Speaker 1: Congratulations, you've been accepted into the inaugural class of Therapy
Speaker 1: for Black Girls University. Whether packing for a new year
Speaker 1: on campus, thinking through your gap year, enrolling in a
Speaker 1: community college, or grabbing your souls for graduation, TBGU is
Speaker 1: here to help you thrive at this stage of your
Speaker 1: life and beyond. Hi.
Speaker 2: I'm Soria Taylor and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.
Speaker 2: We'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1: Can you believe it's been one year since the launch
Speaker 1: of TVG University. It feels like just yesterday when the
Speaker 1: TBG team first conceptualized the idea of a platform that
Speaker 1: provided support and community for college aged black women. Today,
Speaker 1: we're celebrating by reflecting on the genesis of TVGU and
Speaker 1: sharing some behind the scenes insights.
Speaker 3: Hi.
Speaker 2: I'm Zaria, the podcast production Internet Therapy for Black Girls,
Speaker 2: and today I'm joining Jana for the one year anniversary celebration.
Speaker 2: I'm a nineteen year old sophomore attending Expelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Speaker 2: You may recall hearing my name credited at the end
Speaker 2: of some of your favorite TVG podcast episodes. In our conversation,
Speaker 2: we share a little bit about ourselves and our journey
Speaker 2: of working at TVG, our hopes for tbgu's future, and
Speaker 2: a sneak peak of some of the exciting things you
Speaker 2: can look forward to in the next year. Here's our conversation.
Speaker 1: Well, Hi, Sara, Hey girl, how are you.
Speaker 3: I'm good? How are you?
Speaker 1: I'm doing well. I'm so excited to talk with you today.
Speaker 2: I know, it's so weird being on the guest side,
Speaker 2: Like I'm so used to being on the production side
Speaker 2: that I'm like, oh my god, I'm nervous.
Speaker 3: I know.
Speaker 1: Right, So today is a very special episode. We are
Speaker 1: celebrating our one year anniversary Therapy for Black Girls University,
Speaker 1: and yeah, we're just gonna have a girl talk, just
Speaker 1: chat a little bit. So first starters, can you give
Speaker 1: our listeners a brief introduction about yourself and what do
Speaker 1: you do with TBG.
Speaker 3: Yeah. So, my name is Zaria Taylor.
Speaker 2: I am a sophomore documentary filmmaking major and philosophy minor
Speaker 2: attending Spilman College in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm also from Atlanta, Georgia,
Speaker 2: and at TBG, I serve as the podcast production intern.
Speaker 2: I've been working here since summer of twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2: And then my internship just kept getting extended, so they
Speaker 2: just can't let me go. So yeah, that's what that's
Speaker 2: what I do here.
Speaker 1: We're never gonna let you go basically period.
Speaker 3: Jane.
Speaker 2: I know our audience is probably already familiar with you,
Speaker 2: but for the girlies who've been living under a rock,
Speaker 2: can you reintroduce yourself?
Speaker 1: Yeah, So my name is Jana Ellis. I I am
Speaker 1: twenty two years old originally from Columbus, Ohio. I'm a
Speaker 1: recent graduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Speaker 1: and I work with Therapy for Black Girls as the
Speaker 1: TVGU courtinator here. So it's a little bit about me.
Speaker 2: So we touched on this a little bit, but I'd
Speaker 2: love to know when you started working for TVG and
Speaker 2: why you wanted to be a part of the team.
Speaker 2: I actually don't think i've heard this story, so I'm
Speaker 2: very curious.
Speaker 1: Well, okay, let's go back to college. So it was
Speaker 1: my junior year spring semester, and I remember sitting in
Speaker 1: my apartment. I was like, oh my gosh, I haven't
Speaker 1: had an internship. Like I was actually like a late
Speaker 1: bloomer with it getting my internships and like getting on
Speaker 1: that path because while I was in college, I was
Speaker 1: so focused on like grades, not remembering that there's a
Speaker 1: world that you need to experience and like have professional
Speaker 1: experience with. And one of my mentors sent me the
Speaker 1: link to apply for TVG and my therapist as well
Speaker 1: the same day. So I was like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: I love TVG. I want to do this, And the
Speaker 1: stars were aligned with two people that are always impact
Speaker 1: my life sending me the same link. And so I
Speaker 1: applied in twenty twenty two to be the graphic design intern.
