03 13:40

Hold on. We're gonna restart it. What are we what are we time right now?

SPEAKER_01 13:44

Um 13. 13 30.

SPEAKER_03 13:47

13 14. Okay. Okay. I would tell my teenage self, life gets better. Trying to please everyone isn't necessary. You'll only end up it'll only hurt you in the end. Keep your circle small. It'll be better for your mental health. Please come and go. You aren't the problem. You're beautiful. You don't have to compare yourself to celebrities or influencers because they aren't real. You can't control everything. You have to learn to be okay with it. Your life will turn out beautiful. I'm 23 and learning some of this, but if I had had wait, if I had someone to tell me this when I was 15, 16, it would have helped me a lot through the hurt and disappointment.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

I 100 again, in the world we live in, there are there's so much comparison to celebrities and all of that kind of stuff. And it's like I love celebrities that'll straight up be like, um, hey, I got this facial work done, or I got this done. It's not realistic. It's like, right, I had to pay to get this done. But there are 14-year-old girls who are on the internet looking and being like, Oh, I wish I could look like her, I wish I could look like her. They don't see that. And so I feel like the fact that you're like, I wish I could have seen that. There are probably so many women who are thinking that. Like, even now to this day, like I the other day posted a whole reel showing my house being a mess because I found myself like going on Instagram being like, I can't keep my house clean like that. And I was like, Nope, time to post myself publicly on the internet that my house is dirty because I'm not comparing myself to other people. Like 100%. I'm not gonna go. If I can do anything to control that and to control if people are comparing themselves to me, I'm gonna go show that my living room is a dump.

SPEAKER_03 15:22

Let me be so for real with you right now. I only film in specific parts of my house. Number one, because it's the only spot the lighting is good, but those are the spots that I am functioning and doing things all the day. Those are the only parts of my home that are like semi-clean. And they're not even that clean. So, like I think people don't realize that like even if someone's posting on social media and it looks semi-clean, it might not be. Like, you can move a few boxes, like sometimes things aren't exactly how they look, and you never know what's going on in someone's brain. They could be falling apart, it seems.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Yeah, it's just I I love the don't compare yourself to other people because we all compare ourselves to other people. But the thing is, if you go on like an influencer's page, you can usually tell what where their spots are because there's always like the same film places, and it's like me, you just never know, you know. Never touch my laundry room. I was gonna I was like, I you never know what my laundry room looks like.

SPEAKER_03 16:17

I will go home and post what my laundry actually, I kind of might might have done the laundry. I feel like there's different areas of my house that collect.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Mine, mine. Anyway, dear teenage self, for all the trauma we went through as a kid, we were always scared to give our trauma to our children by repeated behavior, but we became a great mom and a wife and a great mom and wife, our kids know unconditional love even in the hardest times, and our husband saved us in ways we could not imagine. And through them, we know now what it's like to be loved unconditionally too. So we made it out. Thank you for not giving up and fighting for the life worth living. Love always older you.

SPEAKER_03 16:57

That's so beautiful. I love that. I love that. I don't even think, like, I don't even know what to say because that was so beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 17:02

Yeah, I love that it's like you took what you went through and you're like, no, no, no, no, I'm having a good relationship with my kids. I'm having a good relationship with my husband, and therefore you're like, no, I know what unconditional love is because you gave them that first.

SPEAKER_03 17:14

Yes. Especially because you're like, this is something that scared us that I'm scared to give to my kids, and you're like, no, no, no, we didn't. Like, it's okay, rest assured, like, we're breaking the cycle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

Kind of thing.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

So I think it's beautiful that you're like to be able to find something, you gave it first, you know.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

That is beautiful. Oh, it's I love it. I love when they're like, well, well set. You did great. Okay. Hold on, you guys. My hip pain is. My hip pain is adding the couch and these shorts. I'm sorry! Honey, a blanket. I this lift up your lemon cup over there. I'm pretty sure I just saw the little baby spider.

unknown 17:50

What?

SPEAKER_03 17:51

Lift up your lemon cup. On this? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

I told you the mini spider. Did I get it? I think you got it. No, if I did.

SPEAKER_03 17:58

You just I'm so sorry for your earbuse.

SPEAKER_02 18:00

You can just talk about it.

SPEAKER_03 18:01

Eardrums. Earbuls.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 18:05

Ring it in. Ring it in.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Oh my gosh, there's one right here.

SPEAKER_03 18:08

No, you're lying. Is there a spider farm?

SPEAKER_01 18:10

There's literally one in the air.

SPEAKER_03 18:11

I'm so scared.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

I'm so scared. I hate it. Okay, hold on. Are there more? Because we just saw two of the same spider. That couldn't have been the same spider, right? No. Those were two different.

