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Okay, guys.
What is up? Welcome to the coffee talk. I'm just kidding. I think we're starting a podcast. I think that that is what's happening right now. I am literally speechless at the fact that this is happening. I don't know where to start. I don't know what to talk about. But I think for starters, I want to start by saying thank you because I wouldn't be doing this. I wouldn't have gotten to this point in my life if it weren't for each of you supporting me and like believing in me and just like always getting me through the days that are tough.
And also something I want to lead with, this is the first time that I've ever recorded a podcast. Like, I'm actually going to be totally honest with you guys. I can't listen to my voice when, like, when my parents put on a YouTube video and they're watching mine on the big TV, I have to leave the room. I won't let them watch my TikToks in front of me. So I left my room. I was going to record in my room, and I'm sitting in my mom's car recording this right now. And...
I'm so nervous. I don't know why. I'm literally talking to a steering wheel and...
I just can't believe it's real. I can't believe it's happening. I feel like I've been thinking about this for so, so, so long. And one day I just got to a point where I was like, it's never going to be perfect. I'm never going to feel ready. Like I'm never going to be 100% confident enough to start this. So I might as well start it now. Like I might as well just take the first step. And since you guys are just the most amazing, supportive people in the whole wide world, I
I'm not worried because I know that you guys are going to give me time and you're going to be patient with me and let's do it. Let's just do it. We're starting a podcast and this is it right now. You're listening to the podcast. What the heck? Like how in the world is this real? Sorry, I'm probably going to have a lot of those moments, but I do want to like tell you guys a little bit more about where this idea came from, who I am, where I came from, because I feel like in
One minute or a three minute or a 15 second tick-tock There's only so much that I can tell you guys about me and how I got to this point and there's only so much of me that I can show and well, I don't want this whole podcast to just be me talking about myself That's actually the last thing I want but I do think that for this first one I want you guys to get to know me better I want to tell you a little bit of my story I want to tell you about my goals my dreams what I want to gain from this podcast like what I want all of us to learn from it and how I
We can all just become a little bit better people. I want to tell you guys more about where this name came from. I would love to be able to say that I came up with it myself and that it was all my idea, but I actually got the sweetest DM from a girl named Kirsten. And she was like, you should name the podcast Moments because I mentioned before that I couldn't figure out what to name it because there's going to be a lot of different things I'm going to want to talk about.
I'm going to want to talk about where I travel and the things I go through and the things I struggle with and the people I meet and interview people around the world. And there's just a lot of different aspects that I want to incorporate into this podcast. So she goes, you should name it moments and like always make the subtitle what you're talking about. Like this one, for example, might be moments in new beginnings or moments in trying new things or moments in chasing your dreams.
Haven't decided yet, but she goes, because each of our lives is just a collection of moments and every moment passes and sometimes we can go back to them and look at them and sometimes we keep them stored for longer and there's moments that we wish we forgot, but also taught us something. And the whole idea, everything that she said, just, I read her DM, I got chills, I think tears came to my eyes. I was like, mom, this is the one I sent it to her. She goes, OMG, don't even think about anything else. That's the one, that's the name of the podcast. So...
The Moments podcast was born. Holy crap, I'm making a podcast. Okay, okay, okay. I haven't even introduced myself yet, guys. My name is Lexi Hidalgo. I am currently 20 years old. I'm living in Florida, also kind of living in Hawaii. And you're probably wondering, how did you get here? How are you 20 years old making a podcast? How do you live in Hawaii? Trust me, I don't even know the answers to all of those questions, but I will tell you what it's taken to get me to this point.
I think that the number one thing I want each and every one of you to take away from the first episode of this podcast is just to never give up on yourself. No matter what you're going through, no matter what you're struggling with, make sure you always have that piece of you that keeps believing and knows that you're going to get through the patch. You're going to get exactly where you need to be. You're on this journey for a reason. You're supposed to be here even when it hurts.
