Raff's Brain #246: Riffin' with Raff - College Anxiety, Coffee Pressure, & Cartilage Piercings

On this episode of Riffin’ with Raff, Rob welcomes back his niece Mallory Moss for a conversation recorded just before she moves away to college.

At 18, Mallory is entering a completely new world: new friends, harder classes, college athletics, less free time, and a lacrosse program filled with players she worries may be far more prepared than she is. She talks candidly about the pressure to prove herself, her excitement about meeting new people, and the strange combination of confidence and anxiety that comes with knowing your life is about to change.

Rob offers some uncle-level perspective on being coachable, dealing with difficult personalities, reacting to adversity, and recognizing that some of the most useful lessons from school have nothing to do with the actual curriculum.

Then, because this is Raff’s Brain, the discussion somehow arrives at coffee dependency, ear cartilage, piercings, tattoos, and whether not having a tattoo has now become the rebellious choice.

It’s a funny, thoughtful snapshot of a young adult standing at the beginning of a new chapter—and a conversation Mallory may hear very differently when she listens back years from now. 

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Episode Outline

•  A return visit from Mallory Moss 
•  Leaving home and beginning college 
•  Managing uncertainty before a major transition 
•  College preparation and organization 
•  Coffee, caffeine, and social habits 
•  What difficult teachers can teach you about life 
•  Learning that not everyone will like you 
•  Looking forward to new friendships 
•  Balancing academics and college lacrosse 
•  Scholarship pressure and proving yourself 
•  Being coachable and embracing improvement 
•  Piercings and the mysteries of ear cartilage 
•  Tattoos, permanence, and decisions at 18 
•  How cultural attitudes toward tattoos have changed 
•  Creating a time capsule for Mallory’s future self