SPEAKER_03 18:25

It could have. What would it have stuck to?

SPEAKER_01 18:27

I don't know. Well, like baby spiders can do like the little like a parachute, you know?

SPEAKER_03 18:31

No. Oh. They spy they parachute? What do you mean? They fly and fly? Okay. We're gonna onward and upward. I hate anything that claws crawls, slithers, and moves that's not human. Wait, you don't like snakes? You like snakes? I love snakes and snakes. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Dear younger me.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

For a second there, I thought you were gonna kiss me. She's like, dear younger me. I'm like, I'm like, oh, this is happening.

SPEAKER_04 19:07

This is happening. We're not blood related.

SPEAKER_02 19:09

This is how it's going to fix it. Oh my gosh, I'm dead. I'm pulling that. The fact that I didn't move either, I was just like, you're like, okay, this is just going. This is how it's going. Sorry, Riley.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

Sorry, Ty.

SPEAKER_02 19:23

I'm crying.

SPEAKER_03 19:25

Dear younger me, we're reeling it in for reals. Okay, dear younger me, you're still here and you were doing so well. You got married and you were pregnant with your first child. Even though life's a little scary sometimes, you have the most amazing family members behind you. You even love your amazing mother-in-law. Spoiler, that's a huge win. You fall in love and marry someone you do not expect to love, but you wouldn't trade him or your life for the world. Even though you and Jane's best friend, ex-best friend, don't talk anymore. It is for the best, and you have even better and stronger friendships now with people who love you and lift you higher than you could have ever put yourself. You're stronger than you think and smarter than you tell yourself you are. You are loved and you are worth it.

unknown 20:05

You are worth it.

SPEAKER_03 20:06

This was very intimidating to write, but if one day my daughter gets to this, gets to do this and write it out to her younger self, I want her to know that she should have all the courage to do so. Love the podcast and how authentic you are. This means so much.

SPEAKER_02 20:19

I actually so agree that it's that.

SPEAKER_03 20:21

Like thinking about your daughter wanting to do that. Aww, that's so sweet. I love that. This is a good one. See, it's so fun to like be able to know that like this helps other people too. And it's not like we're not like the same like psycho trait.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

That's so cute. Oh, it's you. Oh, it's a long one. We're not saying long ones are bad. No, we're not saying we're just pumped to really get the long one.

SPEAKER_03 20:48

I'm not good at speaking. This is episode four on the day. So, like one more to go. We have one more to go. Dear me, what? Almost licked the mic. Oh, I just have a really long tongue.

SPEAKER_02 20:59

You do have a lizard tongue.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

I have always had that was my used to grab my tongue and pull it to see how much it would stretch.

SPEAKER_02 21:06

She's like, look at this girl.

SPEAKER_01 21:09

She lived, she lived like 12 hours away, so I'd go and see her and she's like, let me see you.

SPEAKER_02 21:13

How long has it gone now?

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Anyway, segue. Dear younger me, I know how lonely you feel right now. Losing both your parents oh losing both your parents before you even had the chance to fully grow up changed everything. While other kids worried about normal teenage things, you were trying to survive grief that felt way too heavy for someone your age. There were moments you probably felt scared, angry, lost, and unsure of what your future would look like. You wondered how life could keep moving when your whole world had fallen apart. But I need you to know something. You make it through.

unknown 21:46

Yay!

SPEAKER_01 21:48

Not without pain, not without nights where you cry and miss them so much that it physically hurts, but you keep going anyway, even when it feels impossible. One day you will have a home of your own, a safe place filled with love, warmth, and stability. Be married to someone who stands beside you th through life instead of leaving you to carry everything alone. And the girl who once felt broken by loss will be in college working towards some becoming a registered nurse. The pain you survive will become part of the reason you care so deeply for other people. Your story does not end with grief. There will always be part of you that misses mom and dad. There will always be milestones where you wish they were there to see the person you become. But I think they would be unbelievably proud of you. Proud of that proud that you kept going. Proud that you built a future for yourself, even after losing so much so young. You spent so much time wonder wondering if life would ever feel okay again. It does. Not perfect, not easy, but beautiful in ways you can't imagine. You are stronger than you know. Even on the days you don't feel strong at all. And despite everything that tried to break you, you still cho chose love, growth, and future. That matters. Love your older self.

SPEAKER_03 22:54

Oh, that was beautiful. Wow, I'm so sorry for your loss, but you sound like you have an amazing life. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Proud of you. That is I'm proud of you too. I feel like I have to crawl eat. I literally too. I'm like, I keep looking, this hair was on me a second ago.

