This year has reignited my love of getting lost in literature. As we approach the last few months of 2023 I wanted to reflect on a goal I made for myself this year - the goal to read 12 books. I have doubled my goal by October and with my listeners who love reading in mind I wanted to take this episode to reflect on the books I have read thus far. This is the final episode of season 3 but before taking a brief break, I hope you are able to find a new book to read from my list and to get you to your 2023 reading goal :)
Fiction Books:
Book Lovers | Emily Henry
*Every Summer After | Carley Fortune
*Fourth Wing | Rebecca Yarros
In 5 years | Rebecca Serle
The Love Hypothesis | Ali Hazelwood
Never Vacation with your Ex | Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Out of Love | Hazel Hayes
Picking up the pieces | Amanda Prowse
*Someone Else's Secret | Julia Spiro
That Summer By. Jennifer Weiner
The Beach House | Jane Green
The Club | Ellery Lloyd
The Hotel Nantucket | Elin Hilderbrand
The Last Guest: A Novel | Tess Little
*The Last Housewife: A Novel | Ashley Winstead
The Midnight Library | Matt Haig
The Things They Carried | Tim O'Brien
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow | Gabrielle Zevin
Wednesday Walks & Wags | Melissa Storm
Welcome to the Neighborhood | Lisa Roe
Short-Stories:
Where the Sakura Bloom | Devin Farmer
Non-Fiction Books:
Addiction: A disorder of choice | Gene Heyman
*Astrophysics for People in a Hurry | Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Beyond the Pill | Dr. Jolene Brighten
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism | Amanda Montell
The Psychology of Addiction | Jenny Svanberg
*My personal favorite book recommendations
There has been a trend going around the internet lately where men are coming out and disclosing that they think about the Roman Empire daily if not multiple times a day which led me to think about my own version of the Roman Empire. While I can confidently say I haven’t given the Roman Empire much thought since passing global history in 9th grade, I can say that I spend much of my time thinking about the radium girls. The radium girls have led me to become suspicious of jumping right into modern-day trends and that's what today's convo is all about! While we get a bit historical today, I hope you walk away from this episode learning a bit more about the radium girls and become a bit more skeptical of what is often quick to be marketed as the “next best thing”
Have you ever watched an award show on TV and thought to yourself, “Wow I wish I could be there”? Well, that has always been me with the VMAs and I had the opportunity this past Tuesday to actually attend this year's show! While I think I am still processing the night and all that I experienced, I wanted to debrief a bit on the pod and talk about what really went down. From getting there to dancing the night away, this episode is all about how you can get to the VMAs, what to expect, and what actually happened this year. I hope you enjoy :)
After two stressful years obtaining a master's degree, I finally went on vacation and was able to relax, but not without dealing with some hidden stressors first. While I think we all agree that vacations should be stress-free there are some things that we just can’t control that may arise before we even get our foot out the door. There are also other things that may just make it more challenging to just up and leave for a trip, such as having to find care for pets. This episode is all about the hidden stressors I recently encountered and how to manage them so that you can still have a stress-free vacation :)
When someone has a passion or is passionate about something it means that they have a strong interest or it elicits strong emotions from them. While passions are important to have in life as they contribute to our identity, provide an escape from other life stressors, and are something to be enjoyed, they often may be ignored when there are other things going on. I have realized the repercussions of ignoring my passions and have been working to reignite mine by joining new groups, going out and trying new things, and just mindfully taking the time to reflect on what I am missing in my life. This episode is all about reigniting passions, my own journey with doing so, and how I hope to help motivate you to do the same!
The term aesthetic has long determined the way my home, appearance, and social media pages look. Yet, throughout my life, I have found my personal choice in aesthetics to evolve, change over time, or even just with the seasons. I have never been able to fit into just one aesthetic and have since realized that it is not necessary to find just one. While those that are able to are considerably lucky, with all the aesthetics out there, trying new ones, mixing them up, or sticking to one are all options one can take to find the one for themselves. This episode is all about aesthetics, my personal journey with finding an aesthetic for my home and wardrobe, and whether or not I believe it's necessary to pick and stick to just one.
I have never been one to fear stepping out of my comfort zone but as I navigate post-grad life I definitely am confronted with the idea more and more. While it can feel daunting or scary, stepping outside of your comfort zone almost always comes with benefits and opportunities for self-growth. This week is all about comfort zones, how to identify when it's time to step out of one, the reflection before doing so, and the benefits that come with it.
When I first began cooking three years ago, I was a recipe follower and took little risks. As someone who loves food but is a picky eater, coming up with new meals, and trying new meals is a challenge. That's why three years ago I vowed to myself to incorporate some new food items into my palate throughout the year. While I love food, I will say that I find planning meals in the summer to be a challenge. Surrounded by fresh ingredients and minimal cooking options due to the heat, a picky eater like me runs into old habits of repeating meals. In this episode, I chat about some of my favorite go-to meals in hopes I can inspire you to reflect on your favorites, as well as realize how you can turn a “boring repeat meal” into something new. I hope you enjoy this foodie episode and don’t forget to share your favorite summer meal or recipe recommendation!