I'm not sure if you guys know my friend Meredith, but she's one of the sweetest souls in the whole entire world. And she said this to me one day and she goes, she goes, you know, the term or the phrase, everything happens for a reason. I'm like, yeah, it's literally my favorite thing ever. She goes, well, sometimes she goes, I had this realization that when you can't figure out what the reason is, it's because you're in the happening. And I'm
It just stuck with me for the longest time and now whenever I'm going through it or I'm really struggling with something I'm just like okay. I'm in the happening the reason will come around sometimes it takes days sometimes hours sometimes years and We always get we always push through we always get to the other side even when it feels impossible So why stop now why stop believing in yourself? Don't don't stop believing in yourself with that being said
That's the takeaway. So everything I'm about to tell you, all these stories I'm about to tell you, the one thing that remains consistent is that I always had that belief for myself. It might have been so deep and subconscious at the time that I didn't even know it, but I think that subconsciously since that's what I believed, I did it. I got through. I mean, starting out way back in the day, I think that I had a pretty normal, awesome childhood. I have two younger brothers, so I'm the oldest, and...
Went to school. I was in gifted classes, elementary school, all pretty normal. I don't have anything too important to tell you guys from that. But I did competitive cheer for a really long time. So there was always a lot of pressure on me. I think that that's something that's important because that's something that remains also consistent in my life. I always have this thought that there's pressure on me. And I just think that that's an important factor to include in everything else I'm about to tell you.
But middle school is where I think my life got really interesting really quickly. Sixth and seventh grade, pretty normal. Cheered, had a bunch of friends. Eighth grade came around and there was this one girl in eighth grade who I was friends with. We slowly just kind of drifted apart. Nothing happened. Nothing serious happened at all. And what I'm about to tell you about middle school is something that I have never shared
With anyone, really. I mean, I've shared it with my family and my closest of friends, but I've never shared this with TikTok or with Instagram, the level of it. So just be patient with me if I don't necessarily know how to explain these things or how to word them, but...
There's a girl in middle school who really brought me to the lowest point I've ever been at in my life. One of the two lowest points I've been at so far. This was just someone who really didn't want to see me happy. She did everything that you would envision bullying in the movies. I don't want to tell you too many stories because there's no need to focus on it and I've come to a point where I'm very grateful for it actually, but
stuff like I would go to the bathroom at lunch and we had designated seats so I couldn't sit anywhere else I'd go to the bathroom and I'd come back and there was like a banana rubbed all over my seat and stuff like posting on her snapchat story back when snapchat first came out literally just like pictures of me like with rude captions just saying some really really mean stuff and
I was just going through a lot. You know, I didn't really believe that anyone loved me. I obviously There were people that loved me but for me emotionally I thought I had no one I felt like I was just all by myself. I felt like there was no point in being alive and It's really hard to say that out loud. Like I Definitely had thoughts of just not wanting to be on earth anymore. Oh, I got chills saying that um
Yeah, I've really never told any of you guys that. So it was tough. It was really hard for me. And we tried everything. I had such bad anxiety over this situation, this girl. And I couldn't even get on the bus for school. Like I would text my mom, I can't get on the bus. I'm not getting on the bus because I felt physically sick.
And at the time I did not know what the word anxiety meant. I did not know what the word depression meant I had no idea what mental illness was. I saw it. I thought I Literally you guys will laugh at this. I thought I was dying of some like internal disease I thought my organs were shutting down because I would feel physically sick and I would text my mom I can't go to school today mom. I can't go to school. I'm i'm I can't do it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel like i'm gonna throw up and
She would sometimes have to pick me up and drive me to school because having her in the comfort of that 20-minute drive to school just made it a little bit easier. And then sometimes I would even text her while I was at school, Mom, I need you to pick me up. I feel like I'm going to throw up again. So we tried everything. Didn't try therapy, which looking back on it probably would have been good for me. But acupuncture, doctors to see if there was something wrong with my stomach, so many things. And eventually one day my mom goes,
This is a sentence I think that changed the whole course of my life. Let's go to yoga. I was like, no, yoga's for hippies. I don't want to do yoga. That's weird. You know, a little seventh grade me when you're very impressionable and you believe in every stereotype and you just, everything you hear sticks with you. So I didn't think yoga was for cool people, but I went with my mom anyways because she insisted. Literally, you guys, in my first yoga class, I was on the mat. It was hot yoga. I was like,
And my teacher was just, you know, saying like positive stuff and just kind of talking about emotional things and how certain stretches and openers are going to release emotions from you. And,
Just giving advice on seeing the world differently in a better light. And in that practice, that one yoga class, my whole view of the world shifted. It completely changed. So I started seeing things as better. It was as simple as that. I just needed to find something else that made me happy. And I focused on that instead of what this girl was trying to do to hurt me, to ruin me and...