Speaker 1: And I did that and during the summer, and then
Speaker 1: during my senior year of college, I had to complete
Speaker 1: this project to graduate, and so I reached back out
Speaker 1: to the team and I put myself out there. I
Speaker 1: was like, I really enjoyed working with the team and
Speaker 1: I want to come back to graduate, so like what
Speaker 1: can we do? And I came back in twenty twenty
Speaker 1: three as the communications intern. I definitely think it's been
Speaker 1: a journey, but I smile every time I see the
Speaker 1: application being posted for students to apply, because it's just
Speaker 1: a surreal experience overall. But what about you, Like when
Speaker 1: did you start working for TVG and like why did
Speaker 1: you want to be a part of the team.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So TVG for me started in the summer of twenty
Speaker 2: twenty three as a summer internship. I saw the application
Speaker 2: on Instagram, actually posted by one of my friends, and
Speaker 2: I was like, this just seems like the person internship
Speaker 2: for me, because it really was an intersection of all
Speaker 2: the different things that I'm already interested in.
Speaker 3: I love media production.
Speaker 2: I've been on this kind of path in like the
Speaker 2: journalism and media industry since I was in high school,
Speaker 2: and particularly in high school, I did a lot of
Speaker 2: podcast stuff. I particularly worked for a publication called Vox
Speaker 2: atl here in Atlanta, and they had their own podcast studio,
Speaker 2: and that was what really introduced me to all of
Speaker 2: the audio industry type things. And I had my own
Speaker 2: podcast while I was in high school, and then naturally,
Speaker 2: when I transitioned to college at Spelman, I started working
Speaker 2: for Spellman's official podcast called The Blue Record, and so
Speaker 2: I just had a lot of experience, so I knew
Speaker 2: it was something that would be easy for me to
Speaker 2: do in terms of like the actual day to day
Speaker 2: job responsibilities. But TBG is also a brand that I
Speaker 2: have been familiar with since around twenty sixteen. And so
Speaker 2: it's really rare for me to find internships with companies
Speaker 2: that I'm actually like, oh my god, like I actually
Speaker 2: am fans of y'all, Like I know the brand and everything.
Speaker 2: So it was like, oh my god, this is a
Speaker 2: really big opportunity. And of course my work has always
Speaker 2: been around uplifting the experiences of black women and the
Speaker 2: wellness of black women, and so I knew it was
Speaker 2: something that I was going to be really passionate about,
Speaker 2: I was going to be really good at. And as
Speaker 2: I was filling out my application, I just had foresight that, like,
Speaker 2: I'm going to get this opportunity, Like it just felt
Speaker 2: too perfect to not work. So I applied, I did
Speaker 2: the interview, and I'm here so and like I said,
Speaker 2: my internship got extended. So that's pretty much my story
Speaker 2: of how I got involved with TVT.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 1: So tell us a little bit more about your experience
Speaker 1: as an intern while being like a full time student
Speaker 1: at Spilman College.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So, in my interactions with the other TVG team members,
Speaker 2: they assume that it must be like so hard for
Speaker 2: me to balance both, But I'll be honest, it isn't
Speaker 2: really not that difficult for me. I think I'm just
Speaker 2: like an overachiever and I don't feel right not being busy.
Speaker 2: I have to have so much things going on and
Speaker 2: I'm just used to it. Since high school, I've been
Speaker 2: doing like way too much stuff, and so it's never
Speaker 2: been difficult for me to manage. I will say that
Speaker 2: it does require a lot of organization, a lot of discipline.
Speaker 2: I'm really locked in with Notion and Google Calendar, Like
Speaker 2: without those, I really would not know what to do
Speaker 2: with my life. Like I was telling my mom the
Speaker 2: other day, if Notion went down one day, I would
Speaker 2: not know what I'm doing with my day because I literally,
Speaker 2: like day to day, have a to do list of
Speaker 2: all the tasks that I need to get done. And
Speaker 2: so with that, it hasn't been really too difficult for
Speaker 2: me to balance both.
Speaker 1: So yeah, interesting, because I definitely feel you when you
Speaker 1: say like it doesn't feel right when you're not busy,
Speaker 1: Like I definitely felt that in college. I felt that
Speaker 1: my core and that needs to be unpacked at a
Speaker 1: certain time. But I am always just in awe of
Speaker 1: like the balance, Like you're just able to be in
Speaker 1: so many spaces and so many projects at one time
Speaker 1: while also recognizing that you have a personal life, you
Speaker 1: have an academic life, you have professional goals, and so
Speaker 1: it's always just so impressive and inspiring for me to
Speaker 1: watch you do that. So it's super cool to watch.
Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2: And I also wanted to add I feel like it
Speaker 2: doesn't feel like work when it's something that you're passed.
