August 30, 2023 • 54 mins
Susan and Whittney reflect on Whittney's summer work travel, careers that align with your priorities, and Susan's 40th birthday.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Warrior-Scholar Project
- Pillow Cube (Classic travel size and Side Cube regular size)
- Whittney’s packing cubes are Calpak, but she’s eyeing up these compression cubes from Bagsmart
- Travel compression bags
- Susan’s packing cubes
- Statue of Liberty
- Ellis Island
- Starchild Rooftop Bar & Lounge
- St. Patrick’s Cathedral
- Carmine’s Italian Restaurant
- Back to the Future the movie
- Back to the Future the Musical
Website: susanandwhittney.buzzsprout.com
Instagram: @susanandwhittney
Facebook: The Conversation with Susan and Whittney
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Susan (00:37):
Hi, Whitney.
This is our first surviving andthriving episode.
I was talking with you recentlythat one of the things that we
said we were going to do on ourpodcast, it says it in our intro
is that we're going to talkabout how we are surviving and
thriving.
So I wanted us to talk todayabout how we are surviving and
thriving.
What are the ups and downswhat's going on in our lives
(01:00):
this summer, the summer of 2023.
So here we are.
Whittney (01:05):
thank you for reminding me that we are
surviving and thriving because Ithink it's important for us, to
talk about it.
Susan (01:11):
Today, I feel like I'm surviving a little bit.
I am recording outside my normalhabitat.
I am dog sitting at my sister'shouse in Maryland.
And, there's all these noisesoutside, like someone mowing the
lawn or weed Whacker.
I don't know.
I just moved rooms to not hearthe noise.
And now I'm hearing it.
Out the other window, so I amsurviving today with trying, not
(01:33):
to have the sounds of suburbiain the background, which is
ironic to me because usuallywhen I'm in the city, you could
hear a pin drop.
Whittney (01:41):
Yeah, that's very interesting.
Maybe you're just, immune tocity sounds.
Susan (01:46):
That's true.
But, the weed whacker might makean appearance on today's
episode, but hopefully not.
Whittney (01:52):
Well, it's, just an extra little layer of flavor,
the suburban flavor.
Susan (01:59):
That's right.
Well, I've had an interestingexperience so far at my sister's
house cause I've had to care forher two dogs who are a little
bit out of sorts cause Devin andher family had been traveling a
lot this summer.
I think they miss, they misstheir, their family at the dogs,
miss their family.
Um, and they've been needy forme.
They can't make up their mind.
Do they want to go in?
Do they want to go out?
Whittney (02:19):
Meanwhile, Mowgli is basically snoring behind me.
You can see his little feet.
Susan (02:25):
And for those that don't know, Whitney has a dog named
Mowgli.
I don't know that we've evermentioned Mowgli on an episode.
So yes, she has Mowgli who issuper cute.
He loves to chew on ice cubes.
He's the best.
Whittney (02:36):
he does love ice cubes.
we took him for a walk yesterdayand it was a little bit warm, so
he had ice cubes yesterday, too.
Yes.
Susan (02:42):
I just love that.
So Whitney talking aboutsurviving and thriving this
summer.
We've had all sorts of thingsgoing on.
right now I'm on summer vacationas a teacher.
We're off in the summer.
So that's been really great.
For me, the biggest thing isalways finding a routine in the
summer because we don't haveschool, as an obliger, which is
someone who needs the outeraccountability.
(03:04):
Sometimes it's hard for me tostick to a good routine because
I really could do whatever Iwant.
But I know for you, you've beentraveling around all over the
place with your job.
You just finished your summertravel, which.
Started in May, right?
Whittney (03:17):
Yeah, well, it's funny,
Susan (03:19):
Whitney, I know that you love the summer travel and
that's probably one of thefavorite points of your job.
But could you tell us first ofall, what is your job exactly?
What have you been doing thissummer at all your different
travel projects and sites?
I'd just love to hear more abouthow you were able to manage
traveling for months on end inthe summer and staying sane.
Whittney (03:39):
Suze, that you say that you're having trouble
forming your routine in thesummer, because you have, less
things going on.
I also find that it's hard tostick with a routine in the
summer because I have morethings going on.
So, it works both ways, firstoff.
so, Suze, as you said, I workfor an organization called
Warrior Scholar Project.
it's a non profit that helpsenlisted veterans and service
(04:02):
members, prepare for thetransition to higher education.
So, one of those...
challenges that, enlistedveterans and service members
face if they are separating fromthe military or have separated
from the military and arethinking about going to college
is that they haven't been in aclassroom probably for a long
(04:22):
time or if they have, they mightbe trying to muscle through it
on their own and it's just notan ideal situation, right?
They're a lot of times goingback to school as an older
student, between the ages of.
You know, 21, 24, 36, andthey're in a classroom with
(04:43):
traditional age college studentswho they, might not feel that
they have a lot, in common withor, similar struggles.
they might have families at thatpoint.
So it's just, it's a really bigtransition.
And, my primary role at WarriorScholar Project is I'm the
Director of Communications andMarketing, so that's the role I
fulfill for the organization allyear long.
(05:05):
But in the summer, I get anextra, little hat to wear that
I, that I love, which is I getto go to our programs, which we
have academic boot camps hostedwith 21 college and university
partners across the country.
And we We host these academicboot camps.
They're immersive experiences tosimulate what it's like to be in
(05:28):
college.
So, we have a group of veteransand service members coming to a
campus.
for example, the campuses that Itraveled to this summer were
Yale University, BrownUniversity, and Columbia
University.
And they are living in thedorms.
They're eating in the dininghalls.
They're going to class with, andbeing taught by professors from
(05:51):
that university.
And also by peer mentors thatare also other student veterans.
And so it's a really coolexperience and it kind of shows
them that they can do this,right?
they have what it takes and theycan gain the confidence that
they'll succeed in college.
So, in the summer, as I said, Iget to go to these programs and
I spend Roughly 10 days at eachprogram.
(06:14):
If we do a one week program,that's how long as a staff
person I, I have to be oncampus.
so, I go away for fairly longwork trips in the summer, and
this summer, at the beginning ofthe summer, I had my nephew's
graduation in Maryland, and thenI went from there straight to
training for work, in Florida.
(06:36):
And then straight from trainingto a 10 day program at Yale.
So, my first travel experienceof the summer, I was away from
my husband and Mowgli, for 23days.
Susan (06:49):
Wow.
So I guess my question, first ofall, I should backtrack for a
second.
I think it's incredible.
The programs that yourorganization puts on, it's such
a great idea.
But of course it makes a lot ofsense that the veterans would be
so far removed from thatacademic experience.
I'm sure that would be quite atransition.
(07:09):
So it's incredible.
And last year I got to see thata little bit firsthand when I
visited you at Princeton,
Whittney (07:14):
Yes.,
Susan (07:15):
and got to meet some of your fellows and some of the
people in the program.
And I thought it was just socool that you were staying in
the dorm and, simulating thiswhole.
Experience but my question is,how are you able to travel that
much and be away from Mowgli,Nate, your home?
Do you feel like you're offroutine?
(07:35):
How much does that really affectyou?
Whittney (07:37):
Well, obviously, being away from your family is hard.
But if I'm going to be away frommy family, at least...
What I, I feel what I'm doingwhen I'm away from my family is
worth the sacrifice, right?
I'm putting good into the worldin some way, so that's helpful.
I think it is always hard in thesummer because it seems like I
(07:57):
have a routine at home and thenI have a routine when I'm
traveling and the travel routineis, is kind of short lived in
the way that I'm there for tendays.
So I, establish a routine andthen I leave and go home, right?
So I think sometimes it's harderto establish the routine there,
even though each course I'm athas a very similar schedule.
(08:18):
but like exercise, for example,not always knowing what,
facilities are availablewhenever I'm going somewhere.
So like when I'm home, I'm likereally into my gym, we do
personal training, I play a lotof pickleball, I'm very good
about being in a good exerciseroutine when I'm home.
I mean, I've, we walk our dog,there's a lot going on.
(08:38):
depending on the campus I go to,and if we have gym access, that
can be, unpredictable, right?
This summer, oh, two of thethree campuses that I went to
had gym access, but it wasvarying.
So, what I need for my normalfitness routine, only one of the
campuses really had somethingfor that.
So, that's challenging, but theother campus that had gym access
(09:00):
was also in New York City, so Icould always just go for a walk
and walk as long as I wantedbecause there's like an endless
options of things to see in NewYork City, right?
Susan (09:09):
Right.
Whittney (09:10):
So I think the, exercise routine and the sleep
routine are two of the thingsthat it's hard to go back and
forth between.
one thing that I always do nowthat I learned last summer, to
start doing was I got a travelpillow that's a really nice
pillow and that really helpsbecause sleeping on a dorm bed
with the, pillow they give youthat's they buy them in like the
(09:34):
thousands and they just handthem out, right, is not really
conducive to getting a goodnight's sleep for me.
I'm beyond the point where I canjust like, I'm a side sleeper,
so I can sleep on like a hardfloor and be okay.
So, packing a travel pillow hasbeen a game changer in the sleep
department.
Susan (09:50):
Whitney, by travel pillow, is it a smaller pillow
or it's literally just aseparate pillow that you use for
travel or is it one that's alittle bit more compact?
Whittney (09:58):
both.
So, I got what's called a pillowcube, which I can, put, we can
put a link to the show notes.
I'm a side sleeper, so.
Finding a good pillow can bedifficult, right?
But there were all these ads onInstagram one time for this
pillow cube, and it wasspecifically for side sleepers.
And so I was at that stage whereI was like, let me just try it.
(10:19):
Maybe it's cool.
and it, the actual pillow cubeis a, it's like a cube pillow,
so it comes in this littletravel size, And I liked it, but
it was kind of small.
So, they make a bigger one formy bed, so I, Once I realized I
liked it, I immediately orderedthe big one for my bed.
But also, it comes in reallyhandy for travel.
And it's easy to compress into acompression bag.
Susan (10:42):
That sounds really smart.
And you had mentioned about thepillow cube.
you also use packing cubes aswell for your trips.
Whittney (10:49):
Yes, packing cubes are really helpful because you can
categorize the types of thingsyou need, a lot of people have,
a standard packing list, which Iprobably should make one in
writing somewhere, But, for now,I have things I need and outfits
I need for my travel, Which mytravel, I might need, when I
travel for boot camps in thesummer.
I might need casual clothes forevery day.
(11:11):
My camp counselor attire, as Ithink I jokingly called it when
you were at Princeton.
which is my work polo and someshorts and some nice walking
shoes.
Cause, walking around thesecampuses, you have to be comfy.
so I might need more casual wearfor day to day stuff that's
comfy.
But then, we have an end ofcourse reception at each of our
events.
So, I need a formal...
(11:33):
Dress and, dress shoes, as well.
So I have to pack a range ofoutfits.
The last, campus I was at thissummer, went right into our
alumni conference at Princeton.
So I got to go back to Princetonafter Columbia.
and I needed a variety ofbusiness casual outfits for that
conference.
So, just having the packingcubes allows you to designate a
(11:55):
cube for each purpose.
Or at least for me, it, it,that's how I use them.
Susan (12:00):
Yeah, I actually started using packing cubes this year as
well.
I feel like I need more of them,because I, yeah, I ran out, so
some of my stuff was in cubesand not others,
Whittney (12:11):
Yeah, they've been a huge help for me.
I ended up getting, a set lastyear before I did travel, and
then I immediately bought amatching second set because, as
you said, I feel like you need,a certain quantity of them just
to even get started.
even now when Nate and I goplaces, he's always like Hey,
can I have one of those cubethings?
Susan (12:30):
Yeah, I noticed my sister, on her, our family
vacation, she was using, and theshoe organizers that you can
buy, for kids clothes, you canput an outfit inside each one of
those little shoe.
Yeah.
Pockets she had whole outfitsput together for her kids that
included the shorts, the top,what underwear and socks and
rolled it all in a little balland put it in each little
(12:50):
pocket.
thought that was pretty clever.
so there's all sorts of littletravel hacks.
Whittney (12:57):
I think that it's helpful just to figure out,
which one is sustainable for youbecause, for me, the packing
cubes are helpful, I also like,those compression bags, I don't
know if you've ever seen them,the, travel compression bags,
so, if I'm at a campus wherethere's not access to laundry, I
would just, put them in acompression bag and, roll them
up so then they take less roomin the suitcase but, they're
(13:18):
kind of away from anything thatyou have in your suitcase that
you may not have worn on thetrip or you may have washed and,
is still clean in your bag.
and I, I use one of those for mypillow as well because it, is
able to compress my pillow downto a much smaller size so it
doesn't take up as much room inmy suitcase.
Susan (13:36):
Oh, I love that.
That's such a good idea becauseit just keeps everything more
compact and manageable in yoursuitcase.
Whittney (13:42):
Mm hmm.
Yeah.
Susan (13:43):
I know that you were telling me offline.
Really summer travel is whereyou're thriving.