I just kept going to yoga. I started this yoga account. I loved it. At one point, this girl even hacked into that yoga account and I had like 900 posts or something. I want to say she deleted 400 posts from that account.
That was tough. I still think about that one, but you know, it happened for a reason. And at the time it was just the happening. And now I found the reason. Once my life started to change through the practice of yoga, I was only 13 at the time. I was in eighth grade. I went into my mom's room. It was like late at night, I think. And I go, mom, I want to be a yoga teacher. She goes, she goes, what? You're 13. And I was like, yeah, I know, but
But who cares? I want to do it. And she was immediately in full support of me. And I think that another person I really want to thank while I make this podcast is just my mom. Because I would be, I could cry right now thinking about it. I could not be here.
No shot in the world that I could be here without my mom. She has been my biggest supporter, my number one fan, has always believed in me, especially when it felt like no one else was and everyone else called me crazy. She believed in me, and she still does. And I'm just really grateful for her. But kind of besides the point of the story. But also I think important to include that it's good to have a support system. And if it feels like you don't have anyone, you might not be looking for it in the right people.
Look around. There's people who believe in you. There's people who support you. And I think sometimes we just have our focus in the wrong spot. Life is really just about perspective. It's about where you put your energy and what you spend your time thinking about because our thoughts become our feelings, which become our behavior. And I learned that in therapy recently. It's the greatest thing I've ever learned because when we think positive, we start to feel positive things.
And then we behave more positively. We behave more, we're more motivated. We're more empowered, more ready to go take on the world. And when we think so negative and when we're constantly tearing ourselves apart and tearing apart other people that we meet and other people that we see, we begin to feel negative. When we're judging other people, we automatically judge ourselves more. And that's just, that's how it goes. That's what happens. There's no changing that.
and then we behave more negatively. Less energy, less motivation, and I've been there. I've been in that spot. Before I ever got into yoga, I think I was one of those people who judged a book by its cover or made first impressions of people or just wasn't necessarily the best person, and I will admit that. I've grown and I've changed and I've gone through a lot of different phases in my life where I've gone up and down and all around, but
I just think, I just think that you got to be aware that you believe in yourself and that someone else believes in you too. And a lot of things will change for you. I promise. Back to the story. Back to where we were, back to where we were at. My mom believed in me. She said, okay, you want to be a yoga teacher? Let's, let's have you become a yoga teacher.
let's do it. I'm all in. And I wanted to be a yoga teacher so badly because of how quickly my mindset shifted and how quickly I started to see the world differently. And I think that I just wanted to help other people who were my exact age going through the same thing get through the same thing. I just have always had this little part of me
that just thinks making the world a better place is one of the best things that we can do. And we're all put on this earth to do that in different ways. We all kind of focus on different things. Like there's people out there who want to make the world a better place by putting their time and energy into saving the environment. And I think that that's incredible, but that's also not, I don't think that's necessarily my purpose. If that makes sense, we all have different
We're all built different. Like we all, we all have different paths and different things that we're focusing on. And I'm just rambling on about the same topic. I would do that forever somehow. Um, anyways, I always have felt that my purpose is just kind of inspiring people in a way while also kind of living the dream that I've always wanted to live. And in teaching yoga at the time was what my path was and it's what I wanted. And I was really, really excited about it. And, um,
Apparently, the world of adults and boomers did not feel the same about that. I think my mom called four or five yoga studios, maybe five to ten. I don't really remember. It was a really long time ago. And everywhere was like, no, a 13-year-old teaching yoga? F no. We're not doing that. We're not taking her in. Until we called Kelly Brookbank. Wow.