SPEAKER_03 23:09

You guys, I love reading these. Like these are so fun. Right. I hope we're like giving them justice, like in reading them Happy World One.

unknown 23:16

Right.

SPEAKER_03 23:16

I love that one. Okay. Dear younger me, you are beautiful, kind, smart, and fun to be around. So loved. Get to know your mom. She's going to become your future self, your future self's best friend. Your mom doesn't mean to shut you out. She's just scared to know the answers to the hard questions you'd love her to ask you. It's okay to put yourself out there and be you. Also, please know that you're going to be okay. You have to go through the hardest times before you get to the beautiful life you've built for yourself. Remember, high school boys are scary cats. Scary cats. They don't ask you out because you are intimidating. Stop being who you don't stop being who you are. P.S. It's okay to have your doubts about things of an esta- wait. It's okay to have your doubts of things. Of an establishment establishment doesn't accept you for you. You don't need to be a part of that establishment. Oh, and your sister is totally sleeping with your boyfriend. Just a boy. Don't keep dating and freak up with him now. So you can experience high school with anyone else. Mic drop. Let's show back. P.S. It's okay to have your doubts about things of an establishment that doesn't accept you for you. You don't need a part of be a part of it. Oh, and your sister's totally sleeping with your boyfriend. Just FYI. Don't keep dating him. Break up with him now so you can experience high school with anyone else. What?

SPEAKER_02 24:40

What? Honey. I feel like I need to like reset. Hold on. Reset. Okay. I had to do a little spin. I'm dead. I'm sorry. What? What? Older sister? Younger sister? Like, what? I'm sorry. I want to know how you found out.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

Can we get your story time? What? Were you both in high school together with him? Was she out of high school? Was she older out of high school? Was she older? Was she older?

SPEAKER_03 25:13

I want to know like what the dynamic is between you now.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

This girl, this should not have. I need you to email us. I need you to email us right now. I need you to.

SPEAKER_03 25:27

This. She's speechless. We need the details. Speechless. That's the worst part about these submissions, is when you guys drop a bomb like that, it's like, hold on, hold on. I want to know.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

Like this is not just like, oh PS, your sister's sleeping with your boyfriend, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

No! What? I need you to email us with the fully. I'm talking like, I don't care if you chat GPT the story so it's longer. Oh, yeah. I don't care what you're doing. Don't make it up. We need the full TTs. I need an entire like full book. If we need a novel, we need that. I need you to send a video so we can hear it with your voice. Like, I don't care how it happens. That would be insane.

SPEAKER_03 26:08

Have you seen people do those um voice? They like call in and leave a voicemail.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

No.

SPEAKER_03 26:14

We should do one of those episodes. Yes. They leave a voicemail and like tell their story and then like we react to it. Yes. That would be so fun. I'm gonna do research on how to do that.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

Okay. Well McKean's gonna do research for that. Next! Oh then I have to like.

SPEAKER_03 26:30

She's a little wound up after that. Nuts.

SPEAKER_01 26:35

There are so many questions. How would you ever trust your sister again? Do you trust her?

SPEAKER_03 26:40

Yeah, like I wanna know where your relationship is now. Like I want a story.

SPEAKER_01 26:43

Like, are they?

SPEAKER_03 26:44

Please tell me they didn't let me.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Because you didn't say something like they're married or something, but like also, how long ago was this? Like, did he come to like family dinners? Like, continue to go to family dinners after? Like, you took him to family dinners and then he continued to go to said family dinners, but like with sister now, not you.

SPEAKER_03 27:03

No, can you imagine?

SPEAKER_01 27:05

No, I cannot imagine. No way. That is insane.

SPEAKER_03 27:08

Send details. I'm scared there's bugs climbing on me. I'm pretty sure it was the same spider. I'm pretty sure like it parachuted.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

It probably parachuted because I have to be like not have freaking nightmares of a parachuting spider. Yeah, you're probably gonna have nightmares of a parachuting spider.

SPEAKER_03 27:20

Oh no, we left the fan on.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

I actually was trying to pay attention, and I don't think you can tell because I noticed a couple of times. This room is so hot. Okay, next. Dear younger self. I have no idea where to start. These are probably gonna be so sweet now, and I'm like still stuck on the sister sleeping with the boyfriend. It's gonna be okay. Okay. We're gonna switch our minds to sweet. Deep breath. Should we take a deep breath?

unknown 27:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

Mii Ma Okay, dear younger self, I have no idea where to start. Girl, you have big things ahead of you. Some good, some bad. Just keep being your silly goofy self and don't change for anyone. Yes. Period. You will go through a hard season mentally, but it won't turn out the way you think it will. You will meet new people that will love you and lift you up. It will get better. Your chapter in life is not over, even though you may feel like it. We are about to graduate high school. Yay! And go to college for nursing. Yay! We have a lot of nurses. I love nurses. You are doing what you always wanted to do by helping people's boo-boos go away. You can do this, and I'm so proud of you. Also, you are always beautiful the way you are.