Speaker 2: So I will always make time for the things that
Speaker 2: I'm interested in, and so therefore I've never felt like
Speaker 2: overwhelmed with the amount of work that I have because
Speaker 2: it's just like I enjoy doing this.
Speaker 3: It's like almost a hobby for me.
Speaker 2: So yeah, now, Jane, now going back to you, I
Speaker 2: really want to know, like what your reaction was when
Speaker 2: you first got told by Doctor Joy that she wanted
Speaker 2: you to be the host of tvgu I feel like
Speaker 2: that must have been such a big moment for you,
Speaker 2: So I'd love to hear about that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was definitely like a oh okay, like right,
Speaker 1: got it, Like that was my thought process when she
Speaker 1: told me that, And I think it was naturally going
Speaker 1: to be a nerve wracking thing for me to do. One.
Speaker 1: I have no formal experience of being a podcast host too.
Speaker 1: I am always like consistently working through how I want
Speaker 1: to be perceived, like social media and perception and like branding.
Speaker 1: It's just like how people view you is something that
Speaker 1: I'm always working through. And so I was just overwhelmed
Speaker 1: and initially, but then once I took a step back,
Speaker 1: and I was like, you know what, Jay, this is
Speaker 1: the best opportunity to fight those fears and those thoughts
Speaker 1: that you have about what you're not able to do
Speaker 1: and just open up your mind to all aspects of yourself.
Speaker 1: And so I think I just got into like my
Speaker 1: I can never quote the Slange quote perfectly, but it's
Speaker 1: just there's just so many versions of me, so many,
Speaker 1: so many. It's just like I just needed to tap
Speaker 1: into that. And it's an ongoing process but so grateful
Speaker 1: for it. But the initial reaction was oh ooh, like
Speaker 1: super uncomfortable, but also honored, Like doctor Joy sees something
Speaker 1: in me, and I see something in myself, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, Like you need to you need to
Speaker 1: go for the bag, like go for it. So that's
Speaker 1: what I would saying, Yeah, I love that. And so
Speaker 1: we're one of the younger girlies on the team. But
Speaker 1: what has been your experience being the youngest like on
Speaker 1: professional team.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm honestly never really aware of it until somebody
Speaker 2: asked me my age and I tell them I'm nineteen.
Speaker 2: Like I get like, oh, like the shocks reactions from
Speaker 2: people because I do realize, like I literally just graduated
Speaker 2: high school two years ago, Like I understand why that
Speaker 2: might be a shock to some people, But I will
Speaker 2: say I've never felt all for like any sort of
Speaker 2: negative feeling because of my age. I feel like team
Speaker 2: members and you may be able to attest to this too,
Speaker 2: like are always looking for our perspectives as members of
Speaker 2: gen Z, and I'll just say, like, it's really funny
Speaker 2: my interactions with the team at large versus my interactions
Speaker 2: with you, Jena, because I feel like anytime we have
Speaker 2: like one on one meetings, we're so un serious and
Speaker 2: it's like aside that we don't really get to see
Speaker 2: in the regular team meetings, so we have to be
Speaker 2: like business professional vibes. There are certain moments where I
Speaker 2: become more conscious of the fact that I'm younger, Like
Speaker 2: we had a team checking question where it was like, oh,
Speaker 2: what is like the biggest technological advancement that you've witnessed
Speaker 2: and everybody was mentioning all these different things, and I
Speaker 2: was like face id on the iPhone, like I really
Speaker 2: don't know anything else. So yeah, I would say I'm
Speaker 2: never like too too conscious of it, but there are
Speaker 2: moments where I'm like, yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure, we're like unseerious serious. That's like the
Speaker 1: best lay.
Speaker 3: It like scratchet right, Y's like.
Speaker 1: The perfect blend. It's the perfect blend. And I feel
Speaker 1: like that's what I appreciate legen Zy, Like it's serious,
Speaker 1: but it's not that serious, Like it doesn't have to
Speaker 1: be that serious all the time.
Speaker 3: So yeah, period, period.
Speaker 2: Now Jane, going back to you, I love to know
Speaker 2: besides podcasting, what are some of your other passions and interest.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so back to what I was saying before, Like
Speaker 1: I think just entering this Postcrid era life has shown
Speaker 1: me like you have only seen one side of yourself.