Kelly Brookbank is another one of those people who I owe a lot to, who also changed my life in so many incredible ways. She, her yoga studio, took me in and said, yeah, we'll take her for training. It's going to be a seven-month training, and it's going to be one weekend out of the month. So Friday, Saturday, Sunday, once a month. So it was like seven sessions, but obviously there was other things during the week. And long story short,
It was a really long course and it was really expensive. So at that point, I had to give up competitive cheer, which I think is the first time I had to make a sacrifice in my life. And those sacrifices, when it comes to chasing your dreams, those sacrifices are going to come. You're going to have to make them. And it's always going to be worth it. But I know it might suck in the moment. So I just thought that's something else I wanted to share. I want you to take away from this. Sometimes following your dreams means making a sacrifice.
And that's okay. But she took me in. So I quit cheer. I started my yoga teacher training. And I think that was the point where I really matured a lot quicker than most people my age. Just because I was in a room full of adults like above 25, between ages 25 and 70. Like there were older people in there getting certified to teach yoga because they loved yoga. And I found that to be the most beautiful thing in the whole wide world. But I went through the training.
I absolutely loved it. I was so passionate about teaching yoga for a really long time. I still am. It's just I haven't taught in a while. So sometimes when it comes to teaching, I get really nervous and I like psych myself out. So I don't teach as much as I used to, but it's something I plan on getting back into. It's also on the it's on the dream board.
You guys will see that. I also want to include in this podcast, since I'm a 500-hour certified yoga teacher, I'm also certified in teaching pranayama, which means breathing. And a lot of these breathing practices got me through a lot of anxiety attacks throughout my life and still do to this day. I had one today. I don't want to talk about it. I was really nervous about this podcast, but now that we're rolling, I'm so happy I'm here and I'm so mad at myself for being so anxious and nervous. But
I want to also, I want to incorporate breathing, meditation, just a couple things that have helped me and I think could help you too. So be on the lookout for that. Quick little intermission. You guys know how much I love Thrive Cosmetics. I really don't even need to explain it to you because those of you who know me know me, know I've been using their liquid lash extensions mascara for the past three years of my life and I use it religiously. Even if I'm getting my makeup done, I bring it with me. Not only are their products high performance, but they also give back to the community and
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Quick little intermission, you guys. We all know how important it is to prioritize the right things in our life. And maybe for you, that's prioritizing doing leg day at the gym or making sure you go for your hot girl walk. But how often are you prioritizing your mental health and making sure that therapy is a part of your weekly routine? If it's something that you've been open to, if it's something that you've been considering, I highly recommend BetterHelp. And thank you so much to BetterHelp for sponsoring this episode. And I'll see you in the next one.
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I taught yoga for a while, and I loved it, and I think that one of my proudest accomplishments is that I was able to say I was the youngest yoga teacher on the East Coast of the U.S. There was another girl in California, J.C. DeVoe, looked up to her. She was awesome, was the same age as me, and got certified, and we were both kind of doing the dang thing. We were the youngest yoga teachers in the country, and we were having so much fun with it, but
Again, it goes back to having pressure on me. I think that all of these things are so important to be aware of because they make us who we are. All of these things that have built up from our childhood, whether we realize them or not, a lot of times it's subconscious things. I just had this pressure on me, and I always felt like I was supposed to be doing more with that teaching yoga. And I knew that I loved it, and I knew that I wanted to be helping people. But at the time, I think that that passion for yoga...
