August 5, 2020 • 33 mins
Welcome to No Need to Ask podcast. My. name is Amani Duncan and I will be your host on this journey.
On today’s episode I had the pleasure of having a sister-to-sister conversation with Lauren D. Williams. I met Lauren when I was a guest on her Pandora for Brands’ sponsored podcast “Pass The Mic”. We immediately hit it off, learning that we have so much in common; from our early childhood to present day,
We always assume we are “too busy” to have meaningful encounters. The internet and social media has turned us into casual friends, distant and often superficial. But when you actually have the chance to really bond with someone, it reminds you of what is missing - the human connection. I feel so grateful to be able to have this genuine connection with Lauren.
So sit back and I hope you enjoy our candid conversation about life, careers and much more!
If you enjoy No Need to Ask podcast, please leave a lovely review and share with others. Until we meet up again, continue to be safe and be well.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
[inaudible]
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome to another episode of no need to ask
podcast.
My name is Amani Duncan, and Iwill be your host on this
journey.
So I would say about a couple ofweeks ago, I was asked to, uh,
participate in one of PennDora's podcasts and it's called
pass the mic.
And I had this opportunity toreally have a great conversation
(00:39):
with Lauren Williams.
She is the host of Pandora'spass the mic podcast.
And during our conversation, youknow, I was just talking about
my background, you know, mychildhood growing up and, and
then we segwayed into, um, youknow, the, my career journey.
(01:00):
And so Lauren and I, it was justlike this magic black girl magic
between us.
And we continued to talk onemail and text message.
And of course I was like, girl,I need you on my podcast.
And she accepted, which I wasforever grateful for because you
(01:20):
know, this podcast is all abouthighlighting stories of dynamic
women that inspire me in hopesthat their stories will also
inspire you.
So Lauren is with us today andwithout further ado, Lauren,
welcome to no need to askpodcast.
I am so excited to be here.
(01:44):
He was smiling.
We're just like, Oh, we loveeach other.
We love each other.
Now I want to tell you guys justa little bit about Lauren.
You know, Lauren is currentlythe senior director of strategic
audio and vertical marketing atPandora here in New York city.
Um, she knows basicallythroughout her career, she
worked in marketing services,consumer packaged goods, quick
(02:07):
food services, adult beverages,and retail industries.
After graduating with hermaster's degree, she joined the
advertising industry, working onmulticultural plans, media plans
at tapestry in Chicago.
Okay.
Girl tapestry.
Oh, right.
That's a big agency.
Um, so currently at Pandora,Lauren leads a team of data
(02:28):
driven storytellers at theforefront of audio and vertical
marketing trends.
That position Pandora, as athought leader, she partners
with sales innovations researchand other cross functional teams
to leverage sales, performanceinsights, and key industry
business drivers to developeffective marketing strategies.
(02:50):
Okay.
Sometimes we get this superstar,but when people read, you know,
your bio, cause, you know, it'svery interesting when other
people read it out loud, likewho is that person they're
speaking of?
Who is this amazing person Ineed to meet her.
I know crazy.
Right.
But I believe, you know, Lauren,I would always tell my teams a
(03:12):
little trick that I would do allthe time at the beginning of
every year.
Like, you know, January,whenever we returned to office,
in my notes section on myiPhone, I will start a blank
note entitled 20, 20 highlightsor 2019 highlights.
And throughout the year, I'lljust jot down these memorable
(03:36):
moments.
And so I found it to be such ahelpful tool because we all live
really fast.
Paced, dynamic lives were onplanes and trains.
And you know, in automobiles,we're catching up on various
time zones and where we're alldoing this amazing work.
But at the end of the year, whenwe're exhausted and just waiting
(04:00):
for the holiday and you know, wemight be sitting in a
performance review with ourmanager.
We tend to forget, we literallytend to forget those amazing
highlights that we either playeda part in or spearheaded
ourselves.
And so I was like, I'm not gonnalet that happen.
I want to remember thosemoments.
(04:21):
So, you know, it's the samefeeling of reading your bio or
having someone else read yourbio is, you know, sometimes we
have to take pause and be like,you know what?
I am that girl, you know what Imean?
Like, okay,
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Going to do that, like moving forward because a
lot of times, even if it's just
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Like us talking with our friends and we're like, Oh,
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Such a hard year, I've had a bad year.
If you write down thehighlights, you realize that you
actually have not had a bad yearat all.
You've had a wonderful year.
Exactly.
Because a lot of times we focuson so much of it,
Speaker 2 (04:59):
The negative that it out in our mind
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Signs, it outweighs the positives, but that is a
direct tool that you can use inorder to highlight the positives
versus dwelling on the news,
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Easy to do so easy.
And then you form a habit andyou just do it without even
thinking, because you know, whenI was early in my career and a
lot of this has to do with, youknow, not knowing any better, I,
the years began to blendtogether, you know?
And I felt like I, I was missingout or are not really present
(05:37):
or, you know, simply just notremembering key moments in my
life that I will never get back.
And it really bummed me out atthat time.
And I just said, you know what?
I have to start working onreally being present and not
focusing on two blackberries ortwo iPhones and like half
(05:59):
listening to a conversation andnot really engaging and, and
just letting life's moments,slip away.
You know, life is that's alllife is, is a series of moments.
And you know, my dad wouldalways say live while it's still
called today.
I love.
And that's what I try to do.
(06:19):
Right?
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Jim's on this podcast, all the jokes
Speaker 4 (06:28):
And all the time, like Mike drop moments, like
Speaker 3 (06:32):
There, it is all that you need to know for the year.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
And let's see, but listen, this is all about you
and how dynamic you are.
And I, I want to hear it allLauren, I know our backgrounds
are similar.
I want to hear the story of youand you know, the good parts,
the challenging parts, you know,how did you get to Pandora and
(06:59):
tapestry?
Like girl, let the people know.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
All right.
So let's see.
It's very interesting.
So if you, if no one on the,who's listening to this podcast,
you need to go back and listento Ammani's, um, story that she
released about herself.
Because when I listened to thatin preparation for pass the mic,
I was like, Oh my God, this isliterally like, I'm standing in
(07:24):
the mirror looking at so manyparallel of experiences.
It was insane.
So, wow.
You should do that first.
And then come back and listen tothis one.