Speaker 1: You have so many things to discover, and it's been
Speaker 1: daunting but so inspiring. And so for the past two
Speaker 1: years or really like getting excited and like more candid
Speaker 1: and free flowing with it has been photography. So my
Speaker 1: friend group were big on like getting the dispo cameras
Speaker 1: and getting the film and like the arty pictures. But
Speaker 1: I took a moment and I had a conversation with
Speaker 1: my friends and I was like, you know, when I
Speaker 1: was a kid, I would look through because we're not
Speaker 1: too young. We've seen physical pictures. We remember how you
Speaker 1: print out pictures and like you have a scrap book
Speaker 1: or like a photo book. And I remember being young
Speaker 1: and like looking through photos every other month and like
Speaker 1: seeing the same pictures. But like the act of touching
Speaker 1: a picture was monumental for me. And so I've gotten
Speaker 1: back into printing pictures and like making books and like
Speaker 1: putting all of my experiences like into a collage and
Speaker 1: like writing on the back with a sharpee, like the
Speaker 1: date and like what we were doing, and it's just
Speaker 1: like cool for me. I really like documenting time and
Speaker 1: like memories. But photography has been something that I have enjoyed,
Speaker 1: just being the artsy girl with it. Also just taking
Speaker 1: a picture for yourself and not post seeing it, just
Speaker 1: taking a picture to pick a picture. But outside of that,
Speaker 1: it's definitely been like traveling and just seeing the world
Speaker 1: has been a new passion of mine and like an
Speaker 1: interest of mind since graduating.
Speaker 2: Going back to your point, about the photos. I really
Speaker 2: feel like we need to bring back physical media. Like
Speaker 2: I've been thinking about that a lot lately because I
Speaker 2: recently started my vinyl collection and like I have cassettes
Speaker 2: and like CDs, and even though it's stuff that I
Speaker 2: can clearly listen to on Spotify, I'm just thinking like
Speaker 2: if all of this technological stuff went down, like what
Speaker 2: it will be left. So I think it's really important
Speaker 2: to have that physical manifestation of your memories with your friends.
Speaker 3: That's really cute.
Speaker 1: Literally, And that also just reminded me like in addition
Speaker 1: to the physical pictures that I had, we also had CDs,
Speaker 1: like boxes of CDs like fifty pounds or the CDs,
Speaker 1: and so I just my children would know what a
Speaker 1: CD looks like, dhs looks like, a picture in your hand,
Speaker 1: what that feels like. They'll know that.
Speaker 3: So yeah, agreed, as they should, So, Zaria.
Speaker 1: How do you balance working on the podcast with other
Speaker 1: aspects of your life such as like class and your
Speaker 1: personal commitments? Like walk me through that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So going back to my earlier point, like I said,
Speaker 2: I am totally locked in with Notion and Google Calendar.
Speaker 2: I plan my day outs like a tea like I
Speaker 2: know everything that I have to do before it happens,
Speaker 2: Like I even plan weeks in advance, Like I am
Speaker 2: so type A with that, and I feel like without it,
Speaker 2: I would just be lost. So that's my first major key.
Speaker 2: And then I would say also setting boundaries around the
Speaker 2: times when you're working, in times when you're like spending
Speaker 2: time for yourself or self care or social stuff. And
Speaker 2: I mean that like very strictly. I have times on
Speaker 2: my calendar where i have a few hours blocked out
Speaker 2: and I'm like, this is my me time, to the
Speaker 2: point where I turn offlications on my outlook, on my Gmail,
Speaker 2: on my Asana, So that way, I am not even
Speaker 2: being tempted to think about work because this is my
Speaker 2: me time. And if my brain is split both ways,
Speaker 2: I'm not going to be able to fully put effort
Speaker 2: into my work and I'm not going to be able
Speaker 2: to fully put effort into my self care. So having
Speaker 2: those strict boundaries around this is work time and this
Speaker 2: is self care time. If conversely, like when it's work time,
Speaker 2: I'm turning off my Message, I'm turning off my Instagram
Speaker 2: because I just want to make sure that I can
Speaker 2: give my all to what it is that I'm doing.
Speaker 2: And then I'll also say that you have to be
Speaker 2: real with yourself sometimes when you have a lot of
Speaker 2: work on your plate to recognize that maybe you're not
Speaker 2: going to be able to get all of this done
Speaker 2: by the deadline or by when it's supposed to be done.
Speaker 2: But you have to be able to prioritize all the
Speaker 2: different things that are on your plate. So for me,
Speaker 2: obviously school is my number one priority. I have a scholarships,
Speaker 2: and I don't play about my scholarship and I don't
Speaker 2: play about my minimum GPA. So class work is going
Speaker 2: to always be my first priority. And then I would
Speaker 2: say TVG is number two just because I'm getting paid
Speaker 2: for it. Like clubs and eboards and all of these
Speaker 2: different things that I'm a part of. I'm passionate about them,
Speaker 2: but you're not paying me, so it definitely goes below.