was actually a passion for inspiring people or helping people, and especially younger people. And I kind of stopped teaching yoga for a little while. I went to high school. I had a whole just, you know, high school experience. I would say my high school experience is pretty casual. I was super involved in school. I was on the cheer team. I was in leadership. I was even in ROTC, which a lot of people find really hard to believe, but long story. I ended up in ROTC, and
freshman and sophomore year, guys, I hated that class. I had to go to school in like the military uniform with my hair in this slick back bun. And I was kind of a girly girl. So that was tough for me. And then junior and senior year, I started to love it. It was so much fun. I learned a lot of lessons in that class. I learned about discipline, determination. I met really cool people who loved ROTC. And I don't know, I think throughout high school and towards the end of high school is when I really started to realize that
We're all made to love different things. We're all made to be different people. And I know that I keep going back to that topic, but it's so important. We're so quick to judge what other people want to do. And I still have moments of doing this. Trust me, I really do. But we should never judge one another for loving something different than us. And I think that was one of my favorite things I learned in high school. And it took me four years to do it. So sometimes learning lessons takes longer than you think it's going to take. And that's okay.
That's okay. It's supposed to be that timing. I promise. Oh, something else that was really cool that happened in high school that I think is important to include is I actually did pageants for a little while. My grandma and I always grew up watching like Miss USA, Miss Teen USA. And one day my grandma got an email like, oh, Miss Florida USA pageants are back in town. Like go compete at your hometown pageant. I was like, okay, sick. Let's do it. Mimi texted me.
Another person who means the world to me, she texted me and she was like, let's do a pageant. I was like, no way. The pageant was 10 days away and we ended up doing it. And somehow I won the freaking pageant. And this wasn't one of those pageants where it was like you, you had to do a talent because I didn't have necessarily a talent that would be pageant ready, but it was an interview pageant, interview based pageant. That's what the USA program is all about.
And when I won the pageant, I was like, holy crap, I get to spend a year being Miss Boca Raton Teen USA. It was awesome. I mean, I was going to community events all the time. I had probably almost, if not over a thousand community service hours just because I was going to events all the time. And then I competed for Miss Florida. I didn't place in Miss Florida. And that was okay. I learned that pageants weren't necessarily my thing.
I loved it while I did it, but I've grown out of it. And I think that girls who still do that, I applaud them. It is hard work. It takes like a lot of dedication, a lot of patience. Anyways, that was my little pageant phase. I just want to be very, let me lay it out all out on the table for you guys as I go through my life experience and how I got here.
After pageants, after high school, it was my senior year of high school, and I wanted to go to FSU so badly. My family grew up Seminoles fans. Like, I've, for a lot of my childhood, watched every single FSU football game. And for a while, FSU football was really good, believe it or not. They suck now, in case you guys didn't know that. Sorry, go Noles. But...
I was so sad I'm going to FSU. So my freshman year, I went there. I actually, you know what, I'm just going to, like I said, giving it all to you. I didn't get into FSU my freshman year, which was super odd to me because I had great grades, super involved, thought I had a pretty fire essay, but FSU didn't like it. That was okay, so I went to the community college that was also FSU. It's called TCC. Basically, I say FSU because it doesn't really matter. It's all the exact same thing.
Except for the fact that I didn't live in a dorm. I lived in an apartment. And I was at FSU absolutely loving it the first two months, not even two months, the first month I was there, having the time of my life. Imagine college like on steroids. Like I was going out every night. I was partying with my friends. I will admit it. I will say it. I have had a great, I've had a very much, I have very much had a college experience. I was...
Just living it up. Like I was having a good time. But along with going out every single night pretty much. And if I wasn't going out, I was just drinking wine with my roommate. I was working four jobs.
Because since I was 13, since I started teaching yoga, at 13 I started making money when I was so young. And it's always just been a goal of mine to make my own money, to spend my own money, to help my parents pay my rent. Just, I loved making money. So I always worked four jobs. And I nannied for two families. And that was my favorite thing about FSU was nannying.