You're not really survivingthat.
Everyone else thinks that you'resurviving.
Cause like I said, other peopleare projecting their anxieties
like, Oh my gosh, you're gonefor so long.
But really, for you, you'reenjoying it so much.
So maybe you could just go intobriefly of how your summer
travel is really, when youthrive, it's your favorite time
(14:04):
of year.
And why is that?
Whittney (14:06):
currently I work remotely, so I don't get to see
my coworkers in real life veryoften.
And summer is one of the fewtimes that I get to see them and
interact with them on a somewhatof a regular basis.
at our first campus, Yale, wehad two, cohorts running
concurrently, so I got to seeseveral of my colleagues, both,
our seasonal fellows and some ofthe folks that are on central
(14:28):
staff with me full time.
so that was really cool.
At training, I got to seeeveryone.
So I think for me, a lot of itis the people and, part of that
is the people I already know,right?
The people who are a part of mywork routine, but I just don't
get to see them very often, andthat makes it exciting because
it's, feels like a specialoccurrence.
(14:48):
But also, I really just lovewatching the impact of our
programs in real time.
seeing the students come in,seeing them their very first
day, how they're excited, butyou can tell they're a little
bit nervous, and then asprogramming starts, The
nervousness comes out a littlebit because it is an intense
program, and it's intentionallyan intense program, to show them
(15:09):
that they can do it.
But, there is a point.
In the week where, you can seethat they're, feeling the
stress.
But then you also get to seethem overcome it, so it's that,
rewarding experience of,watching the, growth that
happens in such a short time.
And then seeing them basically,graduate from the program on
that, final Friday, right?
that's really cool.
and so I think, again, if I'mgoing to be away from my family
(15:31):
for this long, It should be forsomething that is impactful as
that, right?
And it sort of fills my cup inthat way, if that makes sense.
Susan (15:41):
Oh, absolutely.
Whitney.
Actually, what you just saiddovetails perfectly into what I
was going to talk about nextabout how I'm thriving is, I
recently just experienced seeingstudents of mine graduate.
I understand completely thefulfillment that you feel and
seeing students overcome achallenge.
Maybe really, watch like theself actualization process.
(16:01):
You're seeing them maybe startout with some trepidation,
anxiety, and then by the endthey've achieved something and
you can see how proud they are.
You're proud of them.
It just feels like this big fullcircle moment.
And that's exactly what Iexperienced, as a teacher.
This past, spring, the fifthgraders that I had when I first
began my job just graduatedeighth grade.
(16:22):
So it had been a four year cycleand then students that I had
started working with, at mycurrent job.
I've only been there for threeyears, but some of the students
were already sophomores orjuniors.
By the time I started, they justgraduated this year.
So I was able to see graduationfor.
students that I had in fifthgrade, graduate eighth grade,
and then students that I had inthe middle of their high school
(16:42):
career, graduate high school,that to me was so fulfilling.
So rewarding.
I had never gone through thatprocess with students before,
and it really helped for me tosee, why I do what I do, because
even though I, I always enjoyedmy job, but it's.
Sometimes it's really difficultas a teacher to see, what this
all adds up to because in themoment you're just, you're just
(17:05):
in the moment, you have a hardday and it's really hard to
understand, where thiseventually leads for the
student, for the student'sfamily, for yourself.
and so it was just so.
Fulfilling and gratifying tofinally see the students reach
these milestones and really toput everything in perspective of
Oh, this is, this is why thatstruggle that we overcame
(17:25):
together was so important.
And this is why that matters.
Like now this is a huge.
Point in their lives.
And I guess until their familywas there at graduation, I never
really realized how much thestudent success means to the
family, especially for students,when I'm teaching ESL students
that have come from othercountries, their parents brought
(17:46):
them here for, an education, adegree to be able to work and
earn jobs and send money back totheir family.
And, really achieve thatAmerican dream.
And I felt like I was a part ofthat.
It was hard to see in those dayto day moments in the classroom.
I feel so enlightened andinspired.
(18:06):
I really understand like whatthis all means.
Whittney (18:10):
Yeah, that's, that's honestly entirely it for my job
too.
And I mean, I should clarify,I'm not the person, teaching the
students.
I'm just there for, logisticalsupport while the teaching and
learning is happening.
but I, I make a point to get toknow the students, that we're
spending time with that week.
And then...
We also have, like I mentioned,our alumni conference at the end
(18:31):
of the summer.
And so that's particularlyspecial because then students
from the past cohorts that I'vebeen on site for are at the
alumni conference and I get tosee where they are at their
career in their careers now,there were several of the
students that I had last year.
at Princeton, who were at thealumni conference this year, and
they're applying to college, orthey've gotten accepted to
(18:51):
college, or some of my studentsfrom last summer have taken
research experiences.
I had a number of my studentsactually be accepted into the
Yale, research experiences forveteran undergraduates program,
so I got to see them when I wasat Yale, and it's just, it's so
rewarding and fulfilling, and,It it reminds me that, there is
good in the world and that I'm asmall piece of, producing that
(19:14):
good in the world.
Susan (19:16):
Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely.
And I can tell how dedicated youare to your college projects and
your students as you're sittinghere now.
No one can see, but I can seeyou're wearing an MIT shirt.
Whittney (19:26):
Oh, yes.
Yeah.
Susan (19:28):
I don't know the full effect of Your job.
But when I was there brieflyvisiting you that one time, the
people that you work with andyour students seem like such
incredible people.
They were really awesome, veryfriendly and warm.
And, it felt like I was gettinga little sneak peek and
something that was very specialor pivotal in their lives.
That's really the beauty of anysort of a program that helps
(19:50):
people achieve a goal.
You're helping these studentsreach milestones along the way
and helping them become whothey're ultimately going to be.
And really it is very, very hardin the daily grind as a teacher.
You just don't see that bigpicture.
But I think that now that I'veexperienced it on a couple of
different levels, that's reallygoing to inspire me throughout
the school year.
It's not to say I'm not going tohave hard days.
(20:11):
Cause I am, and I have thatexpectation now, it's not going
to surprise me when things aretough.
but I think just knowing this isgoing to matter one day, like
one day, I remember one girlthat just graduated this year, I
was really pushing her every dayto do her work.
She'd always be like, why are wedoing this?
Why do we have to do this?
But then at graduation, wealmost cried when we locked eyes
and she just didn't really haveto say anything.
(20:33):
She just gave me a hug andwanted a picture with me and her
family was there.
And I was like, Oh my goodness.
All those times that she droveme absolutely crazy
Whittney (20:40):
Mm hmm.
Susan (20:41):
and she argued with me every step of the way, but here
she is graduated.
And she's a better student forit.
I have more motivation now.
I know.
What it's going to feel likewhen we get to that, that end
point and sometimes perspectivereally helps the day to day,
knowing where it's all going
Whittney (21:00):
Yeah.
and you and I have talked abouthow it's very important for us
to have jobs where we feel likewe're making a difference,
whereas, maybe some people,that's not a, major motivator or
a big priority for them in ajob, maybe they just really
need, to focus on their paycheckor they're working a lot.
To live not living to work orwhatever, but I know you and I
(21:20):
are both very career focused andfor us Having a meaningful
career is a big part of that wewouldn't be working so hard if
we didn't feel that we were,making a difference
Susan (21:32):
Yeah, absolutely.
Listeners don't really know myjourney, but I started out in
the journalism field and I'mstill a writer.
I still love to write.
I know I do mention that I'm awriter in the intro of our show,
but I never really talked aboutmy journey.
But one of the reasons that Idecided to go back to school and
switch careers, more than adecade ago at this point is
because I didn't really feelthat in journalism I was having
(21:53):
that much of an impact.
Now there are still rewardingmoments in journalism.
I still feel them today.
Like when you write a reallyimpactful story about a person
or a family, you know,, thatmeans something to that person
or that family, that their storyis being shared.
And I've had some Moments whereI feel goosebumps for writing
something really important forsomebody or, you're capturing a
legacy or something like that.
(22:14):
So I do feel like there isobviously gratification in
journalism.
There's power in writing, but Ididn't feel like I was having
the daily impact I wanted.
You spend a lot of time behind acomputer or sort of in your own
head when you're a writerbecause it's not as much of an
outward process.
It's a lot more internal.
And even though I enjoy thatsporadically, I needed something
(22:36):
that was more.
Interactive day to day somethingthat was more more service
related.
Teaching really is a service.
It's a calling.
And so that was 1 of the reasonsI switch is I just did not feel
fulfilled or like I was havingthe impact that I wanted.
And with teaching, even thoughit's really hard, I do feel like
I'm really helping and making adifference.
(22:57):
And especially now that I'veseen that firsthand, what that
really looks like.
What's the long term impact forthese students and their
families?
I feel so much more.
Fulfilled.
And that's why I made thischange years ago.
So that was also good for me tofeel like, wow, I'm so glad I
switched careers.
I went back to school, got twoother degrees that was all worth
it for me.
Whittney (23:16):
I look at my own journey, and, I know you and I
have talked about how, my careerhas been much more linear than
yours, mine, shows a progressionin the same field, whereas you,
took a minute to, to findteaching, and to realize that
that's where you were, needingto be, but I mean, in higher ed,
what you said about, writingbeing like, working on your own
(23:39):
and not really having the,interaction with the impact
you're making, I, I mean, I feltthat a bit in higher ed, too.
I just don't think I realizedthat that was a piece of it that
was missing for me until Istarted with, the organization I
work for now, because I do havemore of the direct interaction
with the impact we're making, Ithink it is, it's a big
difference, maybe at theuniversity level if I had,
(24:01):
started teaching adjunct in, adifferent department or
something, I would have noticedthat.
But, it's, important to beinteracting with the impact
you're making,
Susan (24:10):
Yeah, definitely.
I also took a break fromteaching at one point in time.
Wasn't really working out.
Long story there.
Now I, looking back, I see onebad experience does not
necessarily mean you need to Notcontinue with something, but at
that time it was bad enough thatit seemed like, wow, this is a
sign from the universe.
I'm going to switch into thecorporate space or try different
(24:30):
things.
So I actually did work in thecorporate space and a little bit
in higher ed and both thosescenarios, I was doing sales
related jobs and for a while itwas kind of exciting.
It was fun, especially when Ifirst moved to Philadelphia and
I was working in a high rise andwe had work trips and it was
just very fancy.
And it was so exciting andteaching is not glamorous at
all.
have chalk on your pants.
(24:51):
You constantly have paper cuts.
My school in Philly, there's noair conditioning.
So you're sweating.
but in the corporate world,it's, it is very glamorous, but
I.
For a time I was fulfilled bythat just cause it was so
different and exciting.
But then over, longer than ayear period of time, I was so
miserable.
Remember when I was working attemple and I felt such guilt
because I had an amazingposition.
(25:13):
Really, anybody would want thisposition that I had working in
the business school.
I went to China on a work trip,which very grateful for that
experience.
But I was so unfulfilled bydoing sales.
Again, this was the perfectscenario.
I had a really nice office.
I could leave at five.
I didn't have homework to do,but I was absolutely miserable.
(25:33):
And ultimately that's what ledme back to teaching as I was
being called to do somethingthat was more hands on, more
service related, more one on onehelping people, which sales was
not it for me.
I felt the opposite.
I was not interested in tryingto, twist somebody's arm into
coming to my school.
Whittney (25:50):
Yeah.
I'm a big proponent of highered, and I've spent my whole
career, working in higher ed insome way, shape, or form.
now, in my current role, we workwith 21, partners in higher ed.
So, I'm not just at a singleuniversity or college anymore.
But, I I feel like I've alwayshad the higher ed piece because
higher ed is so important for mebecause I think education can
(26:13):
really change your life and thetrajectory of your, your path,
for the better.
And so I, I feel like I'vealways had that piece of it.
I haven't ever worked in acorporate job where there was a
profit line or anything likethat.
so I don't have the experiencethat you do, working in the
corporate world, when you werein finance or whatever.
But, for me it's much differentin the non profit space because
(26:36):
it just feels completelydifferent to me.
I feel like somehow I'm on, moreon the front, funny, front lines
of the impact.
Susan (26:45):
Yeah.
You're right, but I, I thinknothing sucked my soul more than
being in a job that didn't alignwith my values.
I didn't really feel that way injournalism because I do still
feel like a lot of things aboutwriting and journalism do align
with me.
It was just that I needed, thenext level of alignment.
But with working in sales, itjust, it literally sucked my
(27:05):
soul.
I've never felt more unhappy inmy life.
Even when I was in the teachingjob, that was bad.
That was, uh, Maybe soul suckingin a different way.
but, anyway, this just goesalong with feeling like you're
in the job for the rightreasons, for the right value
system and the alignment, and Ijust felt like I reached, the
pinnacle of feeling that waythis past year, especially
toward, all the graduations atthe end of the year.
(27:28):
Whitney, I had a really sweetand amazing interaction with one
of my parents, one of mystudents parents.
the day after graduation, I, Iwas cleaning out my classroom I
got called down to the officeand you always get nervous when
you get called to the office.