Or I finished this one and thengo back to listen to that one,
because it's such a powerful artof storytelling, which I love,
you know, both of us.
(07:45):
Um, anyways, let's see, whereshould I start?
Well, my family is originallyfrom Chicago, Illinois.
I, um, a lot of people thinkthat I am from Chicago because I
tell them that, um, I'm actuallynot from Chicago, Mike trout
moment.
A lot of people are gonna belike, what?
I don't really get into the insand out because my family and I
(08:06):
just moved around so muchbecause of my dad's job.
And everybody is always like,Oh, where you, were you a
military brat?
I'm like, no, my dad worked inmarketing.
Like both of us did.
So I was actually born inCincinnati, Ohio.
Okay.
Yeah.
We lived in Pittsburgh.
We moved to Pittsburgh likeabout a year later.
(08:27):
I don't even know if I was one,but we moved to Pittsburgh for
eight years.
My dad was there.
I believe he was still workingfor Sears, I think.
And then we moved back toCincinnati and he was working
for Drackett before it gotpurchased by SC Johnson, a
family company.
(08:47):
Now they don't even say a family.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Right.
Wow.
Um,
Speaker 3 (08:52):
And so then, um, after, in Cincinnati for again,
just a year, we moved toIndianapolis and my dad worked
for a Meritech, um, for peoplewho are very young, you're
probably like, what is aMeritech Ameritech was, it was
first that, that I think it wasbell South, then it was SBC.
And then it was a T and T gonethrough a lot of different
(09:16):
rebranding purchase, you know,those type of moments.
And we ended up being inIndianapolis for most of my
childhood.
So I was there from fourth to11th grade.
Yes.
I moved my senior year of highschool.
Um, I had such a dynamic groupof friends, girlfriends that I'm
really still close with to thisday that we talk every single
(09:36):
day.
Um, and it's gotten even morethat we talk even more now that
we're in the pandemic.
Cause we had literally havenothing else to do.
Um, but I, I was there forelementary, middle high school.
And then, um, my dad got, um, hegot rotated to another position
again.
(09:57):
And this time it was in st.
Louis and Indianapolis.
I don't know if a lot of peopleknow about Indi, but it is a
place that is very large, butalso small.
It's a place where there'sactually a lot more diversity
than people realize.
Um, when we first moved there,we lived in a very suburban
area.
(10:17):
My both of my parents grew up inlike, um, city life.
My mother's from Gary Indiana.
My dad is from the South side ofChicago and they made it a point
to raise us in the suburbs, um,to allow us for a little bit
more opportunity.
Um, and also to, I guess, youknow, protect us from a certain
sense, um, just because of thedifferent things and issues that
(10:39):
they went through in their ownchildhood.
And they wanted to do better byus, both with, with what they
were able to provide.
Right.
So when we first moved to Indy,I mean, it, wasn't a very
diverse area.
Um, and my elementary school wasnot very diverse at all.
Um, I didn't really notice itsimilar to you.
I didn't mean I didn't reallynotice it at all until I think I
(11:02):
was a little taller than a lotof people and a little bit
larger than some people.
So people, you know, kids areread and cruel, so they started
making fun.
And then when you get to middleschool, they start, um, to
really call out different racesand ethnicity.
So then I became way more awareof my skin color and my sister
(11:24):
actually, um, she's like, she'salmost four years older.
She acts like, she's like 14years older.
She's going to be like, whateverLauren, which he became very
yeah.
Aware of her skin color too.
And a lot of things, Inecessarily didn't experience
myself, but I would experienceit through her own eyes.
(11:47):
And so just like her being madefun of and feeling like she
didn't fit in or fit in with thekids live down the street from
us.
Um, because no one really lookedlike us.
That was definitely a challenge,right.
Um, that we had to overcome.
And so then by the time we gotto high school, it was a lot
more diverse because a lot ofthe times in the suburbs, they
(12:09):
bus kids in from differentareas.
So we actually were the onesbused in from the suburbs kind
of more into the city.
We actually passed another highschool that was in the same
district on the way to the highschool that we attended.
And I, it was just about the waythat, how they did the district
district.
(12:30):
I'm not really sure how itplayed out, but we ended up
going to, um, um, it was calledLawrence central high school
loved the bears, Elsie bears[inaudible] but it was so much
bad.
I mean, we got to go to, so withschool, with so many different
people, um, like I said, I havea core group of friends.
(12:51):
I still keep in contact with, Iknow my sister does too.
And it was so much fun.
Um, my sister ended up going tocollege she's three years in
grade schools ahead of me.
So I was near my parents, butthen my C my going into my
senior year, my dad got anotheropportunity, um, with still
with, at and T it was actuallywith yellow pages by then.
(13:13):
I think, I think they may havesplit up by then.
I'm not quite sure we had gotanother opportunity in st.
Louis.
And so I moved my senior year ofhigh school.
I was uprooted from what I hadknown for eight years.
Um, I did not know anyone inLewis.
(13:34):
It was, we lived in a similartype of area in st.
Louis, but st.
Louis is extremely differentfrom Indianapolis.
I mean, it is just, there are noblack people where now there's
more, you know, I've seen somevideo of black lives matter
(13:55):
rallies in marches happening,like where I went to high school
in st.
Louis.
And I was, it was astonishing tosee that it was beautiful to see
that because that would havenever happened.
And the time when I was there,um, it was in st.
Louis where I had my real first.
I had one other incident inIndianapolis when I was very
(14:16):
young.
But when I was in st.
Louis was when I've had a reallife experience with being
racially profiled.
Um, I was in the mall with oneof my friends and we were just
trying on clothes at a store.
We all loved back then, you know, just be in teenage girls.
And they, when I came out thedressing room police were there,
(14:42):
they escorted me to the in mall.
What area?
Yeah.
I mean, they accused me ofshoplifting.
Um, at that point, you know, myparents had been providing so
much.
My dad had an excellent job inmarketing.
My mother was a teacher.
I could have purchased anythingthat I wanted to, I didn't do
(15:02):
anything wrong.
Um, but I never find anything.
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I want to make sure everyone really understands
this.
They didn't find anything on,you know, what they're there.
So there was no nothing tosubstantiate this claim.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
No, not at all.