SPEAKER_03 28:28

Yes. I love that. Um, let me tell you, I wanted to be a nurse when I wanted to emotionalize you. I think anyone that can be a nurse or a doctor or anything is truly amazing. And a nurse specifically is such a selfless job. Yeah. Like, oh they don't get the credit. They don't, they don't, because they're like a therapist and they like they manage people, and like when they're going through something, like that would be a lot.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

This is a totally not off whatever. We were in Disneyland. Yeah. And there were a bunch of people walking around with like badges that said nurses day out. And it was like, oh, that's so fun. And then I sat there and I was like, are there some nurses that had to stay back at the hospital and they didn't get to be part of this? Or are they just hoping that no one gets injured today? It was probably like I bet they do like night shift, day shift.

SPEAKER_03 29:18

Right. That's so fun.

SPEAKER_01 29:20

I know it looks like so they all had like Disney, like oh, that's so cute.

SPEAKER_03 29:24

Do you ever get on like nurse, like random sides of TikTok that is like a random world that you're not really part of? And you're like, oh, that's so fascinating. It's a different world for me. Love it. Okay. Dear teenage me, whoa, you're 23 me, whoa, you're 23 years old now. You recently got married to an amazing man who treats you like the most special and beautiful woman. You don't endure any more abuse from your parents. Matter of fact, they kicked you out on Christmas a couple years ago, which was the hardest thing, has ended up to be the biggest blessing.

unknown 29:55

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 29:57

You have served a full-time mission for the church, and you have a relationship with God, and He is your safety. You're doing things for you. Um, you are doing things for you. Therapy serving others and genuinely laughing and happy. You always wanted to belong, so you dated the mean boys who gave affection. You thought you were stupid, but you are beautiful, strong, and resilient. You are going to grow and become stronger and proud of the life and realize you always did what you could to survive. That is something to be proud of. Teenage Jane, your worth isn't earned. It is something that you were given the day you were created, and no one can take that away. Love yourself and others, everything will work out. Love your mid-20s future self. I love that. I love that it's not when you said your love, your worth isn't earned. It is something you were given the day you were created. I want my girls and boys, like I want my kids to feel that in their bones. Like your worth and your meaning and purpose, and everything is not something you have to earn, and you have to like people have to like give you the acceptance to feel you should always just feel that about yourself. I love this. This was beautiful. You did good. You are worth it. Um, you are worth it, and I'm so sorry your parents kicked you out, but it seems like you're doing better now, and you don't have to endure any abuse. So crazy. You know what? Make them better. Make them better. You don't need them.

SPEAKER_01 31:17

You don't need that. Yeah. You don't, you don't. I I'm like, do you have any connection with your parents still? Or are they like gone, gone? I would hope I don't actually know.

SPEAKER_03 31:28

Whatever is best for you.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

Whatever's best for you. If that's you guys fixed things and healed, right? If that's you moved on and never, whatever's best for you, I hope it's what's best for you. I hope you seem like you're in a good place.

SPEAKER_03 31:40

100%.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Which is fantastic. Okay. Next, we have dear teenage self. It's okay to say no. It's okay to say no, McKinley. This is for me. I did not write this, but I'm listening. If you're not comfortable, say no. If you have too much.

SPEAKER_03 31:58

I'm not comfortable. Give me a cow. Are you sure you didn't? Rewind.

SPEAKER_01 32:04

I would like to clarify that I did not write this. This is not McKinley, but it could be. It's okay to say no. If you're not comfortable, say no. If you have too much on your plate, say no. If you are struggling mentally, say no. If you don't like how they treat you, say no. If you simply just don't want to do it, say no. Love your future self who is breaking your people-pleasing tendencies. P.S. You are married and have the cutest daughter and son. And another daughter.