Like why, have I in trouble, butno, when I got to the office,
one of my.
Students parents was standingthere with a dozen roses and she
(27:51):
doesn't speak much English atall other than to say hello and
thank you.
So we're standing there kind oflooking at each other.
So full of emotion and sheCouldn't really tell me what she
wanted to say.
All she could say was, we loveyou.
And she gave me these roses.
I burst into tears.
She literally had tears runningdown her cheeks.
It was such an emotional moment.
I've never felt such gratitudefrom somebody and.
(28:15):
Again, just one of those momentswhere you're like, this is why I
do this.
And it was one of the sweetestthings that anyone's ever done
for me.
I feel like this particularfamily, I didn't even realize
how much I had impacted theirlives, they came from another
country for their kids to geteducation.
And they really made it throughbecause of me.
So it was such a meaningfulmoment.
I have not really come down fromthat high since, so I'm Riding
(28:39):
that wave of gratitude andperspective and I'm taking that
into this next school year.
And I just feel so much moreenlightened and inspired.
Whittney (28:47):
Yes.
I remember that, you made a poston your social media about that,
and, it's just like theculmination of why you do what
you do, and it was so sweet, andI'm so happy that you got that
moment, and, that will fuel youfor years to come.
Susan (29:03):
Absolutely.
It really, really does.
I just feel like that's what Ineeded just to be like, okay,
yeah, this is it.
This is why I do this.
And it was really.
Really fulfilling to feel thatbecause not everybody has
moments like that, or even amoment like that.
I was talking recently with afriend of ours who lives in San
Francisco and I was telling himabout this.
(29:24):
And he said to me, not everybodyfeels that way about their job.
And he, he sort of admitted thathe doesn't feel that way about
his job in terms of feeling likeenlightened and rich, like this
is, this is my purpose.
He said that he's just come toaccept that he likes his job,
but he's never going to feellike this moment of
enlightenment inspiration.
And he was like, that's reallycool that you feel that because,
(29:45):
some people will never feelthat.
And he's like, I don't think I'mgoing to feel that.
So that's amazing that you'reable to feel that way about what
you do.
And it is that actually really,was a revelation to me too,
because as you just said, youand I, it is really important
for us to feel that in our jobs.
When I didn't feel that I wasrotting from the inside, even
though I was in this amazing,cushy position, I felt so guilty
(30:08):
for not feeling fulfilled, butyou just have to do what feels
right to you.
You can't feel guilty for notfeeling like you're in the right
job.
Again, it just depends on yourpriority.
They might be in a positionwhere they're not feeling
fulfilled or whatever, but forthem, maybe it's just about the
paycheck or my friend wassaying, he tries to feel more
fulfilled in the hobbies thathe's doing after work.
(30:30):
So maybe, yes, he is workingcause he's good at it.
And he, he's making enough moneyto live where he does.
But he tries to do things thatreally make him feel happy
outside of work and in his freetime.
And, I just feel really luckythat I can have both those
things.
I can enjoy my job and feelfulfilled, but also enjoy my
hobbies and things I'm doingoutside of work.
So I feel really happy aboutthat.
Whittney (30:52):
Yeah.
And, you're right.
for some people, maybe theexcitement of working in the
corporate world or theexcitement of the challenges
they have in a corporate job is,is going to be the thing that
makes them excited and happy andfulfilled, right?
we're not trying to say that,everybody needs to feel the way
we do about, a mission, orientedposition or career, it just all
(31:14):
comes down to what's importantto you or what will give you the
life that will make you the mosthappy.
I always tell, the students thatcome through our programs,
whenever they're thinking about,choosing a college, for example,
a lot of our students end upchoosing Ivy League schools.
A lot of our partners are IvyLeague schools, but it, puts
this precedent out there that,if you're not, getting into an
(31:36):
Ivy League school or attendingan Ivy League school that you
haven't succeeded.
you're letting people downbecause that's not the path
you're choosing.
But I always try to stress thatthe school that is right for you
is the school that offers youtwo things, the ability to be
happy and the ability to besuccessful.
So if that's at your localcommunity college because you
(31:56):
need to be close to your familyOr you have children and you
don't want to move your childrenso you need to stay where you
are or whatever happy, and thenwill that school provide you a
degree That will allow you tohave a career that you find
successful If so, it doesn'tmatter if that is at princeton
or yale or at northern virginiacommunity college
Susan (32:19):
Oh yeah.
That's definitely a good rule ofthumb.
you and I both went to Pennstate and that's an incredible
experience and amazing network.
But I got my.
Second bachelor's I had to forwhen I went back to teaching, I
had to get my English degree andthen also I got my masters in
education.
I went to Bloomsburg University,just a small state school, and I
loved my experience there.
(32:40):
I think there's definitelysomething to be said for a small
school.
You and I know from going to thebranch campus of Penn State
Altoona before we went to maincampus, I would, I mean, that I
feel like changed my whole life.
I'm still friends with all thepeople that I met there.
They're, lifelong friends.
But yeah, the small schools havealways worked out the best for
me.
You get more of an intimateexperience.
(33:00):
You get to know your professors.
I wouldn't trade that foranything.
So you're right.
Whittney (33:04):
Yeah.
Susan (33:04):
Yeah, everybody, everybody's, perfect scenario
looks different, you can'tcompare yourself to someone
else.
Whittney (33:10):
Right.
Susan (33:12):
And, that's something else I wanted to add.
Speaking of comparison is when Iwas talking with my friend about
how, all these people are injobs, but very few of them feel
this level of.
Inspiration or enrichment, itmade me think about like back
when I was struggling to find mycareer.
Cause I've been, I've been allover.
I was in, oh my gosh, since Imoved to Philly, I had so many
(33:32):
careers and side hustles, that'skind of mind boggling.
but I always compared myself toother people like, Oh, so and so
is in this job and I thoughtthey were happy or, Oh man, this
person's had a really linearcareer path and I always
compared myself to other peoplewho are in these jobs.
And now I'm realizing like,yeah, they were in these jobs,
but were they happy?
(33:53):
Most of the time, no.
Whittney (33:55):
Well, I feel like, in general, the things that you
think you know about anotherperson based on what their,
LinkedIn profile says or whattheir social media photos are
saying, It's a carefully curatedselection.
Of their experience, Andsometimes it's it's hard to
remember that whenever you'recomparing your experience to
theirs.
Susan (34:16):
yeah, definitely.
And I will say also that, one ofthe other reasons I'm thriving
this summer is I just turned 40on Sunday, August 6th.
Or it's been less than a week atthis point, but yeah, thank you.
I feel also not just because ofmy work experiences, but just in
general, my life experiences, Ifeel the best I've ever felt in
(34:39):
my whole life.
Maybe just riding off thejourney I've had with my school
year, that started on such ahigh and I've just.
Feel that way about the rest ofmy life too.
Like everything's just come fullcircle and I get it now.
Whittney (34:50):
Yeah.
Susan (34:51):
I think back to when I was 30 and honestly, not that
there was anything wrong with mylife, but it was, I was still
trying to figure out where I wasgoing to live, where I was going
to work.
Like, why can't I stick tosomething?
Like other people are able tostick to things, I was not
happy.
I was not happy and I wasn'tdepressed or anything, but now
that I know what it feels liketo have your shit figured out
(35:13):
for pardon my language.
I did not have things figuredout then.
And it was a struggle.
It was a struggle for a lot ofyears in my thirties.
And I think a lot of that camedown to comparing myself to
other people.
Not even really on purpose, butwith social media, everything's
in your face all the time.
Even if you're not looking for acomparison, it's just there.
And I was constantly like, howcome my other friends were able
(35:35):
to stick to one job sincegraduation?
Or how come this person was ableto get married?
Well, at this point, I'mrealizing that a lot of those
friends hate their jobs.
They don't feel any fulfillmentfor those jobs.
Um, a lot of those marriagesaren't still.
Together, or they're, marriageshave fallen apart.
So I think when you hit 40, youstart to realize things that you
thought were like the pinnacleor what you should have.
(35:58):
It was all just a facade, youknow?
I mean,
Whittney (36:01):
Yeah.
Susan (36:02):
that's not always true.
I definitely still have friendswho are successful and happy and
things like that, but you justrealize everybody's on a
different path.
What works for somebody elsedoesn't work for you.
There's no.
Place you're supposed to be at acertain time.
but I didn't really know thatwhen I was 30, I felt like I was
behind, like I didn't have thejob yet, or I wasn't settled
(36:23):
down somewhere, or I wasn't, Iguess I was dating, but I wasn't
happily dating.
I just understand things so muchmore now and I have not ever
felt better.
Whittney (36:33):
So what do you think, clicked for you?
stopping the comparisons?
Or, do you think there wassomething else?
Susan (36:41):
I think it was really just figuring out things myself.
Once I started feeling reallyhappy where I was and what I was
doing, then when you're reallyhappy with yourself, you really
don't care about other people.
But I think when I was 30, sinceI was still trying to figure
everything out and trying outdifferent things, I wasn't
happy.
Yet.
And so it's so easy when you'renot happy and you're in a very
(37:04):
vulnerable place emotionally orjust personally, it is very easy
to feel like someone else hasmore than you.
Cause I didn't feel confident inwhere I was, and it just takes
time.
I don't think that I didanything wrong.
Yeah, you know, there's likelittle decisions here or there
that I could have donedifferently, but I don't think I
made mistakes.
(37:24):
I think that it just takeslonger sometimes to figure
things out.
And that's just the way it'ssupposed to be.
Who would have thought 10 yearsago that I would end up in
Philly teaching at a publicschool teaching English as a
second language.
That's not even what I went toschool for.
I honestly ended up in that jobon a staffing error, things just
happen sometimes.
(37:46):
And so, and I, and it wasn'talways easy.
Like, I think I struggled thefirst couple of years.
My first year back in theclassroom after the pandemic was
really hard, you know, and thispast year was hard.
But it's just that once I wentthrough all those hardships and
understood, what was at theother side of that, now that
I've experienced that, I won'tmind as much going through the
(38:07):
ups and downs because I getwhere that all leads, you know,
but it's very difficult when youdon't know where that leads or
if it's going to be what youthought it was going to be, or.
Whittney (38:16):
Yeah.
So, how do you think yourealize, this is gonna sound
weird, but how do you think yourealize that you were finally in
a groove where you're happy, Andyou're just confident in moving
forward.
Susan (38:31):
Oh man, well, it's been a process for sure and it's not
over.
It's not like, Oh, I've reachedthe pinnacle and now I'm just
coasting for the rest of mylife.
I understand there's definitelygoing to be peaks and valleys as
they say.
I get that.
Now I have more of the wisdomand understanding to be able to
navigate those in a morehealthy, clear minded way.
I had to learn myself and whatworks for myself.
(38:53):
Like I said, last year wasreally hard coming back after
the pandemic, after beingvirtual, being back in the
classroom, the students had tolearn how to be students again.
We had to learn how to be inperson teachers again.
I was really struggling withmanaging my time because during
the pandemic time was different.
I had more time.
We were all virtual.
I had picked up a lot of.
(39:13):
Additional jobs like tutoringand different things I could do
when I was at home when I hadmore time and space.
Um, and then I tried to continueall those things when I went
back in the classroom andrealized I couldn't juggle it
all, but, and we've talked aboutthis on the show before, but I
couldn't just quit things.
I had to slowly drop thosethings over time when they came
to a natural ending point.
So for me, going through theprocess of seeing what I can
(39:35):
handle, what I can't finally,it's taken me this past year,
finally, I didn't have all theside hustles and I had space to
breathe and I could use anydowntime that I had for myself.
I'd started going to the gymafter school, I started focusing
more on eating healthy.
And I finally had space to dothat because I wasn't filling my
(39:56):
time with all these sidehustles.
And I learned about settingboundaries on school.
I realized I was putting so muchpressure on myself to deliver
these incredible presentationsand things when really.
You don't need to do that.
You don't need to go above andbeyond every day.
sometimes it's just showing upis enough, honestly.
Just being there for the kids.
(40:17):
It's, I'm not saying I just showup with no plan, but I don't
have to be super teacher everyday.
Sometimes it's just like beingthat stable, consistent presence
for the kids.
And it doesn't always have to bethis.
A plus lesson plan.
It just has to be a plan and Ihave to be there.
so I maybe lowering theexpectations a bit while still
having a high standard, but, notkilling myself to do it,
Whittney (40:39):
not
Susan (40:40):
boundaries on my time.
Whittney (40:41):
for perfection, maybe.
Susan (40:44):
Yeah, exactly.
And that's hard when you're ahigh achiever or perfectionist,
that's hard, but realizing whereis a stopping point?
If it was seven o'clock in theevening and I knew I had to
start winding down by seven 38,I realized you know what?
I'm not going to make this extraactivity because it's going to
take me another hour and I needto start getting ready for bed.
So just Cutting it off and maybedoing the have to haves not
(41:06):
always the nice to haves
Whittney (41:07):
hmm,
Susan (41:08):
nice to haves would be good.