I just think that they did notexpect someone who looked like
me to be able to be in that typeof store shopping.
And it's not even like, it'sthat big of a store, like,
right, right.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Okay.
Settle down everyone.
Like, it's not like it's yeah.
Settle down people.
Wow.
I just don't.
I mean, first of all, this isdisgusting and I hate to hear
stories like this, but I'm, I'mreally, you know, as I'm
listening to you, I'm, I'm sostuck on the fact that,
Speaker 3 (15:59):
That in your senior year
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Had to just leave everything behind and start a
new again at such an such animportant like year in point in
your young educational life.
Wow.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Yeah, it was awful.
My parents gave me the option tostay.
Um, they were going to get mymom and apartment for, you know,
like a half a year and I wouldstay there with her.
My dad would be in st.
Louis working.
Um, I would have, would have hadto graduate early, but like when
you're a senior, like the goodstuff happens that second
(16:39):
semester, I don't want tograduate and then have to start
working while I wait to like goto college.
I also didn't want to go tocollege early because it's not
like you're coming in with therest of the freshmen in the fall
you're coming in at the spring.
And then I also didn't want tobe the wedge in between my
parents.
Like not really be other, like,it was a very mature type of
(17:04):
decision to make at the time.
Cause I mean, I was 17.
I don't even know if I wasseven.
I was 16 by that time.
Cause I was till I startedschool.
Um, but I was just like it tome, it just wasn't worth the,
the different to like to stayfor a half a summer semester
just wasn't worth it.
So I just rolled with thepunches and went to st.
(17:24):
Louis and was really only one offour black people who lived out
in that area.
I mean, people would ask me onthe weekends, like, do you drive
out here to hang out with yourfriends?
Like, no, I live up the street.
What are you talking about?
Wow,
Speaker 2 (17:39):
I do know that so well, but I experienced it, you
know, from kindergarten to thirdgrade.
So I, you know, I was just alittle, little bitty one, um,
that just wanted to ride thetricycle, you know, during a
recess.
But to have to go through thatas a 16, 17, 18 year old, the
(18:04):
layers of complication, theintensity that comes along with,
you know, that age group.
I mean, I can only imagine howtraumatizing yeah, yeah, it is.
And
Speaker 3 (18:21):
You get used to moving and starting over and
adapting, but having to do it atthat type of age, um, with that
much of a jarring experience isso difficult.
Um, but I'm resilient.
And I just,
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Of course, I mean the art, this is that should be
every black woman's middle nameresilience.
I mean, we have to constantlypivot constantly, you know,
adapt and hopefully have a highIQ to be able to read a room.
Uh, the minute you walk throughthe door.
(19:00):
So
Speaker 3 (19:01):
That is definitely something that is one of my
gifts.
Um, and I attribute it to theconstant movement and the
constant need to adapt.
Like I feel like I have, like mysuperpower is that I can walk
through walls so to speakbecause I can just fluidly enter
(19:23):
in different types ofenvironments, conversations with
people who are very differentfrom me who don't look like me
and it's not an uncomfortablesituation.
I mean, sometimes somebody elsemight feel uncomfortable, but I
feel like I just can do it alittle bit easier without having
to think so much, be so much inmy head about it.
(19:43):
Um,
Speaker 2 (19:44):
I agree.
I agree.
That was, um, one thing, youknow, when you kind of just put
all the challenges aside, I saythe same thing that you just
said, you know, being able to,you know, shift and pivot
naturally from the boardroom tothe club, you know, and, and
(20:09):
it's just effortless.
That's been one of my strongestsuits that has guided me
throughout my career.
I'm just, I believe I'm okay.
You're okay.
And if you have the pro, youknow, if you are, if you are
uncomfortable with me, thenthat's for you to sort out,
(20:30):
correct.
Not for me to sort out for you.
Um, so it is, it is anattribute, I think, um, I think
that's a really positive way tolook at it, you know?
Cause not everyone has had thoseexperiences at such a formative
(20:50):
stage in their, in their lives.
So kudos for you.
I'm sorry that all of it has tohappen.
You know, I'm sorry, your sisterand my sister and the both of us
and probably so many other Brownlittle girls had to go through
it because it really shouldn'tbe, but it really is a Testament
(21:12):
to the natural ability that'swithin us.
It's like almost like a survivaltechnique for sure.
Make it and make it okay foryou.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
So we, you know, and I neverbeen to st.
Louis.
I've never been to st.
(21:33):
Louis.
I've never been to Ohio.
I've I've never,
Speaker 3 (21:37):
I know people on the East coast,
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Other people on the East coast, like to consider the
Midwest, the flyover States.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
True.
This is true.
It's so rude.
It's so rude.
What I will say,
Speaker 2 (21:54):
My dad took an assignment in Chicago and was
there, uh, he, he just had thisamazing apartment, um,
overlooking Lake, Michigan.
I, it was just unbelievable.
And I would go, don't laugh.
I'm still in college.
But during winter break, yeah, Iwould go there.
(22:16):
I would go to Chicago now don'task me why I would go to Chicago
in the dead of winter.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Sure.
Being a California girl.
No, my dad, every time I wouldget off the plane, he's like,
we're going right to thedepartment store.
Cause you are going to like, youare literally going to turn
blue, but I love Chicago.
I love Chicago.
I love it.
(22:43):
It is so vibrant.
It really is.
It really
Speaker 2 (22:48):
It's my absolute favorite city, especially in the
summer.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Oh yes I do.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Could go in the winter a lot because my family
is still there, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Right.
Literally love.
There is nothing like summertimeshy.
There is tell people
Speaker 2 (23:04):
I'm like spins this summer.
It's hot as hell.
But spend the summer in Chicago,there's like music and food and
just everyone hanging out aroundthe Lake.
And it's just, I love it.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
I love it those three months.
Because when that, what do theycall it?
The Hawk with a hot is no joke.
I remember
Speaker 2 (23:32):
There was a rope now I'm just this LA girl.
I don't even know what's goingon.
There was a rope, um, uh, in themiddle of the swell in the
crosswalk and it was, it was,you know, bolted down and people
were literally holding onto therope across the street so that
(23:52):
they wouldn't, I was likeholding the rope.
I was like, what is this?
It was so bad.
It was a terrible winter.
It was terrible.
The Hawk, the wind.