because I just love kids so much. I had a hospitality internship at a few of the major restaurants down there in like college town. And I also had this catering job and I would work all those jobs. And for that internship, sometimes I would have to wake up at like 4.30 in the morning to go do a 5.30 a.m. food delivery because a lot of times it consisted of delivering food to offices. Because since Tallahassee is the capital of Florida, there's a lot of major
offices there for like big people, big people things, you know, CEOs and stuff. It was a really cool gig. All kind of besides the point, but eventually that takes a toll on your body. I spent so many days sleeping for like four hours. I had these extravagant to-do lists. I would wake up hungover and then I'd be
I'd feel sick to go do my work, and I just never felt like myself. I never, I lost myself. I completely lost myself, and I can say that that was probably the second lowest point I've had in my life, and I couldn't figure out why. I couldn't figure out why I was struggling so badly in Tallahassee, and I don't know. If you're in that boat where you just don't feel, if you feel like you've lost yourself,
Number one, know subconsciously that you'll find yourself again. Number two, just kind of evaluate what you're surrounding yourself with. I learned recently that we can only, we can only grow so much somewhere that doesn't benefit us anymore. And I think that that's what I was, I was realizing, I was realizing that this, it just wasn't the path that I was supposed to be on. And again, everyone's on a different path, blah, blah, blah. You guys know that, you know all that. But
It wasn't where I was supposed to be. And I didn't know what to do about it because of how excited I was to be there. I thought that I was going to be living the dream. I was so ready to transfer to FSU like the next semester, like I was supposed to transfer to FSU before COVID hit. And it was hard. It was tough because I was constantly in a battle with myself. My brain was constantly being pulled in two different directions. The direction of
I know I'm not happy and I know this isn't where I'm supposed to be. And the direction of stop, you are happy. This is the dream. This is what you've been talking about, thinking about for so many years. Why are you acting like it's not great? And that was so tough on me. And it came down to a lot of points where my roommate and I, Sophie Brockwell, another person I owe the world to, we would sit down, we would talk until 4 a.m. And I would cry and I'd be like, first of all, I'm homesick. I miss my mom.
Second of all, I'm so unhappy with myself. I don't know who I am anymore. I don't I know this isn't what I want to do. I know that I don't want to live here forever. And I just felt stuck. And she always believed in me. She always supported me. She was like, Lexi, you'll get through this. You got to just trust. Okay.
She is the reason I got through the time in Tallahassee. And that's just a little shout out for her because I appreciate her so, so, so much. And I owe a lot of where I'm at to her. It was about to be spring break of my freshman year and we got sent home for two weeks because of COVID. We got sent home for two weeks because of COVID. And boom, this is the part that you guys are going to start. No, you guys are going to start being aware of what I'm talking about because you watched it all happen.
We got sent home for COVID and I was taking classes online, FSU classes, and I said, I think I want to transfer home. I got home and realized how much happier I was and how much better the environment was for me. And it was really hard to make that transfer because, again, I was working four jobs. Those jobs are kind of just hard to manage.
to quit and leave, especially the nannies, the families I nannied for. They relied on me, you know? Whatever. I ended up transferring home. I knew it was better for me. And all of a sudden, school was like, okay, you guys aren't going to come back for a few months. I was taking classes at my local college online, and I was doing good. I was happy. And I decided to make a TikTok. I decided that since everything around the world was closed, all of people's gyms and workout places were closed, I
I was working out in my backyard. I was like, I might as well show you guys what I'm doing. So I posted my workouts. They started blowing up. I was like, holy cow, this is so fun. I love making videos. I love helping people. It was a whole different form of helping people and inspiring people. Then I started posting what I eat in a days. And they helped people because at the time, and even sometimes now on TikTok,
The stigma of eating is super messed up. And I had a pretty young following, very impressionable, and mostly like young teens where monkeys see monkey do. You know, if we saw someone posting on TikTok that they're drinking half a smoothie for breakfast and a piece of chicken for lunch and then some broccoli for dinner.
People are going to do that and they're going to think that's okay. And I, that didn't sit right with me. I think that food is a beautiful thing. And I think that we deserve to eat whatever makes us happy and not what makes us look a certain way. I preach that all the time, but I just started making TikToks around that. Eat what you want, be happy. And then I just kind of started, I started doing a lot of things. I just started having fun on TikTok and realized that this is something I was passionate about. It's something I loved and I kept growing and my followers kept growing. And I was like, wow,
This is real. What is happening? At the time, I was like, oh my god, I'm TikTok famous. And now I don't like to see it as that. I don't like to consider... I hate the word famous. I think it's a terrible word. I like to consider myself someone who has a following, I guess, on an app. Literally, I don't even know what to call myself. I mean, at this point, yes, I'm an influencer, but I also hate that word. I don't know. The person I try to be is just completely myself and
but also share everything that I do with the whole world. It's weird. And it's something that I'm still adjusting to. And we're going to adjust together. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Whether you're selling a little or a lot.