SPEAKER_03 32:29

And another daughter. I've forgotten this. Whoever this is, we should be friends. Yeah, because you guys are the same. Listen, I the hardest thing about being a people pleaser, I've decided, is you, it's so easy to fall back into those tendencies and to almost like you have to like keep reminding yourself that like, you know, you can say no. You can like make a line, you don't have to stretch yourself so thin that you're literally drowning. I love it. Thanks. Thanks for the reminder, honey. Hey, dear teenage self, I wish you could, I wish you would have spoken up more and defended yourself more. I am realizing now as an adult that some things could have been changed, but now it is too late. A lot has changed throughout the years. My advice is to think about the positive. Take one day at a time, don't get ahead of yourself, and don't be afraid to defend yourself. Love your future self. Love it. I was a powerful one.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

Love it. Um, I wish I knew Wow, okay, hold on. I'm gonna blink right here. I wish you knew how much you were loved and cared about. The relationship with your father. Wait, the relationship with your father got worse, but you are finally out of that house and you are so much happier. You may be in the deepest, darkest depression depression place ever, and you may feel like you don't want to live anymore, but you are so much happier now. You will find the people that truly love and care about you, and everything will turn out good in the end. You will eventually figure out who you are and how much you want to go about your life. You will be you will have such big and scary news, but it is so important you don't lose yourself to it. You will finally get diagnosis for everything and start living your best life. Find influence that sh show the your real self and not make you feel so insecure about yourself, aka you girls. Oh there are so many episodes that have healed me.

SPEAKER_03 34:09

Oh, that was so sweet. That's so sweet. Um, you're amazing. I'm so sorry about your dad, but I'm glad you pulled yourself out of your depression. That's amazing. That's amazing. Yes, thank you. That's so sweet. Yes, badge. Smile. Okay. Um, I know right now you feel behind sometimes. You compare yourself to other people and wonder why things seem easier for them. You worry about whether you were doing enough to grow, become enough, but your life is not a race, and you do not have to have everything figured out yet. You're going to make it through the days you think will break you, and one day you'll realize how strong you were truly the whole time. I did not read that incorrectly. I made my own words on that. I'm sorry. Please stop being so cruel to yourself over every mistake. One bad day does not define your future. One wrong choice does not ruin your life. You are still learning, you are allowed to grow at your own pace. There will be moments that you feel misunderstood or alone, but these moments will not last forever. The way you care deeply and love hard is not weakness. It is one of the most beautiful things about you. Things take more pictures, laugh louder, stop worrying so much about what everyone thinks, wear what makes you happy, and enjoy the little moments more. People meant for you will love you exactly for who you are. Please take care of yourself and give yourself grace on the hard days. You are stronger, kinder, and more capable than you know right now. I am proud of you for making it this far. I love you guys so much and enjoy all the episodes each week. This was beautifully written.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

Amazing.

SPEAKER_03 35:33

I want to like frame it. That was so beautiful. I love this.

SPEAKER_01 35:36

I'm just like sitting like smiling and nodding the whole time.

SPEAKER_03 35:38

I'm like, yes, yes, yes, yes, banger after banger. I really feel like you could not have said anything better. Like you gave yourself so much younger comfort.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Right. I think the oh, that was the last one. I feel like just like the comparing is such a big thing in this episode, I think. Like, really, I think that's all something that we have to really think about throughout our lives, whether you're a teenager, whether you're a mom, whether you're a grandma. Like comparing yourself to other people is comparison, is the thief of joy. Like it seriously is just it's you're not you're your own individual self, and the second you start comparing yourself to others, you're gonna find things that you're like, oh, but what if this is better, or what if this is justifying like any kind of comparison, whether it's I'm better because I do this or this person's better because they do this, like it's just dangerous.

SPEAKER_03 36:31

Like it it it comparison is just a slippery slope, and it's also hard because sometimes you compare like yourself to yourself in different phases. I will say I loved what was the part that she was like, I love it when it was like you don't have to have everything figured out, and you you're so strong, she said one day you'll realize how strong you truly were the whole time. I think that's something that we kind of always forget. Like, we're going to get through this, like you're gonna wake up tomorrow, and tomorrow's a new day. Like, um, we were kind of talking to our kids the other day, and we're like, even when life is so hard and you feel like you're so frustrated and things aren't going your way, you can wake up tomorrow and kind of change your attitude and decide how you want to start that day. Right. So we're kind of trying to reframe with our kids, but I love how you said you were how strong you were the you realized how strong you were the whole time. Right. That was beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

Yeah. Well, I think the message for this is stop comparing yourself.

SPEAKER_03 37:25

Truly, and give yourself grace because your future self has so many notes for you and just wants you to keep going and pushing through. Like every single one of these messages was saying you're doing great, you're doing the best that you know how to do. Right. Just keep going. Like there's better days ahead. We got this. Yeah. Even though it's hard, we all like to complain, we all like to think our life is crappy at times, but it's a beautiful ride. It's good. That's the beauty of it.

SPEAKER_01 37:52

Right. And of course, always remember that you are worth it. Love you. Bye.