I mean, whew.
Yes.
It's like being used to figureout what you need to plan out
the route, get it, get there asfast as possible and get home
(24:15):
because it is, it is, I've neverexperienced.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Oh yeah, it's bad.
It's the, it's the Lake isagainst the Lake, but there's
nothing in it.
I know.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
I know I'm with you.
It's so good.
So you, okay.
So you graduated from, you know,high school in st.
Louis and then, you know, whatwas the next phase?
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Yeah.
So after that I went, um, to anHBCU.
I selected, um, Kentucky stateuniversity who are not familiar.
HBCU stands for a historicallyblack college or university.
And so I selected Kentucky stateuniversity is the only black
institution in the state ofKentucky.
(25:00):
It's in Frankfort, Kentucky,which is the capital.
It's not LaVar Lexington.
It is Frankfurt.
It is an absolutely wonderfulschool.
I absolutely love my Alma mater.
I am still very active with myuniversity this day, but it was
there that I really cultivatedwho I am right now because when
(25:24):
I got there, I was just thismontage of myself, just really
taking on different formsdepending on who I was with.
Right.
But it was at that school whereI was able to learn so much
about my own, um, my ownancestors history, the different
(25:44):
types of blackness, where peoplecome from, we got to go to
school with people from Florida,people from Detroit, from
California, from Africa, fromAsia.
I mean, it was just so diversein terms of the different types
of blackness, but also thedifferent types of races and
(26:04):
cultures that came to thatschool as well.
Um, so it was just a absolute, Iwould not trade my undergraduate
experience for anything in theworld.
I tell people to this day, Iwish I could go back to college
right now.
And I have any of the work.
I don't want to do any of thework.
I just wish that I would havetruly, really enjoyed that
(26:29):
moment because there's nothinglike it.
Um, and it was just absolutelyawesome.
I was super active on campus.
Um, really involved in thestudent government association
and the concert choir.
We traveled around the countryduring break.
Oh wow.
I was in the honors college.
I was like you, this is where itreally starts to get very
familiar.
(26:50):
Okay.
And, um, the Whitney younghonors college, which sets you
up to go to law school, uh, likego, yeah, I got to about the end
of junior year and I'm not goingto last the right moment where
you're like, wait a minute, waita minute, wait a minute.
(27:12):
Is this really what I want todo?
I wish I figured that out whileI was in college, instead of
waiting until I graduated tohave the meltdown.
Oh my God.
I'm just like, cause I mean, Iwent through such a transition.
I was a vocal music performancemajor.
When I got there, then I waslike, all I can do is singer
teach.
I'm not teaching anybody'schildren.
Cause my mom's a teacher.
(27:33):
So I was like, I need to getmore of a well rounded type of,
because then I went to theWhitney young honors college,
um, which is basically liberalstudies, but we did a lot of pre
law work.
And then I was like, okay, thisis not going to work.
So then I started writing forthe newspaper, doing journalism,
see, there you go.
(27:54):
So what can I do here?
And I really, really liked it.
And so I was like, okay, I'mgoing to go get a master's
degree because I don't want togo to work.
So you just want to be aprofessional student the same
way I'm going to go with school.
So I applied to two schools, Iapplied to Northwestern and
(28:18):
Indiana university and was like,don't get into one.
I'm not supposed to go.
I didn't get into Northwestern.
I got into ICU.
So I went to ICU Agilent on thevery first day.
I was like, yeah, who told me togo to school right after
undergrad?
Cause I don't want to do this.
(28:40):
Right.
But I was not about this wholegoing to work life.
So I got, I got my master's andum, I was studying to be, I
wanted to be on air talent, butI really wasn't willing to have
the same type of lifestyle thatI had as a kid.
I didn't want to like graduateand go to Yakima and then have
(29:02):
to move to like West Virginia.
And then I didn't want to do allof that.
And at the time I didn't havethe look of an on air talent.
Cause I had natural hair.
I was really skinny.
It just wasn't really conduciveto people who look like me.
Right.
So I changed, which is crazy.
(29:24):
Yeah.
Carry on.
I mean, this wasn't that longago and I need people, you know,
that's that's what's so
Speaker 2 (29:33):
See, that's why you have to know your history, but
also
Speaker 3 (29:37):
The art of storytelling, which is rooted in
the oral from our
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Ancestors.
Like what you said right now isthat gentle reminder that we
always have to keep front ofmind.
Like we'd love to think thatthese things happened so long
ago and they're just, you know,not applicable to present day.
I mean, yeah.
It, it wasn't that long ago, youknow?
(30:04):
Um, when my dad was refused ahotel room and Mississippi, that
was in the eighties.
That is so crazy.
Yeah.
I'm like that it wasn't thatlong ago.
And so we have to keep, that'swhy we have to stay focused and
keep, you know, the pressure onfor change, um, in the cause,
you know, it's so easy to letyour foot off the gas pedal, you
(30:28):
know, you're letting everyoneoff the hook at that point.
You're not holding peopleaccountable and we have to hold
people accountable.
Another note I want to, I wantto stop and pause for the, for
the younger listeners is that,you know, your journey in
college, switching majors,discovering yourself, finding
the right direction.
(30:50):
You know, it's a process.
And I think, you know, a lot ofkids going in, you know,
entering their first year or,you know, maybe they're in their
sophomore year.
They there's this pressure thatthey have to like, know their
major, you know, and they haveto declare it and like I can't
change.
And it's just this finality thatalmost takes away from the
(31:14):
process that you really shouldbe leaning into.
You know?
Um, I have an 18 year old willjust turn 1919 in my house hold.
And he's about to start inAugust, his sophomore year at
Seton hall university.
And you know, we went throughthis with him, like going into
his freshman year, you know,Whoa, I need to, Oh, I need to
(31:36):
declare something and I need to,what am I doing?
You know, because my courseworkneeds to fall in line with that.
We were like, come on, take a,take a breath.
Okay.
Yeah.
Take a breath, declare business.
You know, you have interest inthat, but it doesn't mean you
have to lock in because as youdiscover yourself who the
(32:03):
possibilities are trulylimitless.
So I just wanted to point outthat in your story, that it's
okay, because look at you now,you turned out, okay, you're
winning, you're super successfulwith masters, you know?
So, you know, everyone be easyon yourself.