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My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big ROAS man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friend's still laughing me to this day. Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to linkedin.com slash results to claim your credit. That's linkedin.com slash results. Terms and conditions apply.
LinkedIn, the place to be, to be. I started making TikToks. I started feeling happy again. I started finding myself and all these things started happening. It all happened so fast because it was quarantine. I couldn't go anywhere. So I was constantly making videos, answering emails, doing brand deals. In the first few months of me doing TikTok, I did so many brand deals completely for free. And it wasn't until I met other influencers that
Like Anna, Hannah, Natalie, all those girls, those were the first girls I ever went on a trip on. Loved them so much. And they taught me that with the amount of followers I have, I should be making some money. And I could not process that. I was like, wait, this is a job? This isn't just for fun? And that's when it kind of became a reality that this could be my future and I could do something more with this. And...
I just, I kept doing it. At that point, I went home from our first trip together and I made a media kit, which is where you send brands all your info with like your, your rates and your prices and your demographics. And I started making money, which was really cool. And I do want to do a whole nother segment or a whole nother video on just kind of that and how that happened and how I kind of made this my full-time job because a lot of people ask and I never know how to explain it because it's just been such a long journey.
Now it is my full-time job is creating things that I love for brands I love and making a living off of it.
My friend Hannah and I, I think you guys know Hannah. You've seen her. We were roommates for a while. She's the best. And we got super close just because we followed each other on TikTok, became mutuals, would send each other Snapchat videos all the time. One day she was like, I don't really want to be in Michigan anymore. And I was like, okay, come to Florida. And that didn't end up working out just because, you know, life happens. And I sent her this video, this TikTok of some girl going Hawaii. I was like, ha ha.
So let's go. Like I just sent her the TikTok. I don't even think I typed anything. And she goes, you want to do something crazy? I was like, I'm listening. I'm always the impulsive one. Like I'm always down to do anything. So I was like, okay, what's up? She goes, let's go to Hawaii for a month. I said, okay, let's do it. So literally in that moment, we, we planned a trip. We booked our flights. I started saving my money for Hawaii that year for Christmas. I didn't ask for a single thing. I didn't let my parents, I didn't let anyone give me a single thing. I just wanted to
money to go to Hawaii. I wanted to go live out this dream. I was like, wow, because I also grew up always wanting to travel. I've always wanted to see the world. I've always believed that there's so much more beauty than just what we grow up around. And I have a whole nother podcast planned about that. So I'm not going to get into it right now. We booked our flights. We went to Hawaii after 10 days of being there. We ended up signing a year long lease. So right off the bat,
I signed a year lease to somewhere that I had never been before and Hawaii was absolutely amazing and I will say that for many reasons I definitely learned a lot while I was there. I had a pretty low point in my mental health just because a lot of things changed really quickly. My following was growing. I was living alone again for the first time since college. I had two roommates. I
Was always surrounded by really cool people and we were always doing really cool things and it was really hard for me to do my work and I just got super overwhelmed and super stressed. But I've learned so much from it and I think that that whole experience in Hawaii taught me to just to just take it day by day to be patient with myself to give myself grace to be aware of what I'm prioritizing and.
I came home for the summer and that has led us to this point right now. This summer I've done a lot of traveling. I'm going to talk more about traveling and podcasts and how I do it and how I plan it because a lot of people ask for that too. But now we're here and we're at this point and I've kind of given you a whole little backstory about my life now. For a really long time, I've been talking for a really long time. I didn't think I was going to be able to talk for five minutes and
But then I started staring at the steering wheel and here we are. It's been a while. And I'm sorry if that got boring. I don't know. I just, I wanted to fill you guys in on everything and just be completely real and honest. And I didn't want to take multiple takes. Like this is the first time I'm recording. I'm really excited for this to be happening. I'm really excited for each of you to be a part of it.