Welcome back to chill chats podcast! I know it has been quite some time since we last spoke but I am excited to be back behind the mic! Since my last episode in January, I have been focusing on school and graduation. In this episode, we'll catch up on my life these last four months, talk about the smoke from the Canadian fires blanketing the city, and express hope and excitement for this new season! Get a snack, kick back, and get ready for a season of chilling with me and my cat :)
Thank you all for tuning into season 2! This episode marks the end of season 2 and the start of a very hectic time in my life. As I wrap up grad school, start to consider my future, and question what I am to do next, I welcome this uncertainty with open arms and hope you do too! Life is full of uncertainty and in this episode, I dive into how I am welcoming it, rather than fearing it, and hope that if there is uncertainty in your life you can learn to do the same. Beyond my personal academic/career uncertainty, as this episode marks the end of season 2 there is also uncertainty about where this podcast will go next! I am taking a brief hiatus to focus on my studies and will update y’all once my uncertainty becomes more certain. Stay tuned on Instagram @chillchatspodcast and in the podcast description bio for when I will be returning. Till then, I wish you all a lovely rest of your winter and a wonderful February :)
Happy New Year! I know it’s three weeks into the new year, but with this being my first episode of 2023 I needed to say it anyways. I hope the start of the year is treating you well, but if yours is going anything like mine and you’re struggling to find the rhythm again post-holidays, just know you’re not alone. That said, my start of 2023 hasn’t been fully unproductive as I have completed 4 books already, out of my goal of 6, and am in progress with 5 others! As I have been going through my books, I have been thinking about a favorite topic of mine - parasocial relationships. I realized my parasocial relationships with book characters are far different than with other media forms such as YouTube, podcast hosts, or television. This week I dive into why these relationships vary per media form and I hope to inspire you to reflect on your own parasocial relationships at the moment :)
It’s hard to believe that 2022 is already coming to an end and that in a few short days we will be ringing in 2023. At the end of each year, I love to reflect on all the things I did - going through photos, videos, posts I made, and the memories I hold - and jotting down some of my favorite highlights in a journal to reflect on in the future. I also enjoy setting intentions for myself for the new year, which, unlike traditional goals/resolutions, have no timelines or expectations attached to them. Rather, I reflect on areas of my life and set intentions for myself to provide guidance on areas I could potentially improve upon sometime in the new year. I hope this episode inspires you to do the same and I want to thank you all so much for joining me this year! Wishing you all a happy new year!
Last Wednesday I celebrated my 24th birthday! In turning another year older I reflected a good bit on this past year, the challenges I faced and overcame, the growth I experienced, and all that I learned. While a bit delayed due to getting sick, I wanted to share some of the things I learned to offer advice to others, to share some common feelings we all experience, and to have something to look back on in another year to see how much more I have grown! I hope you enjoy this week's episode and Happy Holidays to all!!
Last week I reminisced on my first, and what I presumed to be my last, Rockefeller Christmas Spectacular Tree Lighting event. Since the last episode, I managed to snag two tickets to a pre-recording of this year's event which would place me on the rink in front of the action! In this episode, I discuss whether this new vantage point changed my opinion of the event and go over the highlights of this event. Also, since it is December 1st and the holidays are nearing, I wanted to go over my holiday gift guide/gift-giving tips. Hope you enjoy this week's episode :)
The holiday season has officially started in NYC and after watching the 2022 Rockefeller Christmas tree get delivered and set in place for its upcoming lighting, I couldn’t help but reflect on all the holiday festivities I enjoyed last year and am looking forward to this year. Join me in this episode as I reflect on the major holiday events - the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Rockefeller Tree Lighting, and NYE Ball Drop - as well as some simpler ways to enjoy the holidays in the city. This is my personal favorite time of the year to be living in NYC and I hope you can come to see some of these things yourself, or just enjoy them from the comfort of your home, now with some insider knowledge!
I can’t believe it is already November! With the end of the year sneaking up on us, I find this time of year, all that is going on, and the preparation for the new year to be hectic, overwhelming, and oftentimes resulting in me feeling burnt out. After struggling with burnout for what feels like a majority of this year but facing some relief in October, I wanted to take some time to reflect on what burnout is, what leads to it, and how to prevent it or manage it when it happens. I hope that the end of this year does not lead you to feel burnt out, but if it does, I hope you can use some of these tips to work through it and make it more manageable!
With Halloween just around the corner, I can't help but think of one of the spookiest things of all - feeling left out. Maybe that's not what you were thinking I was going to say but the end of the year and holidays often leave me feeling a bit left out, or as though I should be doing something that I am not. In this episode I dive into feeling left out, the struggle of navigating adult friendships, and generally reflect on why I feel this way, to begin with. I hope you enjoy this episode and I hope you have a great Halloween!
From the weather to the scents, to the food, to the activities, what isn’t there to love about fall? In honor of the start of fall and spooky season, it only felt right to dedicate this week's episode to my favorite season, fall! Join me this week as I chat about my favorite fall activities, foods, smells, and how fall has taken my #1 season spot over summer. Grab a nice fall beverage, get cozy, and put on your favorite Halloween movie as we talk about fall this week!
Welcome back to my podcast! This season we're going to keep chatting about various topics surrounding city living, graduate school, the holidays, and whatever else comes to mind :) It's been a month since we last had a chat so let's start with a little catch-up of these last few weeks!