(32:23):
If you're going into college asa freshman, or if you're
currently, you know, a sophomoreor junior, it's okay to change.
It's okay to pivot, you know, noharm, no foul.
Those pivots happen throughoutyour entire life, whether you
want it to or correct.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
So true.
It's so true.
Things just go in a differentdirection.
That exactly works out exactlyhow it's supposed to.
It really does without fail.
That is such the truth.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
[inaudible].
[inaudible]
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome to another episode of no need to ask
podcast.
My name is Amani Duncan, and Iwill be your host on this
journey.
So I would say about a couple ofweeks ago, I was asked to, uh,
participate in one of PennDora's podcasts and it's called
pass the mic.
And I had this opportunity toreally have a great conversation
(00:39):
with Lauren Williams.
She is the host of Pandora'spass the mic podcast.
And during our conversation, youknow, I was just talking about
my background, you know, mychildhood growing up and, and
then we segwayed into, um, youknow, the, my career journey.
(01:00):
And so Lauren and I, it was justlike this magic black girl magic
between us.
And we continued to talk onemail and text message.
And of course I was like, girl,I need you on my podcast.
And she accepted, which I wasforever grateful for because you
(01:20):
know, this podcast is all abouthighlighting stories of dynamic
women that inspire me in hopesthat their stories will also
inspire you.
So Lauren is with us today andwithout further ado, Lauren,
welcome to no need to askpodcast.
I am so excited to be here.
(01:44):
He was smiling.
We're just like, Oh, we loveeach other.
We love each other.
Now I want to tell you guys justa little bit about Lauren.
You know, Lauren is currentlythe senior director of strategic
audio and vertical marketing atPandora here in New York city.
Um, she knows basicallythroughout her career, she
worked in marketing services,consumer packaged goods, quick
(02:07):
food services, adult beverages,and retail industries.
After graduating with hermaster's degree, she joined the
advertising industry, working onmulticultural plans, media plans
at tapestry in Chicago.
Okay.
Girl tapestry.
Oh, right.
That's a big agency.
Um, so currently at Pandora,Lauren leads a team of data
(02:28):
driven storytellers at theforefront of audio and vertical
marketing trends.
That position Pandora, as athought leader, she partners
with sales innovations researchand other cross functional teams
to leverage sales, performanceinsights, and key industry
business drivers to developeffective marketing strategies.
(02:50):
Okay.
Sometimes we get this superstar,but when people read, you know,
your bio, cause, you know, it'svery interesting when other
people read it out loud, likewho is that person they're
speaking of?
Who is this amazing person Ineed to meet her.
I know crazy.
Right.
But I believe, you know, Lauren,I would always tell my teams a
(03:12):
little trick that I would do allthe time at the beginning of
every year.
Like, you know, January,whenever we returned to office,
in my notes section on myiPhone, I will start a blank
note entitled 20, 20 highlightsor 2019 highlights.
And throughout the year, I'lljust jot down these memorable
(03:36):
moments.
And so I found it to be such ahelpful tool because we all live
really fast.
Paced, dynamic lives were onplanes and trains.
And you know, in automobiles,we're catching up on various
time zones and where we're alldoing this amazing work.
But at the end of the year, whenwe're exhausted and just waiting
(04:00):
for the holiday and you know, wemight be sitting in a
performance review with ourmanager.
We tend to forget, we literallytend to forget those amazing
highlights that we either playeda part in or spearheaded
ourselves.
And so I was like, I'm not gonnalet that happen.
I want to remember thosemoments.
(04:21):
So, you know, it's the samefeeling of reading your bio or
having someone else read yourbio is, you know, sometimes we
have to take pause and be like,you know what?
I am that girl, you know what Imean?
Like, okay,
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Going to do that, like moving forward because a
lot of times, even if it's just
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Like us talking with our friends and we're like, Oh,
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Such a hard year, I've had a bad year.
If you write down thehighlights, you realize that you
actually have not had a bad yearat all.
You've had a wonderful year.
Exactly.
Because a lot of times we focuson so much of it,
Speaker 2 (04:59):
The negative that it out in our mind
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Signs, it outweighs the positives, but that is a
direct tool that you can use inorder to highlight the positives
versus dwelling on the news,
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Easy to do so easy.
And then you form a habit andyou just do it without even
thinking, because you know, whenI was early in my career and a
lot of this has to do with, youknow, not knowing any better, I,
the years began to blendtogether, you know?
And I felt like I, I was missingout or are not really present
(05:37):
or, you know, simply just notremembering key moments in my
life that I will never get back.
And it really bummed me out atthat time.
And I just said, you know what?
I have to start working onreally being present and not
focusing on two blackberries ortwo iPhones and like half
(05:59):
listening to a conversation andnot really engaging and, and
just letting life's moments,slip away.
You know, life is that's alllife is, is a series of moments.
And you know, my dad wouldalways say live while it's still
called today.
I love.
And that's what I try to do.
(06:19):
Right?
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Jim's on this podcast, all the jokes
Speaker 4 (06:28):
And all the time, like Mike drop moments, like
Speaker 3 (06:32):
There, it is all that you need to know for the year.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
And let's see, but listen, this is all about you
and how dynamic you are.
And I, I want to hear it allLauren, I know our backgrounds
are similar.
I want to hear the story of youand you know, the good parts,
the challenging parts, you know,how did you get to Pandora and
(06:59):
tapestry?
Like girl, let the people know.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
All right.
So let's see.
It's very interesting.
So if you, if no one on the,who's listening to this podcast,
you need to go back and listento Ammani's, um, story that she
released about herself.
Because when I listened to thatin preparation for pass the mic,
I was like, Oh my God, this isliterally like, I'm standing in
(07:24):
the mirror looking at so manyparallel of experiences.
It was insane.
So, wow.
You should do that first.
And then come back and listen tothis one.
Or I finished this one and thengo back to listen to that one,
because it's such a powerful artof storytelling, which I love,
you know, both of us.
(07:45):
Um, anyways, let's see, whereshould I start?
Well, my family is originallyfrom Chicago, Illinois.
I, um, a lot of people thinkthat I am from Chicago because I
tell them that, um, I'm actuallynot from Chicago, Mike trout
moment.
A lot of people are gonna belike, what?