Like once a week, on a Friday,sometimes the nice to haves like
a game or an activity I plannedare good, but you don't need
that every day.
I realized I have to take bettercare of myself because I'm, I'm
leading the show there.
Right.
So if I come in haggard and worndown and I didn't get enough
sleep last night, or I didn'tget to eat or exercise, I'm not
going to be a good teacher.
Whittney (41:29):
yeah,
Susan (41:30):
Focusing on myself is really what I think turned
things around because I felt somuch happier and starting to
learn that I can use personaldays, which I never did before.
I'm a crazy person that I neverused personal days until this
past year.
Like what was I doing?
Whittney (41:48):
yeah, yeah,
Susan (41:50):
Yeah, but it was a process to get to the point
where I realized how to managethings in a way where I can be
healthy and still do a good job.
And it's just a little bit ofletting go.
You don't always have to go likefull speed ahead.
Whittney (42:04):
yeah.
I mean, that's, I feel likethat's the hardest lesson to
learn.
Is dropping the perfectionism.
Because, I still struggle withthat myself.
I want to do all of the thingsand I want to do them all at the
highest level.
But, something's gotta give,right?
Cause, unless I'm just likenever sleeping again.
You know?
Susan (42:24):
Yeah, exactly.
So I guess how I reached allthis was just, first of all,
this is the longest I've been ina job in general.
Okay.
Just to put things inperspective for how much I've
gone back and forth over time.
And I finally been in a job forfour going into my fifth year.
That in itself was helpful inhaving a consistent job, which
is really what I was alwaysstriving to have.
(42:44):
Like, It stressed me outwhenever I would change
positions because I knew Iwouldn't be able to get that
longevity in a position toreally figure things out.
It's very hard when you'reconstantly jumping around
because you never get to thepoint where you figure it out.
I mean, and you never trulyfigure it out, but you know what
I mean?
You start to understand or getinto the rhythm of a job, which
you can't do if you're onlythere short term.
(43:07):
So I think one of the things wasjust having consistency going
through something enough timesthat.
I have more wisdom and that'show I feel in life too.
So 40 is not scary.
It's to me personally, waybetter than turning 30.
I just feel so good.
I wished I felt this way when Iwas 30.
Whittney (43:30):
So incredible.
Like, you know, makes meactually not worried about
turning that myself wheneverit's my turn.
Susan (43:38):
Really in the grand scheme of things, 40 is not that
old.
Really?
It's not.
And, it's an amazing thing to,to age in a way where you are
entering every day with so muchmore knowledge.
That's really refreshing.
Whittney (43:52):
Yeah.
So, Susan, we've been talkingabout, you turning 40.
and it's a big, specialbirthday.
So, what did you do tocelebrate?
Susan (44:01):
Yeah.
So I had the most amazingbirthday.
I went to New York with mysister and 2 of my best friends.
Um, Whitney, of course, you'reyou're a best friend also, but
you're not you're not local.
So,
Whittney (44:10):
I don't know.
It's, it's a big problem.
Yeah.
Susan (44:13):
Yeah, I know.
I know.
But we'll have to celebrateanother time when we're
together.
I went to New York and I, youknow, cause everyone talks
about.
Anytime it's a milestonebirthday, you want to do big
trip or something like that.
and my friends and I had beentalking about 40th for a long
time.
And every time we would gettogether, especially during the
pandemic, when you couldn't goanywhere, we're always like,
yeah, let's talk about whatwe're going to do for our 40th.
(44:34):
And we would just dream up thesebiggest extravagant trips.
But then when the time came, I'mlike, yeah, listen, this trip
doesn't line up with my bankaccount here.
You know, I'm not actually goingto go to Paris.
I think you also just realizemaybe, you know, this is another
nugget of wisdom that I have isyou don't need to do something
extravagant.
All you really need is thepeople that mean the most to you
and just anything that's specialto you.
(44:56):
Like, I really love musicaltheater, whenever I go to a show
or any kind of artisticexperience, I absolutely love
it.
I've always wanted to do Statueof Liberty and Ellis Island.
So in hindsight, maybe thatwasn't the best thing to pick in
the summer, which is peaks peaktourist season.
Cause we ended up waiting inthese insane lines the whole
(45:17):
day, but I still really lovethat experience.
It was very special to see theStatue of Liberty up close.
She's beautiful.
Whittney (45:24):
Mm
Susan (45:25):
Lady Liberty is everything I expected her to be.
we took a ferry over to LibertyIsland and I loved Liberty
Island.
It was so pretty.
by that point after waiting inlines all day, we were very
excited to get some Statue ofLiberty lemonade.
Whittney (45:39):
Mmh.
Yeah.
Susan (45:41):
So, we enjoyed that, but every thing that we did, we had
to wait in these long lines.
We had to wait in security checkto get to the Liberty Island.
Then we had to wait in a line toget to Ellis Island.
Then we had to wait in the lineto get back, back to battery
park.
So I swear to you that I wasprobably waiting in lines for
like five or six hours that day.
It was like two hours for eachline, which is crazy.
(46:02):
I really feel like there was aproblem with the return ferry.
1 didn't come for 2 hours.
Those ferries should be comingback and forth every 30 minutes.
There was definitely something
Whittney (46:12):
Yeah.
Susan (46:13):
not going as planned that day.
maybe the ferry driver calledout.
I don't know, but that was alittle much, all the lines and
stuff, but.
You know, I'll never forget thatday.
We, we joked that it was likethe immersive immigrant
experience because we werestanding like sardines and these
lines and the heat with peoplefrom all around the world.
(46:33):
You know, um, we survived EllisIsland.
We kept saying.
Whittney (46:37):
Mm hmm.
Susan (46:38):
When we got back onto the mainland, on Saturday night, we
kind of freewheeled it fordinner and found this nice
Japanese restaurant and got somenoodle dishes.
And my sister got ramen Then wefound a rooftop bar.
It called the star child orsomething?
I don't know, but we were onthis rooftop for when it was.
Turn midnight for my birthday.
And it was just this beautifulglittering view of the city.
(47:00):
And then the next day we, mysister and I went to church at
St.
Patrick's cathedral, which wasreally special.
It was really pretty.
And what better way to start outyour 40th birthday than church,
the cathedral, very sort of likeheavenly experience.
and then we had lunch at thisawesome family style Italian
restaurant called car mines rateand right near Broadway.
(47:22):
Um, that was Amazing.
The food was just to die for.
And then we went and saw Back tothe Future on Broadway.
So that was just incredible,Whitney.
Whittney (47:31):
Mm hmm Yeah, I, I keep thinking about Since you've Said
that that was The show you choselike How is Back to the Future
on Broadway?
Does it translate to a musical?
Susan (47:41):
Yes, absolutely.
So, right before I'd left forNew York, I had gotten together
with some friends in Philly.
a little casual birthdaycelebrating before I left on my
trip.
And one of my friends is in thetheater world and she had other
theater friends who had beenseeing different shows on
Broadway.
And she, I said to her like, Oh,how was it?
Cause she said a few of herfriends saw it and she was like,
Oh, you know, they thought itwas okay.
(48:03):
They were like, it's just likethe movie.
And I'm like, Well, that's greatbecause I love the movie.
That's one of my favorite moviesSo I'm like, I don't care if
it's like the movie, that's whatI want.
I want it to be like the movie,but she kind of seemed like a
little like, Oh, they thought itwas okay.
And so I was like, all right,well, we'll see.
But I thought it wasunbelievable.
It was, it was like the movie,but better
Whittney (48:23):
Mm hmm.
Susan (48:23):
because it had songs and choreography and effects and Oh
my gosh, the DeLorean, theDeLorean.
Was amazing and actually flew,you know, how back to the future
ends where doc is going ahead 30years.
And he says where we're going,we don't need roads.
And then the DeLorean starts tofly.
(48:44):
Oh my gosh, the effects werejust incredible.
The ensemble cast was sotalented.
We loved the lead actor.
He was just so good.
So likable.
I just can't say enough goodthings about it.
It was literally one of the bestthings I've ever seen.
Whittney (48:59):
Mm hmm.
Amazing.
Well, I'm so glad that that wasthe show you picked for your
birthday then.
Susan (49:04):
Oh, I knew as soon as I started looking for shows and I
saw that it hadn't, it justactually came out officially
three days before my birthday.
So it was meant to be,
Whittney (49:12):
It was totally meant to be.
Susan (49:13):
There was no question from the beginning that that's
what I wanted to see.
I just felt like this is whatI'm doing for my birthday.
This is exactly meant to be.
Um, you just smile from start tofinish.
It's such a feel good, happymusical.
I've been listening to thesoundtrack nonstop since I left
the show.
I would love to see it again.
Actually.
man, it's, it was just so good.
So much talent.
So, so feel good.
(49:34):
So happy.
I had the best time and I couldnot have asked for a better
birthday experience.
Everything was absolutelyperfect.
Whittney (49:42):
Amazing.
I'm so happy that that was your40th birthday experience.
Susan (49:47):
Oh yeah, it was.
And again, I, it just showed youyou don't need to be in Europe
or Cancun.
I was two hours from my house,but was, still doing all these
amazing things.
I had the best people, the bestfood, the best show, you can do
anything even in your own city.
We always feel like we have togo a step beyond for our.
Milestone birthdays, but youdon't really have to do that.
(50:10):
You don't have to always spendan arm and a leg for me, it was
keep it simple.
And that was just perfect forme.
Whittney (50:17):
Yeah, no, totally works, keeping it simple is, one
of the, life hacks of all time,right?
Susan (50:22):
I, I, like I said, I've been having the best summer.
I'm just feeling so enlightenedwith everything.
And I'm just hoping to continueriding that wave into my next
year.
And, you know,, things are notalways going to be smooth
sailing, but I feel like sort ofa depth of.
A depth of good experiencesthat's given me such a good
platform to go forward from.
Whittney (50:43):
amazing, I love it.
Well, that's probably the best,line you could end talking about
your birthday on, right?
Susan (50:52):
Yeah, it was great.
I'm, I'm definitely stillfeeling, elevated from that
experience.
That's the best thing aboutbirthdays is you set yourself up
to have an amazing year and justtry to continue riding that wave
and stop thinking about how oldyou actually are.
Maybe we need to stop thinkingabout I'm going to be such and
such an age.
Just think about what you areright now.
And even when you are that age,it's really not that scary.
(51:14):
You're still exactly the sameperson you were, just better.
Whittney (51:17):
yeah.
Well, for Nate and I, half thetime we're like, How old are we
now?
Which is our, inside joke aboutwe're getting old because we
can't even remember how old weare.
Susan (51:27):
But I feel like we look the same.
We feel the same.
I mean, you know, you'reconstantly making tweaks to what
works for you.
I do feel like I need moresleep.
You just have less tolerance forwanting to stay out when you
just want to go home and relaxand so priorities shift.
And that's probably what peoplenotice.
They're like, Oh, I don't stayout as late anymore, but that's
fine.
Now you're just spending yourtime differently.
(51:47):
It doesn't mean it's worse oryou're old.
You just might have differentpriorities and things you want
to do with your time.
And I think that's good andthat's healthy.
Whittney (51:54):
Yeah.
Circling back to what we weresaying earlier about jobs, you
know, like, just comes down toyour priorities.
Susan (52:02):
Right.
And a lot of times it takes awhile to figure out what those
priorities are.
And it's okay that you don'thave it all figured out.
I think if that's something Icould go back and tell myself
when I was 30, it's like, Hey,you're actually not supposed to
have this figured out.
This is very cliche, but it'snot like there's a manual, you
know?
There is no benchmark thatyou're supposed to be at at a
certain age.
(52:22):
I mean, look at your veteransgoing back to school.
If they would live by that,they, they think that they were
unsuccessful and that's not trueat all.
Sometimes we just have differentexperiences for different
reasons.
Like Maybe they weren't inschool when they were between
the ages of 18 and 22 orwhatever, because they were
serving our country.
and maybe I wasn't in thissuccessful quote unquote
(52:43):
successful job at a certain agebecause I still had to
experience other things tofigure it out, you know,, and
you realize now looking backthat those other experiences are
what makes you who you are.
That's why I'm at this level ofenlightenment that I am now
because I experienced all thosethings.
If I had just stayed in the samejob since I was 22, I don't
think I would have learned halfas many things as I know right
(53:05):
now.
Whittney (53:05):
Yeah, exactly.
and you also wouldn't appreciatewhere you are now if you hadn't
gone through that, thoseexperiences.
Mm hmm.
the experiences are how we learnand grow.
Susan (53:16):
Everybody has, everyone has, a reason, of why they're in
your life or every job has areason.
And, the more you can appreciatethat instead of seeing it as a
mistake, just seeing it as astepping stone and a learning
experience.
Anyway, Whitney, I'm so excitedfor now that you're done with
your work travel, that we aregoing to be jumping back on
board here with some moreepisodes coming up in the fall.