It is super odd for me because the fact that I can't even listen to my own voice, it's really crazy that people want to and that this is a reality. But I'm just excited to share with you guys life, what we go through, what happens to each of us, things that we don't talk about enough and just...
Have more than a minute to three minutes or 15 seconds to just be real and to just ramble on about things that we're struggling with. Because I think that most of my following is a similar age to me, you know, give or take a few years. I think that we all struggle with the same things at different points in our lives and in different ways and in different aspects. But it all comes back to the same things. I just want to talk with you guys today.
about everything. DM me what you guys want to hear and also go follow our moments podcast on Instagram because I want to make that also something that's more than just an Instagram where we post when the podcast is uploading or anything. The Instagram is going to be more than just posting about updates about the podcast. It's also going to be its own little inspirational thing where I'm going to put little messages on film pictures because you guys know I love film pictures. It's just going to be a really cool Instagram and I would love for you guys to follow it because I'm really excited about it
And before I end this podcast, I want to say just a few more thank yous. And if you guys don't want to listen, you don't have to. But these are a few people who have just kind of like made me who I am and that I couldn't be here without them. So I think that with this much of a milestone in my life, I just want to say thank you to them. It's really just a few people and it's really just one main person that I didn't mention throughout this whole podcast. And I was sitting here kind of recording the ending of it. And I was like, dang.
I really, that was flaw. Like I didn't mention, you guys know my best friend, Lissette. Lissette Christina Mon is one of my favorite, is my favorite person in the whole wide world. She's like that one person, you know, if someone asks like, who can't you, who could you not live without? Yeah, my person's Lissette. She has been the best, best friend of all time. Since I was six years old, has been my best friend. And she's also another one of those people who always believed in me, but at the same time always pushed me. Because she would question me and she'd be like, oh,
Are you sure you can do that? But not in a bad way. In a good way. And she always motivated me to keep going. And I'm just really thankful for her. And I don't even know if she's going to make it to listening through this entire thing. But if she does, I love you. You're my best friend. And also my dad is someone I need to say thank you to. Because I know I gave my mom this whole little spiel. Because...
She's my mom and she came up in the story. But my dad is another one of those people, just like Lissette, who has motivated me to keep chasing my dreams. He wasn't the one in the corner who was like, yeah, do whatever you want. You can do whatever you want, blah, blah, blah. He was the one who would reality check me and be like, okay, I believe that you can do this, but you got to make sure that this is in line. And I think without that, I wouldn't have figured all this out because I tend to be too optimistic and sometimes I need a reality check. And...
He's also the best person in the whole wide world who is so supportive and never gives up on me. And I think those are just two people I wanted to, you know, give a little shout out to. And on that note, guys, thank you.
You are my first shout out and you're going to be my last shout out because without you, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be doing this. You guys are the biggest support system I've ever had. There's been days where I've spent crying because of mean comments I get on TikTok about like people just always have something to say, you know, and I go to my DMs and you guys are just so kind and so supportive and just want to see other people do well.
And I really, really am grateful for that. And I think that each of you are amazing people and where you are is going to get you where you want to be. Believe in yourself. Never stop believing in yourself. And let's see what we can do with this podcast. I want to tell you guys like more of my goals and stuff, but it's already been a while. So let's just leave it at this for now.
Next week, we'll talk more about whatever you guys want to talk about. We're going to see how the reaction to this one goes, and we're going to take it from there. You're all beautiful. You all deserve the world, and I hope that you're all smiling. So thank you guys for listening to the first episode of the Moments Podcast. I consider this a beautiful moment, and I'm literally never going to forget it, and you guys are all here to do it with me.
Let's keep moving on. Let's go find the next chapter. Let's flip the page. Okay. I love you. Goodbye. I'll see you next week on the Moments Podcast.