I don't really get into the insand out because my family and I
(08:06):
just moved around so muchbecause of my dad's job.
And everybody is always like,Oh, where you, were you a
military brat?
I'm like, no, my dad worked inmarketing.
Like both of us did.
So I was actually born inCincinnati, Ohio.
Okay.
Yeah.
We lived in Pittsburgh.
We moved to Pittsburgh likeabout a year later.
(08:27):
I don't even know if I was one,but we moved to Pittsburgh for
eight years.
My dad was there.
I believe he was still workingfor Sears, I think.
And then we moved back toCincinnati and he was working
for Drackett before it gotpurchased by SC Johnson, a
family company.
(08:47):
Now they don't even say a family.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Right.
Wow.
Um,
Speaker 3 (08:52):
And so then, um, after, in Cincinnati for again,
just a year, we moved toIndianapolis and my dad worked
for a Meritech, um, for peoplewho are very young, you're
probably like, what is aMeritech Ameritech was, it was
first that, that I think it wasbell South, then it was SBC.
And then it was a T and T gonethrough a lot of different
(09:16):
rebranding purchase, you know,those type of moments.
And we ended up being inIndianapolis for most of my
childhood.
So I was there from fourth to11th grade.
Yes.
I moved my senior year of highschool.
Um, I had such a dynamic groupof friends, girlfriends that I'm
really still close with to thisday that we talk every single
(09:36):
day.
Um, and it's gotten even morethat we talk even more now that
we're in the pandemic.
Cause we had literally havenothing else to do.
Um, but I, I was there forelementary, middle high school.
And then, um, my dad got, um, hegot rotated to another position
again.
(09:57):
And this time it was in st.
Louis and Indianapolis.
I don't know if a lot of peopleknow about Indi, but it is a
place that is very large, butalso small.
It's a place where there'sactually a lot more diversity
than people realize.
Um, when we first moved there,we lived in a very suburban
area.
(10:17):
My both of my parents grew up inlike, um, city life.
My mother's from Gary Indiana.
My dad is from the South side ofChicago and they made it a point
to raise us in the suburbs, um,to allow us for a little bit
more opportunity.
Um, and also to, I guess, youknow, protect us from a certain
sense, um, just because of thedifferent things and issues that
(10:39):
they went through in their ownchildhood.
And they wanted to do better byus, both with, with what they
were able to provide.
Right.
So when we first moved to Indy,I mean, it, wasn't a very
diverse area.
Um, and my elementary school wasnot very diverse at all.
Um, I didn't really notice itsimilar to you.
I didn't mean I didn't reallynotice it at all until I think I
(11:02):
was a little taller than a lotof people and a little bit
larger than some people.
So people, you know, kids areread and cruel, so they started
making fun.
And then when you get to middleschool, they start, um, to
really call out different racesand ethnicity.
So then I became way more awareof my skin color and my sister
(11:24):
actually, um, she's like, she'salmost four years older.
She acts like, she's like 14years older.
She's going to be like, whateverLauren, which he became very
yeah.
Aware of her skin color too.
And a lot of things, Inecessarily didn't experience
myself, but I would experienceit through her own eyes.
(11:47):
And so just like her being madefun of and feeling like she
didn't fit in or fit in with thekids live down the street from
us.
Um, because no one really lookedlike us.
That was definitely a challenge,right.
Um, that we had to overcome.
And so then by the time we gotto high school, it was a lot
more diverse because a lot ofthe times in the suburbs, they
(12:09):
bus kids in from differentareas.
So we actually were the onesbused in from the suburbs kind
of more into the city.
We actually passed another highschool that was in the same
district on the way to the highschool that we attended.
And I, it was just about the waythat, how they did the district
district.
(12:30):
I'm not really sure how itplayed out, but we ended up
going to, um, um, it was calledLawrence central high school
loved the bears, Elsie bears[inaudible] but it was so much
bad.
I mean, we got to go to, so withschool, with so many different
people, um, like I said, I havea core group of friends.
(12:51):
I still keep in contact with, Iknow my sister does too.
And it was so much fun.
Um, my sister ended up going tocollege she's three years in
grade schools ahead of me.
So I was near my parents, butthen my C my going into my
senior year, my dad got anotheropportunity, um, with still
with, at and T it was actuallywith yellow pages by then.
(13:13):
I think, I think they may havesplit up by then.
I'm not quite sure we had gotanother opportunity in st.
Louis.
And so I moved my senior year ofhigh school.
I was uprooted from what I hadknown for eight years.
Um, I did not know anyone inLewis.
(13:34):
It was, we lived in a similartype of area in st.
Louis, but st.
Louis is extremely differentfrom Indianapolis.
I mean, it is just, there are noblack people where now there's
more, you know, I've seen somevideo of black lives matter
(13:55):
rallies in marches happening,like where I went to high school
in st.
Louis.
And I was, it was astonishing tosee that it was beautiful to see
that because that would havenever happened.
And the time when I was there,um, it was in st.
Louis where I had my real first.
I had one other incident inIndianapolis when I was very
(14:16):
young.
But when I was in st.
Louis was when I've had a reallife experience with being
racially profiled.
Um, I was in the mall with oneof my friends and we were just
trying on clothes at a store.
We all loved back then, you know, just be in teenage girls.
And they, when I came out thedressing room police were there,
(14:42):
they escorted me to the in mall.
What area?
Yeah.
I mean, they accused me ofshoplifting.
Um, at that point, you know, myparents had been providing so
much.
My dad had an excellent job inmarketing.
My mother was a teacher.
I could have purchased anythingthat I wanted to, I didn't do
(15:02):
anything wrong.
Um, but I never find anything.
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I want to make sure everyone really understands
this.
They didn't find anything on,you know, what they're there.
So there was no nothing tosubstantiate this claim.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
No, not at all.
I just think that they did notexpect someone who looked like
me to be able to be in that typeof store shopping.
And it's not even like, it'sthat big of a store, like,
right, right.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Okay.
Settle down everyone.
Like, it's not like it's yeah.
Settle down people.
Wow.
I just don't.
I mean, first of all, this isdisgusting and I hate to hear
stories like this, but I'm, I'mreally, you know, as I'm
listening to you, I'm, I'm sostuck on the fact that,
Speaker 3 (15:59):
That in your senior year
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Had to just leave everything behind and start a
new again at such an such animportant like year in point in
your young educational life.