(53:38):
We're going to be having adating episode in which I'm
going to talk with a friend ofyours about dating and we're
definitely going to be talkingmore about the books that we've
been reading this summer, thingsthat we've been watching.
So we have a lot of fun thingson deck.
Whittney (53:50):
yes, we do and I'm excited to be back in the
routine of being home andpodcasting with you
Susan (53:58):
Yes.
Yay.
Whittney (54:00):
Yay
Hi, Whitney.
This is our first surviving andthriving episode.
I was talking with you recentlythat one of the things that we
said we were going to do on ourpodcast, it says it in our intro
is that we're going to talkabout how we are surviving and
thriving.
So I wanted us to talk todayabout how we are surviving and
thriving.
What are the ups and downswhat's going on in our lives
(01:00):
this summer, the summer of 2023.
So here we are.
Whittney (01:05):
thank you for reminding me that we are
surviving and thriving because Ithink it's important for us, to
talk about it.
Susan (01:11):
Today, I feel like I'm surviving a little bit.
I am recording outside my normalhabitat.
I am dog sitting at my sister'shouse in Maryland.
And, there's all these noisesoutside, like someone mowing the
lawn or weed Whacker.
I don't know.
I just moved rooms to not hearthe noise.
And now I'm hearing it.
Out the other window, so I amsurviving today with trying, not
(01:33):
to have the sounds of suburbiain the background, which is
ironic to me because usuallywhen I'm in the city, you could
hear a pin drop.
Whittney (01:41):
Yeah, that's very interesting.
Maybe you're just, immune tocity sounds.
Susan (01:46):
That's true.
But, the weed whacker might makean appearance on today's
episode, but hopefully not.
Whittney (01:52):
Well, it's, just an extra little layer of flavor,
the suburban flavor.
Susan (01:59):
That's right.
Well, I've had an interestingexperience so far at my sister's
house cause I've had to care forher two dogs who are a little
bit out of sorts cause Devin andher family had been traveling a
lot this summer.
I think they miss, they misstheir, their family at the dogs,
miss their family.
Um, and they've been needy forme.
They can't make up their mind.
Do they want to go in?
Do they want to go out?
Whittney (02:19):
Meanwhile, Mowgli is basically snoring behind me.
You can see his little feet.
Susan (02:25):
And for those that don't know, Whitney has a dog named
Mowgli.
I don't know that we've evermentioned Mowgli on an episode.
So yes, she has Mowgli who issuper cute.
He loves to chew on ice cubes.
He's the best.
Whittney (02:36):
he does love ice cubes.
we took him for a walk yesterdayand it was a little bit warm, so
he had ice cubes yesterday, too.
Yes.
Susan (02:42):
I just love that.
So Whitney talking aboutsurviving and thriving this
summer.
We've had all sorts of thingsgoing on.
right now I'm on summer vacationas a teacher.
We're off in the summer.
So that's been really great.
For me, the biggest thing isalways finding a routine in the
summer because we don't haveschool, as an obliger, which is
someone who needs the outeraccountability.
(03:04):
Sometimes it's hard for me tostick to a good routine because
I really could do whatever Iwant.
But I know for you, you've beentraveling around all over the
place with your job.
You just finished your summertravel, which.
Started in May, right?
Whittney (03:17):
Yeah, well, it's funny,
Susan (03:19):
Whitney, I know that you love the summer travel and
that's probably one of thefavorite points of your job.
But could you tell us first ofall, what is your job exactly?
What have you been doing thissummer at all your different
travel projects and sites?
I'd just love to hear more abouthow you were able to manage
traveling for months on end inthe summer and staying sane.
Whittney (03:39):
Suze, that you say that you're having trouble
forming your routine in thesummer, because you have, less
things going on.
I also find that it's hard tostick with a routine in the
summer because I have morethings going on.
So, it works both ways, firstoff.
so, Suze, as you said, I workfor an organization called
Warrior Scholar Project.
it's a non profit that helpsenlisted veterans and service
(04:02):
members, prepare for thetransition to higher education.
So, one of those...
challenges that, enlistedveterans and service members
face if they are separating fromthe military or have separated
from the military and arethinking about going to college
is that they haven't been in aclassroom probably for a long
(04:22):
time or if they have, they mightbe trying to muscle through it
on their own and it's just notan ideal situation, right?
They're a lot of times goingback to school as an older
student, between the ages of.
You know, 21, 24, 36, andthey're in a classroom with
(04:43):
traditional age college studentswho they, might not feel that
they have a lot, in common withor, similar struggles.
they might have families at thatpoint.
So it's just, it's a really bigtransition.
And, my primary role at WarriorScholar Project is I'm the
Director of Communications andMarketing, so that's the role I
fulfill for the organization allyear long.
(05:05):
But in the summer, I get anextra, little hat to wear that
I, that I love, which is I getto go to our programs, which we
have academic boot camps hostedwith 21 college and university
partners across the country.
And we We host these academicboot camps.
They're immersive experiences tosimulate what it's like to be in
(05:28):
college.
So, we have a group of veteransand service members coming to a
campus.
for example, the campuses that Itraveled to this summer were
Yale University, BrownUniversity, and Columbia
University.
And they are living in thedorms.
They're eating in the dininghalls.
They're going to class with, andbeing taught by professors from
(05:51):
that university.
And also by peer mentors thatare also other student veterans.
And so it's a really coolexperience and it kind of shows
them that they can do this,right?
they have what it takes and theycan gain the confidence that
they'll succeed in college.
So, in the summer, as I said, Iget to go to these programs and
I spend Roughly 10 days at eachprogram.
(06:14):
If we do a one week program,that's how long as a staff
person I, I have to be oncampus.
so, I go away for fairly longwork trips in the summer, and
this summer, at the beginning ofthe summer, I had my nephew's
graduation in Maryland, and thenI went from there straight to
training for work, in Florida.
(06:36):
And then straight from trainingto a 10 day program at Yale.
So, my first travel experienceof the summer, I was away from
my husband and Mowgli, for 23days.
Susan (06:49):
Wow.
So I guess my question, first ofall, I should backtrack for a
second.
I think it's incredible.
The programs that yourorganization puts on, it's such
a great idea.
But of course it makes a lot ofsense that the veterans would be
so far removed from thatacademic experience.
I'm sure that would be quite atransition.
(07:09):
So it's incredible.
And last year I got to see thata little bit firsthand when I
visited you at Princeton,
Whittney (07:14):
Yes.,
Susan (07:15):
and got to meet some of your fellows and some of the
people in the program.
And I thought it was just socool that you were staying in
the dorm and, simulating thiswhole.
Experience but my question is,how are you able to travel that
much and be away from Mowgli,Nate, your home?
Do you feel like you're offroutine?
(07:35):
How much does that really affectyou?
Whittney (07:37):
Well, obviously, being away from your family is hard.
But if I'm going to be away frommy family, at least...
What I, I feel what I'm doingwhen I'm away from my family is
worth the sacrifice, right?
I'm putting good into the worldin some way, so that's helpful.
I think it is always hard in thesummer because it seems like I
(07:57):
have a routine at home and thenI have a routine when I'm
traveling and the travel routineis, is kind of short lived in
the way that I'm there for tendays.
So I, establish a routine andthen I leave and go home, right?
So I think sometimes it's harderto establish the routine there,
even though each course I'm athas a very similar schedule.
(08:18):
but like exercise, for example,not always knowing what,
facilities are availablewhenever I'm going somewhere.
So like when I'm home, I'm likereally into my gym, we do
personal training, I play a lotof pickleball, I'm very good
about being in a good exerciseroutine when I'm home.
I mean, I've, we walk our dog,there's a lot going on.
(08:38):
depending on the campus I go to,and if we have gym access, that
can be, unpredictable, right?
This summer, oh, two of thethree campuses that I went to
had gym access, but it wasvarying.
So, what I need for my normalfitness routine, only one of the
campuses really had somethingfor that.
So, that's challenging, but theother campus that had gym access
(09:00):
was also in New York City, so Icould always just go for a walk
and walk as long as I wantedbecause there's like an endless
options of things to see in NewYork City, right?
Susan (09:09):
Right.
Whittney (09:10):
So I think the, exercise routine and the sleep
routine are two of the thingsthat it's hard to go back and
forth between.
one thing that I always do nowthat I learned last summer, to
start doing was I got a travelpillow that's a really nice
pillow and that really helpsbecause sleeping on a dorm bed
with the, pillow they give youthat's they buy them in like the
(09:34):
thousands and they just handthem out, right, is not really
conducive to getting a goodnight's sleep for me.
I'm beyond the point where I canjust like, I'm a side sleeper,
so I can sleep on like a hardfloor and be okay.
So, packing a travel pillow hasbeen a game changer in the sleep
department.
Susan (09:50):
Whitney, by travel pillow, is it a smaller pillow
or it's literally just aseparate pillow that you use for
travel or is it one that's alittle bit more compact?
Whittney (09:58):
both.
So, I got what's called a pillowcube, which I can, put, we can
put a link to the show notes.
I'm a side sleeper, so.
Finding a good pillow can bedifficult, right?
But there were all these ads onInstagram one time for this
pillow cube, and it wasspecifically for side sleepers.
And so I was at that stage whereI was like, let me just try it.
(10:19):
Maybe it's cool.
and it, the actual pillow cubeis a, it's like a cube pillow,
so it comes in this littletravel size, And I liked it, but
it was kind of small.
So, they make a bigger one formy bed, so I, Once I realized I
liked it, I immediately orderedthe big one for my bed.
But also, it comes in reallyhandy for travel.
And it's easy to compress into acompression bag.
Susan (10:42):
That sounds really smart.
And you had mentioned about thepillow cube.
you also use packing cubes aswell for your trips.
Whittney (10:49):
Yes, packing cubes are really helpful because you can
categorize the types of thingsyou need, a lot of people have,
a standard packing list, which Iprobably should make one in
writing somewhere, But, for now,I have things I need and outfits
I need for my travel, Which mytravel, I might need, when I
travel for boot camps in thesummer.
I might need casual clothes forevery day.
(11:11):
My camp counselor attire, as Ithink I jokingly called it when
you were at Princeton.
which is my work polo and someshorts and some nice walking
shoes.
Cause, walking around thesecampuses, you have to be comfy.
so I might need more casual wearfor day to day stuff that's
comfy.
But then, we have an end ofcourse reception at each of our
events.
So, I need a formal...
(11:33):
Dress and, dress shoes, as well.
So I have to pack a range ofoutfits.
The last, campus I was at thissummer, went right into our
alumni conference at Princeton.
So I got to go back to Princetonafter Columbia.
and I needed a variety ofbusiness casual outfits for that
conference.
So, just having the packingcubes allows you to designate a
(11:55):
cube for each purpose.
Or at least for me, it, it,that's how I use them.
Susan (12:00):
Yeah, I actually started using packing cubes this year as
well.
I feel like I need more of them,because I, yeah, I ran out, so
some of my stuff was in cubesand not others,
Whittney (12:11):
Yeah, they've been a huge help for me.
I ended up getting, a set lastyear before I did travel, and
then I immediately bought amatching second set because, as
you said, I feel like you need,a certain quantity of them just
to even get started.
even now when Nate and I goplaces, he's always like Hey,
can I have one of those cubethings?
Susan (12:30):
Yeah, I noticed my sister, on her, our family
vacation, she was using, and theshoe organizers that you can
buy, for kids clothes, you canput an outfit inside each one of
those little shoe.
Yeah.
Pockets she had whole outfitsput together for her kids that
included the shorts, the top,what underwear and socks and
rolled it all in a little balland put it in each little
(12:50):
pocket.
thought that was pretty clever.
so there's all sorts of littletravel hacks.
Whittney (12:57):
I think that it's helpful just to figure out,
which one is sustainable for youbecause, for me, the packing
cubes are helpful, I also like,those compression bags, I don't
know if you've ever seen them,the, travel compression bags,
so, if I'm at a campus wherethere's not access to laundry, I
would just, put them in acompression bag and, roll them
up so then they take less roomin the suitcase but, they're
(13:18):
kind of away from anything thatyou have in your suitcase that
you may not have worn on thetrip or you may have washed and,
is still clean in your bag.
and I, I use one of those for mypillow as well because it, is
able to compress my pillow downto a much smaller size so it
doesn't take up as much room inmy suitcase.
Susan (13:36):
Oh, I love that.
That's such a good idea becauseit just keeps everything more
compact and manageable in yoursuitcase.
Whittney (13:42):
Mm hmm.
Yeah.
Susan (13:43):
I know that you were telling me offline.
Really summer travel is whereyou're thriving.
You're not really survivingthat.
Everyone else thinks that you'resurviving.
Cause like I said, other peopleare projecting their anxieties
like, Oh my gosh, you're gonefor so long.
But really, for you, you'reenjoying it so much.
So maybe you could just go intobriefly of how your summer
travel is really, when youthrive, it's your favorite time
(14:04):
of year.
And why is that?
Whittney (14:06):
currently I work remotely, so I don't get to see
my coworkers in real life veryoften.
