YOUNIVERSITY - Pursue Life Fearlessly

Annmarie and producer Adam Harris recap Elizabeth Langshur (episode 33), who bravely discussed how she uses her experience with anxiety, depression, and bullying to educate and empower others. Annmarie and Adam start by defining anxiety, its effects, and intensities. Annmarie explains the importance of creating space for your anxiety to move, and using anxiety as an invitation to build self-awareness. Annmarie and Adam also talk about the importance of reframing your relationship with anxiety, including beginning to transparently share those moments you feel anxious and scarred with others. You are strong enough to handle this.

After dealing with health issues from the age of 10, Elizabeth shares how she recovered from anxiety, depression and bullying in middle school, and how she is using her experience to inform and educate others. Along the way, she is opening hearts and inspiring and empowering students like herself to be open honest and real. She speaks to how she now considers her middle school “bully” a gift to her passion and purpose to spread the word, reveal not conceal, and normalize mental illness as a means to authentic connection with others. Elizabeth is planning to study psychology in college and would like to focus on therapy on children.

Knowing when to say no and how to say no is not an easy skill to learn and sometimes the universe smacks you right between the eyes with a big life lesson just when you don’t expect it. What happens when you ignore your bodies signals to slow down, take care and chill out?

This week, Annmarie and producer Adam Harris talk about how Jazmin Kay learned this big life lesson after her bout with pneumonia and what she is doing now to take care of herself and how you can learn to avoid burnout. Just in time for summer, Annmarie and Adam also chat about the importance of play in opening you to productivity and Annmarie challenges listeners to take some time to recharge and play, like Jazmin did, to be in-flow, at-ease, present and ultimately more productive.

Jazmin Kay, an inspiring student activist and soon to be graduate at George Washington University discusses balance, finding joy, and the power of living in the present in such a distracting world. On this episode Jazmin shares how she learned to elevate her productivity after a tough lesson on burnout and bedrest. She talks about why it's important to follow your passions and why knowing when to say no is one of the most powerful things you can do. We also talk about how she uses social media as a tool of empowerment, not a tool you use to compare to others. Lastly, Jazmin tells us about the value of trusting your gut and ultimately yourself, something we can all use a little more of!

For the last nine months, YOUNIVERSITY has talked with students about self-awareness, finding their passion, and living fearlessly. On today’s episode, we reflect on the themes we have covered across previous episodes, including clips from Olivia Royal (Ep 10), Jazmin Kay (Ep 31), and Emery Bergman (Ep 3) who represent what this podcast is about: supporting and empowering young people to step into the life you love.

Annmarie and Adam are back for another recap. Today they discuss their thoughts about last week's episode with Penn sophomore and Chief Product Officer of Generation Z consulting firm JUV Consulting, Shaina Zafar. Annmarie and Adam discuss Shaina’s inspiring mindset and how it allows her to live an empowered and impactful life. Annmarie and Adam also talk about the power beliefs have in shaping your decisions, and what it mean to be a conscious listener, reminding us all to listen with an open mind, and open, curious, and empathetic heart.

Today, we chat with Penn sophomore, Shaina Zafar, a first-generation, low-income, minority student studying International Relations. Shaina shows us what it looks like to be a self-starter and create an empowered and impactful life no matter where you come from. She reminds us the important role empathy plays when it comes to connecting and collaborating with others to create real change in the world. And her personal experience is a powerful demonstration on why mindset plays a significant role in creating an empowered and impactful life.  Her passion, enthusiasm and wisdom are inspiring. I hope you enjoy listening in this week!

This week, producer Adam Harris joins Annmarie for a conversation about last week’s episode with Marco Bacchetta about following your passion and fear of failure. Annmarie and Adam discuss the many roles fear can play, whether it be motivating, inspiring, or paralyzing, and how stepping into fear can open up a world of possibilities. Annmarie and Adam also talk about how every failure is an opportunity to get curious, and chat about the importance of stopping to reflect on success like Marco does.

This week’s guest, Marco Bacchetta, puts a whole new perspective on the study abroad experience. Marco is an Italian student, raised in Switzerland and France and now in his 2nd year studying at the UAL in London.

He shares his journey from a struggling high school student not knowing what he wanted to do, to listening to that inner voice that opened him to his passion for studying film.

Marco talks openly and vulnerably about his fear of failure and how he overcomes it each and every day and how much pressure he puts on himself to succeed and why. Marco offers a piece of advice for you and talks deeply about how he defines success and failure. As we begin to wrap up our interview, Marco shares vulnerably about the overwhelm he feels when he thinks about possibly failing and how his perspective has evolved over the years and opened him to stepping into his fear rather than running from it.

I am most fired up about my conversation with NYT bestselling author Julie Lythcott-Haims. She shares her story of her perceived failures to ultimate success and how she found her passion, and what she learned along the way. Ms. Haims encourages us to listen for and trust our inner voice because we are not here to lead anyone else’s life but our own, reminding us the importance of dreaming our dreams unapologetically.