Wow.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Yeah, it was awful.
My parents gave me the option tostay.
Um, they were going to get mymom and apartment for, you know,
like a half a year and I wouldstay there with her.
My dad would be in st.
Louis working.
Um, I would have, would have hadto graduate early, but like when
you're a senior, like the goodstuff happens that second
(16:39):
semester, I don't want tograduate and then have to start
working while I wait to like goto college.
I also didn't want to go tocollege early because it's not
like you're coming in with therest of the freshmen in the fall
you're coming in at the spring.
And then I also didn't want tobe the wedge in between my
parents.
Like not really be other, like,it was a very mature type of
(17:04):
decision to make at the time.
Cause I mean, I was 17.
I don't even know if I wasseven.
I was 16 by that time.
Cause I was till I startedschool.
Um, but I was just like it tome, it just wasn't worth the,
the different to like to stayfor a half a summer semester
just wasn't worth it.
So I just rolled with thepunches and went to st.
(17:24):
Louis and was really only one offour black people who lived out
in that area.
I mean, people would ask me onthe weekends, like, do you drive
out here to hang out with yourfriends?
Like, no, I live up the street.
What are you talking about?
Wow,
Speaker 2 (17:39):
I do know that so well, but I experienced it, you
know, from kindergarten to thirdgrade.
So I, you know, I was just alittle, little bitty one, um,
that just wanted to ride thetricycle, you know, during a
recess.
But to have to go through thatas a 16, 17, 18 year old, the
(18:04):
layers of complication, theintensity that comes along with,
you know, that age group.
I mean, I can only imagine howtraumatizing yeah, yeah, it is.
And
Speaker 3 (18:21):
You get used to moving and starting over and
adapting, but having to do it atthat type of age, um, with that
much of a jarring experience isso difficult.
Um, but I'm resilient.
And I just,
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Of course, I mean the art, this is that should be
every black woman's middle nameresilience.
I mean, we have to constantlypivot constantly, you know,
adapt and hopefully have a highIQ to be able to read a room.
Uh, the minute you walk throughthe door.
(19:00):
So
Speaker 3 (19:01):
That is definitely something that is one of my
gifts.
Um, and I attribute it to theconstant movement and the
constant need to adapt.
Like I feel like I have, like mysuperpower is that I can walk
through walls so to speakbecause I can just fluidly enter
(19:23):
in different types ofenvironments, conversations with
people who are very differentfrom me who don't look like me
and it's not an uncomfortablesituation.
I mean, sometimes somebody elsemight feel uncomfortable, but I
feel like I just can do it alittle bit easier without having
to think so much, be so much inmy head about it.
(19:43):
Um,
Speaker 2 (19:44):
I agree.
I agree.
That was, um, one thing, youknow, when you kind of just put
all the challenges aside, I saythe same thing that you just
said, you know, being able to,you know, shift and pivot
naturally from the boardroom tothe club, you know, and, and
(20:09):
it's just effortless.
That's been one of my strongestsuits that has guided me
throughout my career.
I'm just, I believe I'm okay.
You're okay.
And if you have the pro, youknow, if you are, if you are
uncomfortable with me, thenthat's for you to sort out,
(20:30):
correct.
Not for me to sort out for you.
Um, so it is, it is anattribute, I think, um, I think
that's a really positive way tolook at it, you know?
Cause not everyone has had thoseexperiences at such a formative
(20:50):
stage in their, in their lives.
So kudos for you.
I'm sorry that all of it has tohappen.
You know, I'm sorry, your sisterand my sister and the both of us
and probably so many other Brownlittle girls had to go through
it because it really shouldn'tbe, but it really is a Testament
(21:12):
to the natural ability that'swithin us.
It's like almost like a survivaltechnique for sure.
Make it and make it okay foryou.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
So we, you know, and I neverbeen to st.
Louis.
I've never been to st.
(21:33):
Louis.
I've never been to Ohio.
I've I've never,
Speaker 3 (21:37):
I know people on the East coast,
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Other people on the East coast, like to consider the
Midwest, the flyover States.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
True.
This is true.
It's so rude.
It's so rude.
What I will say,
Speaker 2 (21:54):
My dad took an assignment in Chicago and was
there, uh, he, he just had thisamazing apartment, um,
overlooking Lake, Michigan.
I, it was just unbelievable.
And I would go, don't laugh.
I'm still in college.
But during winter break, yeah, Iwould go there.
(22:16):
I would go to Chicago now don'task me why I would go to Chicago
in the dead of winter.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Sure.
Being a California girl.
No, my dad, every time I wouldget off the plane, he's like,
we're going right to thedepartment store.
Cause you are going to like, youare literally going to turn
blue, but I love Chicago.
I love Chicago.
I love it.
(22:43):
It is so vibrant.
It really is.
It really
Speaker 2 (22:48):
It's my absolute favorite city, especially in the
summer.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Oh yes I do.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Could go in the winter a lot because my family
is still there, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Right.
Literally love.
There is nothing like summertimeshy.
There is tell people
Speaker 2 (23:04):
I'm like spins this summer.
It's hot as hell.
But spend the summer in Chicago,there's like music and food and
just everyone hanging out aroundthe Lake.
And it's just, I love it.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
I love it those three months.
Because when that, what do theycall it?
The Hawk with a hot is no joke.
I remember
Speaker 2 (23:32):
There was a rope now I'm just this LA girl.
I don't even know what's goingon.
There was a rope, um, uh, in themiddle of the swell in the
crosswalk and it was, it was,you know, bolted down and people
were literally holding onto therope across the street so that
(23:52):
they wouldn't, I was likeholding the rope.
I was like, what is this?
It was so bad.
It was a terrible winter.
It was terrible.
The Hawk, the wind.
I mean, whew.
Yes.
It's like being used to figureout what you need to plan out
the route, get it, get there asfast as possible and get home
(24:15):
because it is, it is, I've neverexperienced.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Oh yeah, it's bad.
It's the, it's the Lake isagainst the Lake, but there's
nothing in it.
I know.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
I know I'm with you.
It's so good.
So you, okay.
So you graduated from, you know,high school in st.
Louis and then, you know, whatwas the next phase?