And summer is one of the fewtimes that I get to see them and
interact with them on a somewhatof a regular basis.
at our first campus, Yale, wehad two, cohorts running
concurrently, so I got to seeseveral of my colleagues, both,
our seasonal fellows and some ofthe folks that are on central
(14:28):
staff with me full time.
so that was really cool.
At training, I got to seeeveryone.
So I think for me, a lot of itis the people and, part of that
is the people I already know,right?
The people who are a part of mywork routine, but I just don't
get to see them very often, andthat makes it exciting because
it's, feels like a specialoccurrence.
(14:48):
But also, I really just lovewatching the impact of our
programs in real time.
seeing the students come in,seeing them their very first
day, how they're excited, butyou can tell they're a little
bit nervous, and then asprogramming starts, The
nervousness comes out a littlebit because it is an intense
program, and it's intentionallyan intense program, to show them
(15:09):
that they can do it.
But, there is a point.
In the week where, you can seethat they're, feeling the
stress.
But then you also get to seethem overcome it, so it's that,
rewarding experience of,watching the, growth that
happens in such a short time.
And then seeing them basically,graduate from the program on
that, final Friday, right?
that's really cool.
and so I think, again, if I'mgoing to be away from my family
(15:31):
for this long, It should be forsomething that is impactful as
that, right?
And it sort of fills my cup inthat way, if that makes sense.
Susan (15:41):
Oh, absolutely.
Whitney.
Actually, what you just saiddovetails perfectly into what I
was going to talk about nextabout how I'm thriving is, I
recently just experienced seeingstudents of mine graduate.
I understand completely thefulfillment that you feel and
seeing students overcome achallenge.
Maybe really, watch like theself actualization process.
(16:01):
You're seeing them maybe startout with some trepidation,
anxiety, and then by the endthey've achieved something and
you can see how proud they are.
You're proud of them.
It just feels like this big fullcircle moment.
And that's exactly what Iexperienced, as a teacher.
This past, spring, the fifthgraders that I had when I first
began my job just graduatedeighth grade.
(16:22):
So it had been a four year cycleand then students that I had
started working with, at mycurrent job.
I've only been there for threeyears, but some of the students
were already sophomores orjuniors.
By the time I started, they justgraduated this year.
So I was able to see graduationfor.
students that I had in fifthgrade, graduate eighth grade,
and then students that I had inthe middle of their high school
(16:42):
career, graduate high school,that to me was so fulfilling.
So rewarding.
I had never gone through thatprocess with students before,
and it really helped for me tosee, why I do what I do, because
even though I, I always enjoyedmy job, but it's.
Sometimes it's really difficultas a teacher to see, what this
all adds up to because in themoment you're just, you're just
(17:05):
in the moment, you have a hardday and it's really hard to
understand, where thiseventually leads for the
student, for the student'sfamily, for yourself.
and so it was just so.
Fulfilling and gratifying tofinally see the students reach
these milestones and really toput everything in perspective of
Oh, this is, this is why thatstruggle that we overcame
(17:25):
together was so important.
And this is why that matters.
Like now this is a huge.
Point in their lives.
And I guess until their familywas there at graduation, I never
really realized how much thestudent success means to the
family, especially for students,when I'm teaching ESL students
that have come from othercountries, their parents brought
(17:46):
them here for, an education, adegree to be able to work and
earn jobs and send money back totheir family.
And, really achieve thatAmerican dream.
And I felt like I was a part ofthat.
It was hard to see in those dayto day moments in the classroom.
I feel so enlightened andinspired.
(18:06):
I really understand like whatthis all means.
Whittney (18:10):
Yeah, that's, that's honestly entirely it for my job
too.
And I mean, I should clarify,I'm not the person, teaching the
students.
I'm just there for, logisticalsupport while the teaching and
learning is happening.
but I, I make a point to get toknow the students, that we're
spending time with that week.
And then...
We also have, like I mentioned,our alumni conference at the end
(18:31):
of the summer.
And so that's particularlyspecial because then students
from the past cohorts that I'vebeen on site for are at the
alumni conference and I get tosee where they are at their
career in their careers now,there were several of the
students that I had last year.
at Princeton, who were at thealumni conference this year, and
they're applying to college, orthey've gotten accepted to
(18:51):
college, or some of my studentsfrom last summer have taken
research experiences.
I had a number of my studentsactually be accepted into the
Yale, research experiences forveteran undergraduates program,
so I got to see them when I wasat Yale, and it's just, it's so
rewarding and fulfilling, and,It it reminds me that, there is
good in the world and that I'm asmall piece of, producing that
(19:14):
good in the world.
Susan (19:16):
Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely.
And I can tell how dedicated youare to your college projects and
your students as you're sittinghere now.
No one can see, but I can seeyou're wearing an MIT shirt.
Whittney (19:26):
Oh, yes.
Yeah.
Susan (19:28):
I don't know the full effect of Your job.
But when I was there brieflyvisiting you that one time, the
people that you work with andyour students seem like such
incredible people.
They were really awesome, veryfriendly and warm.
And, it felt like I was gettinga little sneak peek and
something that was very specialor pivotal in their lives.
That's really the beauty of anysort of a program that helps
(19:50):
people achieve a goal.
You're helping these studentsreach milestones along the way
and helping them become whothey're ultimately going to be.
And really it is very, very hardin the daily grind as a teacher.
You just don't see that bigpicture.
But I think that now that I'veexperienced it on a couple of
different levels, that's reallygoing to inspire me throughout
the school year.
It's not to say I'm not going tohave hard days.
(20:11):
Cause I am, and I have thatexpectation now, it's not going
to surprise me when things aretough.
but I think just knowing this isgoing to matter one day, like
one day, I remember one girlthat just graduated this year, I
was really pushing her every dayto do her work.
She'd always be like, why are wedoing this?
Why do we have to do this?
But then at graduation, wealmost cried when we locked eyes
and she just didn't really haveto say anything.
(20:33):
She just gave me a hug andwanted a picture with me and her
family was there.
And I was like, Oh my goodness.
All those times that she droveme absolutely crazy
Whittney (20:40):
Mm hmm.
Susan (20:41):
and she argued with me every step of the way, but here
she is graduated.
And she's a better student forit.
I have more motivation now.
I know.
What it's going to feel likewhen we get to that, that end
point and sometimes perspectivereally helps the day to day,
knowing where it's all going
Whittney (21:00):
Yeah.
and you and I have talked abouthow it's very important for us
to have jobs where we feel likewe're making a difference,
whereas, maybe some people,that's not a, major motivator or
a big priority for them in ajob, maybe they just really
need, to focus on their paycheckor they're working a lot.
To live not living to work orwhatever, but I know you and I
(21:20):
are both very career focused andfor us Having a meaningful
career is a big part of that wewouldn't be working so hard if
we didn't feel that we were,making a difference
Susan (21:32):
Yeah, absolutely.
Listeners don't really know myjourney, but I started out in
the journalism field and I'mstill a writer.
I still love to write.
I know I do mention that I'm awriter in the intro of our show,
but I never really talked aboutmy journey.
But one of the reasons that Idecided to go back to school and
switch careers, more than adecade ago at this point is
because I didn't really feelthat in journalism I was having
(21:53):
that much of an impact.
Now there are still rewardingmoments in journalism.
I still feel them today.
Like when you write a reallyimpactful story about a person
or a family, you know,, thatmeans something to that person
or that family, that their storyis being shared.
And I've had some Moments whereI feel goosebumps for writing
something really important forsomebody or, you're capturing a
legacy or something like that.
(22:14):
So I do feel like there isobviously gratification in
journalism.
There's power in writing, but Ididn't feel like I was having
the daily impact I wanted.
You spend a lot of time behind acomputer or sort of in your own
head when you're a writerbecause it's not as much of an
outward process.
It's a lot more internal.
And even though I enjoy thatsporadically, I needed something
(22:36):
that was more.
Interactive day to day somethingthat was more more service
related.
Teaching really is a service.
It's a calling.
And so that was 1 of the reasonsI switch is I just did not feel
fulfilled or like I was havingthe impact that I wanted.
And with teaching, even thoughit's really hard, I do feel like
I'm really helping and making adifference.
(22:57):
And especially now that I'veseen that firsthand, what that
really looks like.
What's the long term impact forthese students and their
families?
I feel so much more.
Fulfilled.
And that's why I made thischange years ago.
So that was also good for me tofeel like, wow, I'm so glad I
switched careers.
I went back to school, got twoother degrees that was all worth
it for me.
Whittney (23:16):
I look at my own journey, and, I know you and I
have talked about how, my careerhas been much more linear than
yours, mine, shows a progressionin the same field, whereas you,
took a minute to, to findteaching, and to realize that
that's where you were, needingto be, but I mean, in higher ed,
what you said about, writingbeing like, working on your own
(23:39):
and not really having the,interaction with the impact
you're making, I, I mean, I feltthat a bit in higher ed, too.
I just don't think I realizedthat that was a piece of it that
was missing for me until Istarted with, the organization I
work for now, because I do havemore of the direct interaction
with the impact we're making, Ithink it is, it's a big
difference, maybe at theuniversity level if I had,
(24:01):
started teaching adjunct in, adifferent department or
something, I would have noticedthat.
But, it's, important to beinteracting with the impact
you're making,
Susan (24:10):
Yeah, definitely.
I also took a break fromteaching at one point in time.
Wasn't really working out.
Long story there.
Now I, looking back, I see onebad experience does not
necessarily mean you need to Notcontinue with something, but at
that time it was bad enough thatit seemed like, wow, this is a
sign from the universe.
I'm going to switch into thecorporate space or try different
(24:30):
things.
So I actually did work in thecorporate space and a little bit
in higher ed and both thosescenarios, I was doing sales
related jobs and for a while itwas kind of exciting.
It was fun, especially when Ifirst moved to Philadelphia and
I was working in a high rise andwe had work trips and it was
just very fancy.
And it was so exciting andteaching is not glamorous at
all.
have chalk on your pants.
(24:51):
You constantly have paper cuts.
My school in Philly, there's noair conditioning.
So you're sweating.
but in the corporate world,it's, it is very glamorous, but
I.
For a time I was fulfilled bythat just cause it was so
different and exciting.
But then over, longer than ayear period of time, I was so
miserable.
Remember when I was working attemple and I felt such guilt
because I had an amazingposition.
(25:13):
Really, anybody would want thisposition that I had working in
the business school.
I went to China on a work trip,which very grateful for that
experience.
But I was so unfulfilled bydoing sales.
Again, this was the perfectscenario.
I had a really nice office.
I could leave at five.
I didn't have homework to do,but I was absolutely miserable.
(25:33):
And ultimately that's what ledme back to teaching as I was
being called to do somethingthat was more hands on, more
service related, more one on onehelping people, which sales was
not it for me.
I felt the opposite.
I was not interested in tryingto, twist somebody's arm into
coming to my school.
Whittney (25:50):
Yeah.
I'm a big proponent of highered, and I've spent my whole
career, working in higher ed insome way, shape, or form.
now, in my current role, we workwith 21, partners in higher ed.
So, I'm not just at a singleuniversity or college anymore.
But, I I feel like I've alwayshad the higher ed piece because
higher ed is so important for mebecause I think education can
(26:13):
really change your life and thetrajectory of your, your path,
for the better.
And so I, I feel like I'vealways had that piece of it.
I haven't ever worked in acorporate job where there was a
profit line or anything likethat.
so I don't have the experiencethat you do, working in the
corporate world, when you werein finance or whatever.
But, for me it's much differentin the non profit space because
(26:36):
it just feels completelydifferent to me.
I feel like somehow I'm on, moreon the front, funny, front lines
of the impact.
Susan (26:45):
Yeah.
You're right, but I, I thinknothing sucked my soul more than
being in a job that didn't alignwith my values.
I didn't really feel that way injournalism because I do still
feel like a lot of things aboutwriting and journalism do align
with me.
It was just that I needed, thenext level of alignment.
But with working in sales, itjust, it literally sucked my
(27:05):
soul.
I've never felt more unhappy inmy life.
Even when I was in the teachingjob, that was bad.
That was, uh, Maybe soul suckingin a different way.
but, anyway, this just goesalong with feeling like you're
in the job for the rightreasons, for the right value
system and the alignment, and Ijust felt like I reached, the
pinnacle of feeling that waythis past year, especially
toward, all the graduations atthe end of the year.
(27:28):
Whitney, I had a really sweetand amazing interaction with one
of my parents, one of mystudents parents.
the day after graduation, I, Iwas cleaning out my classroom I
got called down to the officeand you always get nervous when
you get called to the office.
Like why, have I in trouble, butno, when I got to the office,
one of my.
Students parents was standingthere with a dozen roses and she
(27:51):
doesn't speak much English atall other than to say hello and
thank you.
So we're standing there kind oflooking at each other.
So full of emotion and sheCouldn't really tell me what she
wanted to say.
All she could say was, we loveyou.
And she gave me these roses.
I burst into tears.
She literally had tears runningdown her cheeks.
It was such an emotional moment.
I've never felt such gratitudefrom somebody and.
(28:15):
Again, just one of those momentswhere you're like, this is why I
do this.
And it was one of the sweetestthings that anyone's ever done
for me.
I feel like this particularfamily, I didn't even realize
how much I had impacted theirlives, they came from another
country for their kids to geteducation.
And they really made it throughbecause of me.
So it was such a meaningfulmoment.
I have not really come down fromthat high since, so I'm Riding
(28:39):
that wave of gratitude andperspective and I'm taking that
into this next school year.
And I just feel so much moreenlightened and inspired.
Whittney (28:47):
Yes.
I remember that, you made a poston your social media about that,
and, it's just like theculmination of why you do what
you do, and it was so sweet, andI'm so happy that you got that
moment, and, that will fuel youfor years to come.
Susan (29:03):
Absolutely.
It really, really does.
I just feel like that's what Ineeded just to be like, okay,
yeah, this is it.
This is why I do this.
And it was really.
Really fulfilling to feel thatbecause not everybody has
moments like that, or even amoment like that.
I was talking recently with afriend of ours who lives in San
Francisco and I was telling himabout this.
(29:24):
And he said to me, not everybodyfeels that way about their job.
And he, he sort of admitted thathe doesn't feel that way about
his job in terms of feeling likeenlightened and rich, like this
is, this is my purpose.
He said that he's just come toaccept that he likes his job,
but he's never going to feellike this moment of
enlightenment inspiration.
And he was like, that's reallycool that you feel that because,
(29:45):
some people will never feelthat.
And he's like, I don't think I'mgoing to feel that.
So that's amazing that you'reable to feel that way about what
you do.
And it is that actually really,was a revelation to me too,
because as you just said, youand I, it is really important
for us to feel that in our jobs.
When I didn't feel that I wasrotting from the inside, even
though I was in this amazing,cushy position, I felt so guilty
(30:08):
for not feeling fulfilled, butyou just have to do what feels
right to you.
You can't feel guilty for notfeeling like you're in the right
job.
Again, it just depends on yourpriority.
They might be in a positionwhere they're not feeling
fulfilled or whatever, but forthem, maybe it's just about the
paycheck or my friend wassaying, he tries to feel more
fulfilled in the hobbies thathe's doing after work.
(30:30):
So maybe, yes, he is workingcause he's good at it.
And he, he's making enough moneyto live where he does.
But he tries to do things thatreally make him feel happy
outside of work and in his freetime.
And, I just feel really luckythat I can have both those
things.
I can enjoy my job and feelfulfilled, but also enjoy my
hobbies and things I'm doingoutside of work.
So I feel really happy aboutthat.
Whittney (30:52):
Yeah.
And, you're right.
for some people, maybe theexcitement of working in the
corporate world or theexcitement of the challenges
they have in a corporate job is,is going to be the thing that
makes them excited and happy andfulfilled, right?
we're not trying to say that,everybody needs to feel the way
we do about, a mission, orientedposition or career, it just all
(31:14):
comes down to what's importantto you or what will give you the
life that will make you the mosthappy.
I always tell, the students thatcome through our programs,
whenever they're thinking about,choosing a college, for example,
a lot of our students end upchoosing Ivy League schools.
A lot of our partners are IvyLeague schools, but it, puts
this precedent out there that,if you're not, getting into an
(31:36):
Ivy League school or attendingan Ivy League school that you
haven't succeeded.
you're letting people downbecause that's not the path
you're choosing.
But I always try to stress thatthe school that is right for you
is the school that offers youtwo things, the ability to be
happy and the ability to besuccessful.
So if that's at your localcommunity college because you
(31:56):
need to be close to your familyOr you have children and you
don't want to move your childrenso you need to stay where you
are or whatever happy, and thenwill that school provide you a
degree That will allow you tohave a career that you find
successful If so, it doesn'tmatter if that is at princeton
or yale or at northern virginiacommunity college
Susan (32:19):
Oh yeah.
That's definitely a good rule ofthumb.
you and I both went to Pennstate and that's an incredible
experience and amazing network.
But I got my.
Second bachelor's I had to forwhen I went back to teaching, I
had to get my English degree andthen also I got my masters in
education.
I went to Bloomsburg University,just a small state school, and I
loved my experience there.
(32:40):
I think there's definitelysomething to be said for a small
school.
You and I know from going to thebranch campus of Penn State
Altoona before we went to maincampus, I would, I mean, that I
feel like changed my whole life.
I'm still friends with all thepeople that I met there.
They're, lifelong friends.
But yeah, the small schools havealways worked out the best for
me.
You get more of an intimateexperience.
(33:00):
You get to know your professors.
I wouldn't trade that foranything.
So you're right.
Whittney (33:04):
Yeah.
Susan (33:04):
Yeah, everybody, everybody's, perfect scenario
looks different, you can'tcompare yourself to someone
else.
Whittney (33:10):
Right.
Susan (33:12):
And, that's something else I wanted to add.
Speaking of comparison is when Iwas talking with my friend about
how, all these people are injobs, but very few of them feel
this level of.
Inspiration or enrichment, itmade me think about like back
when I was struggling to find mycareer.
Cause I've been, I've been allover.
I was in, oh my gosh, since Imoved to Philly, I had so many
(33:32):
careers and side hustles, that'skind of mind boggling.
but I always compared myself toother people like, Oh, so and so
is in this job and I thoughtthey were happy or, Oh man, this
person's had a really linearcareer path and I always
compared myself to other peoplewho are in these jobs.
And now I'm realizing like,yeah, they were in these jobs,
but were they happy?
(33:53):
Most of the time, no.
Whittney (33:55):
Well, I feel like, in general, the things that you
think you know about anotherperson based on what their,
LinkedIn profile says or whattheir social media photos are
saying, It's a carefully curatedselection.
Of their experience, Andsometimes it's it's hard to
remember that whenever you'recomparing your experience to
theirs.
Susan (34:16):
yeah, definitely.
And I will say also that, one ofthe other reasons I'm thriving
this summer is I just turned 40on Sunday, August 6th.
Or it's been less than a week atthis point, but yeah, thank you.
I feel also not just because ofmy work experiences, but just in
general, my life experiences, Ifeel the best I've ever felt in
(34:39):
my whole life.
Maybe just riding off thejourney I've had with my school
year, that started on such ahigh and I've just.
Feel that way about the rest ofmy life too.
Like everything's just come fullcircle and I get it now.
Whittney (34:50):
Yeah.
Susan (34:51):
I think back to when I was 30 and honestly, not that
there was anything wrong with mylife, but it was, I was still
trying to figure out where I wasgoing to live, where I was going
to work.
Like, why can't I stick tosomething?
Like other people are able tostick to things, I was not
happy.
I was not happy and I wasn'tdepressed or anything, but now
that I know what it feels liketo have your shit figured out
(35:13):
for pardon my language.
I did not have things figuredout then.
And it was a struggle.
It was a struggle for a lot ofyears in my thirties.
And I think a lot of that camedown to comparing myself to
other people.
Not even really on purpose, butwith social media, everything's
in your face all the time.
Even if you're not looking for acomparison, it's just there.
And I was constantly like, howcome my other friends were able
(35:35):
to stick to one job sincegraduation?
Or how come this person was ableto get married?
Well, at this point, I'mrealizing that a lot of those
friends hate their jobs.
They don't feel any fulfillmentfor those jobs.
Um, a lot of those marriagesaren't still.
Together, or they're, marriageshave fallen apart.
So I think when you hit 40, youstart to realize things that you
thought were like the pinnacleor what you should have.
(35:58):
It was all just a facade, youknow?
I mean,
Whittney (36:01):
Yeah.
Susan (36:02):
that's not always true.
I definitely still have friendswho are successful and happy and
things like that, but you justrealize everybody's on a
different path.
What works for somebody elsedoesn't work for you.
There's no.
Place you're supposed to be at acertain time.
but I didn't really know thatwhen I was 30, I felt like I was
behind, like I didn't have thejob yet, or I wasn't settled
(36:23):
down somewhere, or I wasn't, Iguess I was dating, but I wasn't
happily dating.
I just understand things so muchmore now and I have not ever
felt better.
Whittney (36:33):
So what do you think, clicked for you?
stopping the comparisons?
Or, do you think there wassomething else?
Susan (36:41):
I think it was really just figuring out things myself.
Once I started feeling reallyhappy where I was and what I was
doing, then when you're reallyhappy with yourself, you really
don't care about other people.
But I think when I was 30, sinceI was still trying to figure
everything out and trying outdifferent things, I wasn't
happy.
Yet.
And so it's so easy when you'renot happy and you're in a very
(37:04):
vulnerable place emotionally orjust personally, it is very easy
to feel like someone else hasmore than you.
Cause I didn't feel confident inwhere I was, and it just takes
time.
I don't think that I didanything wrong.
Yeah, you know, there's likelittle decisions here or there
that I could have donedifferently, but I don't think I
made mistakes.
(37:24):
I think that it just takeslonger sometimes to figure
things out.
And that's just the way it'ssupposed to be.
Who would have thought 10 yearsago that I would end up in
Philly teaching at a publicschool teaching English as a
second language.
That's not even what I went toschool for.
I honestly ended up in that jobon a staffing error, things just
happen sometimes.
(37:46):
And so, and I, and it wasn'talways easy.
Like, I think I struggled thefirst couple of years.
My first year back in theclassroom after the pandemic was
really hard, you know, and thispast year was hard.
But it's just that once I wentthrough all those hardships and
understood, what was at theother side of that, now that
I've experienced that, I won'tmind as much going through the
(38:07):
ups and downs because I getwhere that all leads, you know,
but it's very difficult when youdon't know where that leads or
if it's going to be what youthought it was going to be, or.
Whittney (38:16):
Yeah.
So, how do you think yourealize, this is gonna sound
weird, but how do you think yourealize that you were finally in
a groove where you're happy, Andyou're just confident in moving
forward.
Susan (38:31):
Oh man, well, it's been a process for sure and it's not
over.
It's not like, Oh, I've reachedthe pinnacle and now I'm just
coasting for the rest of mylife.
I understand there's definitelygoing to be peaks and valleys as
they say.
I get that.
Now I have more of the wisdomand understanding to be able to
navigate those in a morehealthy, clear minded way.
I had to learn myself and whatworks for myself.
(38:53):
Like I said, last year wasreally hard coming back after
the pandemic, after beingvirtual, being back in the
classroom, the students had tolearn how to be students again.
We had to learn how to be inperson teachers again.
I was really struggling withmanaging my time because during
the pandemic time was different.
I had more time.
We were all virtual.
I had picked up a lot of.
(39:13):
Additional jobs like tutoringand different things I could do
when I was at home when I hadmore time and space.
Um, and then I tried to continueall those things when I went
back in the classroom andrealized I couldn't juggle it
all, but, and we've talked aboutthis on the show before, but I
couldn't just quit things.
I had to slowly drop thosethings over time when they came
to a natural ending point.
So for me, going through theprocess of seeing what I can
(39:35):
handle, what I can't finally,it's taken me this past year,
finally, I didn't have all theside hustles and I had space to
breathe and I could use anydowntime that I had for myself.
I'd started going to the gymafter school, I started focusing
more on eating healthy.
And I finally had space to dothat because I wasn't filling my
(39:56):
time with all these sidehustles.
And I learned about settingboundaries on school.
I realized I was putting so muchpressure on myself to deliver
these incredible presentationsand things when really.
You don't need to do that.
You don't need to go above andbeyond every day.
sometimes it's just showing upis enough, honestly.
Just being there for the kids.
(40:17):
It's, I'm not saying I just showup with no plan, but I don't
have to be super teacher everyday.
Sometimes it's just like beingthat stable, consistent presence
for the kids.
And it doesn't always have to bethis.
A plus lesson plan.
It just has to be a plan and Ihave to be there.
so I maybe lowering theexpectations a bit while still
having a high standard, but, notkilling myself to do it,
Whittney (40:39):
not
Susan (40:40):
boundaries on my time.
Whittney (40:41):
for perfection, maybe.
Susan (40:44):
Yeah, exactly.
And that's hard when you're ahigh achiever or perfectionist,
that's hard, but realizing whereis a stopping point?
If it was seven o'clock in theevening and I knew I had to
start winding down by seven 38,I realized you know what?
I'm not going to make this extraactivity because it's going to
take me another hour and I needto start getting ready for bed.
So just Cutting it off and maybedoing the have to haves not
(41:06):
always the nice to haves
Whittney (41:07):
hmm,
Susan (41:08):
nice to haves would be good.
Like once a week, on a Friday,sometimes the nice to haves like
a game or an activity I plannedare good, but you don't need
that every day.
I realized I have to take bettercare of myself because I'm, I'm
leading the show there.
Right.
So if I come in haggard and worndown and I didn't get enough
sleep last night, or I didn'tget to eat or exercise, I'm not
going to be a good teacher.