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Yeah.
So after that I went, um, to anHBCU.
I selected, um, Kentucky stateuniversity who are not familiar.
HBCU stands for a historicallyblack college or university.
And so I selected Kentucky stateuniversity is the only black
institution in the state ofKentucky.
(25:00):
It's in Frankfort, Kentucky,which is the capital.
It's not LaVar Lexington.
It is Frankfurt.
It is an absolutely wonderfulschool.
I absolutely love my Alma mater.
I am still very active with myuniversity this day, but it was
there that I really cultivatedwho I am right now because when
(25:24):
I got there, I was just thismontage of myself, just really
taking on different formsdepending on who I was with.
Right.
But it was at that school whereI was able to learn so much
about my own, um, my ownancestors history, the different
(25:44):
types of blackness, where peoplecome from, we got to go to
school with people from Florida,people from Detroit, from
California, from Africa, fromAsia.
I mean, it was just so diversein terms of the different types
of blackness, but also thedifferent types of races and
(26:04):
cultures that came to thatschool as well.
Um, so it was just a absolute, Iwould not trade my undergraduate
experience for anything in theworld.
I tell people to this day, Iwish I could go back to college
right now.
And I have any of the work.
I don't want to do any of thework.
I just wish that I would havetruly, really enjoyed that
(26:29):
moment because there's nothinglike it.
Um, and it was just absolutelyawesome.
I was super active on campus.
Um, really involved in thestudent government association
and the concert choir.
We traveled around the countryduring break.
Oh wow.
I was in the honors college.
I was like you, this is where itreally starts to get very
familiar.
(26:50):
Okay.
And, um, the Whitney younghonors college, which sets you
up to go to law school, uh, likego, yeah, I got to about the end
of junior year and I'm not goingto last the right moment where
you're like, wait a minute, waita minute, wait a minute.
(27:12):
Is this really what I want todo?
I wish I figured that out whileI was in college, instead of
waiting until I graduated tohave the meltdown.
Oh my God.
I'm just like, cause I mean, Iwent through such a transition.
I was a vocal music performancemajor.
When I got there, then I waslike, all I can do is singer
teach.
I'm not teaching anybody'schildren.
Cause my mom's a teacher.
(27:33):
So I was like, I need to getmore of a well rounded type of,
because then I went to theWhitney young honors college,
um, which is basically liberalstudies, but we did a lot of pre
law work.
And then I was like, okay, thisis not going to work.
So then I started writing forthe newspaper, doing journalism,
see, there you go.
(27:54):
So what can I do here?
And I really, really liked it.
And so I was like, okay, I'mgoing to go get a master's
degree because I don't want togo to work.
So you just want to be aprofessional student the same
way I'm going to go with school.
So I applied to two schools, Iapplied to Northwestern and
(28:18):
Indiana university and was like,don't get into one.
I'm not supposed to go.
I didn't get into Northwestern.
I got into ICU.
So I went to ICU Agilent on thevery first day.
I was like, yeah, who told me togo to school right after
undergrad?
Cause I don't want to do this.
(28:40):
Right.
But I was not about this wholegoing to work life.
So I got, I got my master's andum, I was studying to be, I
wanted to be on air talent, butI really wasn't willing to have
the same type of lifestyle thatI had as a kid.
I didn't want to like graduateand go to Yakima and then have
(29:02):
to move to like West Virginia.
And then I didn't want to do allof that.
And at the time I didn't havethe look of an on air talent.
Cause I had natural hair.
I was really skinny.
It just wasn't really conduciveto people who look like me.
Right.
So I changed, which is crazy.
(29:24):
Yeah.
Carry on.
I mean, this wasn't that longago and I need people, you know,
that's that's what's so
Speaker 2 (29:33):
See, that's why you have to know your history, but
also
Speaker 3 (29:37):
The art of storytelling, which is rooted in
the oral from our
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Ancestors.
Like what you said right now isthat gentle reminder that we
always have to keep front ofmind.
Like we'd love to think thatthese things happened so long
ago and they're just, you know,not applicable to present day.
I mean, yeah.
It, it wasn't that long ago, youknow?
(30:04):
Um, when my dad was refused ahotel room and Mississippi, that
was in the eighties.
That is so crazy.
Yeah.
I'm like that it wasn't thatlong ago.
And so we have to keep, that'swhy we have to stay focused and
keep, you know, the pressure onfor change, um, in the cause,
you know, it's so easy to letyour foot off the gas pedal, you
(30:28):
know, you're letting everyoneoff the hook at that point.
You're not holding peopleaccountable and we have to hold
people accountable.
Another note I want to, I wantto stop and pause for the, for
the younger listeners is that,you know, your journey in
college, switching majors,discovering yourself, finding
the right direction.
(30:50):
You know, it's a process.
And I think, you know, a lot ofkids going in, you know,
entering their first year or,you know, maybe they're in their
sophomore year.
They there's this pressure thatthey have to like, know their
major, you know, and they haveto declare it and like I can't
change.
And it's just this finality thatalmost takes away from the
(31:14):
process that you really shouldbe leaning into.
You know?
Um, I have an 18 year old willjust turn 1919 in my house hold.
And he's about to start inAugust, his sophomore year at
Seton hall university.
And you know, we went throughthis with him, like going into
his freshman year, you know,Whoa, I need to, Oh, I need to
(31:36):
declare something and I need to,what am I doing?
You know, because my courseworkneeds to fall in line with that.
We were like, come on, take a,take a breath.
Okay.
Yeah.
Take a breath, declare business.
You know, you have interest inthat, but it doesn't mean you
have to lock in because as youdiscover yourself who the
(32:03):
possibilities are trulylimitless.
So I just wanted to point outthat in your story, that it's
okay, because look at you now,you turned out, okay, you're
winning, you're super successfulwith masters, you know?
So, you know, everyone be easyon yourself.
(32:23):
If you're going into college asa freshman, or if you're
currently, you know, a sophomoreor junior, it's okay to change.
It's okay to pivot, you know, noharm, no foul.
Those pivots happen throughoutyour entire life, whether you
want it to or correct.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
So true.
It's so true.
Things just go in a differentdirection.
That exactly works out exactlyhow it's supposed to.
It really does without fail.
That is such the truth.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
[inaudible].
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