Whittney (41:29):
yeah,
Susan (41:30):
Focusing on myself is really what I think turned
things around because I felt somuch happier and starting to
learn that I can use personaldays, which I never did before.
I'm a crazy person that I neverused personal days until this
past year.
Like what was I doing?
Whittney (41:48):
yeah, yeah,
Susan (41:50):
Yeah, but it was a process to get to the point
where I realized how to managethings in a way where I can be
healthy and still do a good job.
And it's just a little bit ofletting go.
You don't always have to go likefull speed ahead.
Whittney (42:04):
yeah.
I mean, that's, I feel likethat's the hardest lesson to
learn.
Is dropping the perfectionism.
Because, I still struggle withthat myself.
I want to do all of the thingsand I want to do them all at the
highest level.
But, something's gotta give,right?
Cause, unless I'm just likenever sleeping again.
You know?
Susan (42:24):
Yeah, exactly.
So I guess how I reached allthis was just, first of all,
this is the longest I've been ina job in general.
Okay.
Just to put things inperspective for how much I've
gone back and forth over time.
And I finally been in a job forfour going into my fifth year.
That in itself was helpful inhaving a consistent job, which
is really what I was alwaysstriving to have.
(42:44):
Like, It stressed me outwhenever I would change
positions because I knew Iwouldn't be able to get that
longevity in a position toreally figure things out.
It's very hard when you'reconstantly jumping around
because you never get to thepoint where you figure it out.
I mean, and you never trulyfigure it out, but you know what
I mean?
You start to understand or getinto the rhythm of a job, which
you can't do if you're onlythere short term.
(43:07):
So I think one of the things wasjust having consistency going
through something enough timesthat.
I have more wisdom and that'show I feel in life too.
So 40 is not scary.
It's to me personally, waybetter than turning 30.
I just feel so good.
I wished I felt this way when Iwas 30.
Whittney (43:30):
So incredible.
Like, you know, makes meactually not worried about
turning that myself wheneverit's my turn.
Susan (43:38):
Really in the grand scheme of things, 40 is not that
old.
Really?
It's not.
And, it's an amazing thing to,to age in a way where you are
entering every day with so muchmore knowledge.
That's really refreshing.
Whittney (43:52):
Yeah.
So, Susan, we've been talkingabout, you turning 40.
and it's a big, specialbirthday.
So, what did you do tocelebrate?
Susan (44:01):
Yeah.
So I had the most amazingbirthday.
I went to New York with mysister and 2 of my best friends.
Um, Whitney, of course, you'reyou're a best friend also, but
you're not you're not local.
So,
Whittney (44:10):
I don't know.
It's, it's a big problem.
Yeah.
Susan (44:13):
Yeah, I know.
I know.
But we'll have to celebrateanother time when we're
together.
I went to New York and I, youknow, cause everyone talks
about.
Anytime it's a milestonebirthday, you want to do big
trip or something like that.
and my friends and I had beentalking about 40th for a long
time.
And every time we would gettogether, especially during the
pandemic, when you couldn't goanywhere, we're always like,
yeah, let's talk about whatwe're going to do for our 40th.
(44:34):
And we would just dream up thesebiggest extravagant trips.
But then when the time came, I'mlike, yeah, listen, this trip
doesn't line up with my bankaccount here.
You know, I'm not actually goingto go to Paris.
I think you also just realizemaybe, you know, this is another
nugget of wisdom that I have isyou don't need to do something
extravagant.
All you really need is thepeople that mean the most to you
and just anything that's specialto you.
(44:56):
Like, I really love musicaltheater, whenever I go to a show
or any kind of artisticexperience, I absolutely love
it.
I've always wanted to do Statueof Liberty and Ellis Island.
So in hindsight, maybe thatwasn't the best thing to pick in
the summer, which is peaks peaktourist season.
Cause we ended up waiting inthese insane lines the whole
(45:17):
day, but I still really lovethat experience.
It was very special to see theStatue of Liberty up close.
She's beautiful.
Whittney (45:24):
Mm
Susan (45:25):
Lady Liberty is everything I expected her to be.
we took a ferry over to LibertyIsland and I loved Liberty
Island.
It was so pretty.
by that point after waiting inlines all day, we were very
excited to get some Statue ofLiberty lemonade.
Whittney (45:39):
Mmh.
Yeah.
Susan (45:41):
So, we enjoyed that, but every thing that we did, we had
to wait in these long lines.
We had to wait in security checkto get to the Liberty Island.
Then we had to wait in a line toget to Ellis Island.
Then we had to wait in the lineto get back, back to battery
park.
So I swear to you that I wasprobably waiting in lines for
like five or six hours that day.
It was like two hours for eachline, which is crazy.
(46:02):
I really feel like there was aproblem with the return ferry.
1 didn't come for 2 hours.
Those ferries should be comingback and forth every 30 minutes.
There was definitely something
Whittney (46:12):
Yeah.
Susan (46:13):
not going as planned that day.
maybe the ferry driver calledout.
I don't know, but that was alittle much, all the lines and
stuff, but.
You know, I'll never forget thatday.
We, we joked that it was likethe immersive immigrant
experience because we werestanding like sardines and these
lines and the heat with peoplefrom all around the world.
(46:33):
You know, um, we survived EllisIsland.
We kept saying.
Whittney (46:37):
Mm hmm.
Susan (46:38):
When we got back onto the mainland, on Saturday night, we
kind of freewheeled it fordinner and found this nice
Japanese restaurant and got somenoodle dishes.
And my sister got ramen Then wefound a rooftop bar.
It called the star child orsomething?
I don't know, but we were onthis rooftop for when it was.
Turn midnight for my birthday.
And it was just this beautifulglittering view of the city.
(47:00):
And then the next day we, mysister and I went to church at
St.
Patrick's cathedral, which wasreally special.
It was really pretty.
And what better way to start outyour 40th birthday than church,
the cathedral, very sort of likeheavenly experience.
and then we had lunch at thisawesome family style Italian
restaurant called car mines rateand right near Broadway.
(47:22):
Um, that was Amazing.
The food was just to die for.
And then we went and saw Back tothe Future on Broadway.
So that was just incredible,Whitney.
Whittney (47:31):
Mm hmm Yeah, I, I keep thinking about Since you've Said
that that was The show you choselike How is Back to the Future
on Broadway?
Does it translate to a musical?
Susan (47:41):
Yes, absolutely.
So, right before I'd left forNew York, I had gotten together
with some friends in Philly.
a little casual birthdaycelebrating before I left on my
trip.
And one of my friends is in thetheater world and she had other
theater friends who had beenseeing different shows on
Broadway.
And she, I said to her like, Oh,how was it?
Cause she said a few of herfriends saw it and she was like,
Oh, you know, they thought itwas okay.
(48:03):
They were like, it's just likethe movie.
And I'm like, Well, that's greatbecause I love the movie.
That's one of my favorite moviesSo I'm like, I don't care if
it's like the movie, that's whatI want.
I want it to be like the movie,but she kind of seemed like a
little like, Oh, they thought itwas okay.
And so I was like, all right,well, we'll see.
But I thought it wasunbelievable.
It was, it was like the movie,but better
Whittney (48:23):
Mm hmm.
Susan (48:23):
because it had songs and choreography and effects and Oh
my gosh, the DeLorean, theDeLorean.
Was amazing and actually flew,you know, how back to the future
ends where doc is going ahead 30years.
And he says where we're going,we don't need roads.
And then the DeLorean starts tofly.
(48:44):
Oh my gosh, the effects werejust incredible.
The ensemble cast was sotalented.
We loved the lead actor.
He was just so good.
So likable.
I just can't say enough goodthings about it.
It was literally one of the bestthings I've ever seen.
Whittney (48:59):
Mm hmm.
Amazing.
Well, I'm so glad that that wasthe show you picked for your
birthday then.
Susan (49:04):
Oh, I knew as soon as I started looking for shows and I
saw that it hadn't, it justactually came out officially
three days before my birthday.
So it was meant to be,
Whittney (49:12):
It was totally meant to be.
Susan (49:13):
There was no question from the beginning that that's
what I wanted to see.
I just felt like this is whatI'm doing for my birthday.
This is exactly meant to be.
Um, you just smile from start tofinish.
It's such a feel good, happymusical.
I've been listening to thesoundtrack nonstop since I left
the show.
I would love to see it again.
Actually.
man, it's, it was just so good.
So much talent.
So, so feel good.
(49:34):
So happy.
I had the best time and I couldnot have asked for a better
birthday experience.
Everything was absolutelyperfect.
Whittney (49:42):
Amazing.
I'm so happy that that was your40th birthday experience.
Susan (49:47):
Oh yeah, it was.
And again, I, it just showed youyou don't need to be in Europe
or Cancun.
I was two hours from my house,but was, still doing all these
amazing things.
I had the best people, the bestfood, the best show, you can do
anything even in your own city.
We always feel like we have togo a step beyond for our.
Milestone birthdays, but youdon't really have to do that.
(50:10):
You don't have to always spendan arm and a leg for me, it was
keep it simple.
And that was just perfect forme.
Whittney (50:17):
Yeah, no, totally works, keeping it simple is, one
of the, life hacks of all time,right?
Susan (50:22):
I, I, like I said, I've been having the best summer.
I'm just feeling so enlightenedwith everything.
And I'm just hoping to continueriding that wave into my next
year.
And, you know,, things are notalways going to be smooth
sailing, but I feel like sort ofa depth of.
A depth of good experiencesthat's given me such a good
platform to go forward from.
Whittney (50:43):
amazing, I love it.
Well, that's probably the best,line you could end talking about
your birthday on, right?
Susan (50:52):
Yeah, it was great.
I'm, I'm definitely stillfeeling, elevated from that
experience.
That's the best thing aboutbirthdays is you set yourself up
to have an amazing year and justtry to continue riding that wave
and stop thinking about how oldyou actually are.
Maybe we need to stop thinkingabout I'm going to be such and
such an age.
Just think about what you areright now.
And even when you are that age,it's really not that scary.
(51:14):
You're still exactly the sameperson you were, just better.
Whittney (51:17):
yeah.
Well, for Nate and I, half thetime we're like, How old are we
now?
Which is our, inside joke aboutwe're getting old because we
can't even remember how old weare.
Susan (51:27):
But I feel like we look the same.
We feel the same.
I mean, you know, you'reconstantly making tweaks to what
works for you.
I do feel like I need moresleep.
You just have less tolerance forwanting to stay out when you
just want to go home and relaxand so priorities shift.
And that's probably what peoplenotice.
They're like, Oh, I don't stayout as late anymore, but that's
fine.
Now you're just spending yourtime differently.
(51:47):
It doesn't mean it's worse oryou're old.
You just might have differentpriorities and things you want
to do with your time.
And I think that's good andthat's healthy.
Whittney (51:54):
Yeah.
Circling back to what we weresaying earlier about jobs, you
know, like, just comes down toyour priorities.
Susan (52:02):
Right.
And a lot of times it takes awhile to figure out what those
priorities are.
And it's okay that you don'thave it all figured out.
I think if that's something Icould go back and tell myself
when I was 30, it's like, Hey,you're actually not supposed to
have this figured out.
This is very cliche, but it'snot like there's a manual, you
know?
There is no benchmark thatyou're supposed to be at at a
certain age.
(52:22):
I mean, look at your veteransgoing back to school.
If they would live by that,they, they think that they were
unsuccessful and that's not trueat all.
Sometimes we just have differentexperiences for different
reasons.
Like Maybe they weren't inschool when they were between
the ages of 18 and 22 orwhatever, because they were
serving our country.
and maybe I wasn't in thissuccessful quote unquote
(52:43):
successful job at a certain agebecause I still had to
experience other things tofigure it out, you know,, and
you realize now looking backthat those other experiences are
what makes you who you are.
That's why I'm at this level ofenlightenment that I am now
because I experienced all thosethings.
If I had just stayed in the samejob since I was 22, I don't
think I would have learned halfas many things as I know right
(53:05):
now.
Whittney (53:05):
Yeah, exactly.
and you also wouldn't appreciatewhere you are now if you hadn't
gone through that, thoseexperiences.
Mm hmm.
the experiences are how we learnand grow.
Susan (53:16):
Everybody has, everyone has, a reason, of why they're in
your life or every job has areason.
And, the more you can appreciatethat instead of seeing it as a
mistake, just seeing it as astepping stone and a learning
experience.
Anyway, Whitney, I'm so excitedfor now that you're done with
your work travel, that we aregoing to be jumping back on
board here with some moreepisodes coming up in the fall.
(53:38):
We're going to be having adating episode in which I'm
going to talk with a friend ofyours about dating and we're
definitely going to be talkingmore about the books that we've
been reading this summer, thingsthat we've been watching.
So we have a lot of fun thingson deck.
Whittney (53:50):
yes, we do and I'm excited to be back in the
routine of being home andpodcasting with you
Susan (53:58):
Yes.
Yay.
Whittney (54:00):
Yay
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