Speaker 2: And so when I have work from all these different
Speaker 2: places on my plate, I have to make sure that
Speaker 2: those two things are being prioritized, and everything else comes
Speaker 2: I don't want to say last, but they come after.
Speaker 2: And then also, like going back to the point about
Speaker 2: just being real with yourself and having the self awareness,
Speaker 2: to know that if you can't get stuff done by
Speaker 2: a certain time, you.
Speaker 3: Just have to communicate it.
Speaker 2: If you know that you're not going to be able
Speaker 2: to get stuff done, like being evasive about it would
Speaker 2: just make you look bad. So if you know that
Speaker 2: you're not going to get something done, definitely communicated in advance.
Speaker 2: So I would say those are all of my major
Speaker 2: keys when it comes to that work life balance.
Speaker 1: I love the strict boundaries. I feel like we talk
Speaker 1: about boundaries a lot, and we talk about boundaries with oneself,
Speaker 1: but we don't really talk about how sometimes it's unrealistic
Speaker 1: to be honest about the strict boundaries with yourself. And
Speaker 1: so it's refreshing to hear someone say like, oh no,
Speaker 1: like I'm serious, Like I turn off my notifications, I
Speaker 1: turn off this, I turn off that. That's really refreshing
Speaker 1: to hear someone actually live that out.
Speaker 3: Thank you alrighty.
Speaker 2: So I want to transition into talking a little bit
Speaker 2: more about TVGU as a brand and so, Jana, since
Speaker 2: you are the mother of TVGU, I would love to
Speaker 2: hear in your own words, what is TVG University and
Speaker 2: why is it important to you?
Speaker 1: Not mother, but yeah, so to me TVG University and
Speaker 1: it's most basic terms, the space for gen Z and
Speaker 1: college aged women to exist the umbrella of mental health,
Speaker 1: wellness and awareness. And we do that through culturally relevant
Speaker 1: topics conversations that really resonate with us. And so for me,
Speaker 1: it's important because in college, in high school, even and
Speaker 1: even now, there are so many conversations that are niche
Speaker 1: and like nuance that I never got the opportunity to
Speaker 1: be in the room with. So I think for me
Speaker 1: it's inspiring to be a part of this brand and
Speaker 1: know that there's someone that's being impacted positively through our conversations,
Speaker 1: whether that be on social media, on TikTok, on our podcast,
Speaker 1: on the blogs, and they'll be able to see themselves
Speaker 1: in our content and relate their live situation to what
Speaker 1: we're speaking about and move in a better way, like
Speaker 1: have an insight on their life that they didn't have
Speaker 1: before they interacted with TV University. So I just think
Speaker 1: it's important that we just make community and make space
Speaker 1: for women our age that do deal with mental health
Speaker 1: issues and mental health concerns and personal development and life
Speaker 1: and just all the things of being like a twenty
Speaker 1: something or a college aid something like it's hard, it
Speaker 1: can be really difficult at times, and it's just imperative
Speaker 1: that there are spaces for black women to convene and
Speaker 1: converse and relate and laugh and have joy. I just
Speaker 1: think that's all important. And so that's my little mini
Speaker 1: synopsis of it.
Speaker 3: Elevator pitch.
Speaker 2: Hi, I'm Soria Taylor, and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.
Speaker 2: We'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1: Zaria, why do you think TVG University is needed for
Speaker 1: our generation?
Speaker 3: Yes? So I will say this.
Speaker 2: When I think about exist brands that are marketed towards
Speaker 2: gen Z black women, I tend to find that there
Speaker 2: are more so lineal and for people who don't know,
Speaker 2: is the lineal is Millennial and gen Z. And so
Speaker 2: I feel like what we're missing is a place that
Speaker 2: is specifically for gen Z, like gen Z talking to
Speaker 2: gen Z. I don't feel like we have a lot
Speaker 2: of platforms like that for college students to speak to
Speaker 2: other college students, especially in the audio and podcasting space.
Speaker 2: And when I do find platforms that are more so
Speaker 2: gen Z based, it feels like it's a lot of
Speaker 2: like yapping, like not informative or information based. And I
Speaker 2: feel like that's where we're coming into the conversation. It's
Speaker 2: not just a bunch of people on a mic just talking.
Speaker 2: Like we're bringing important conversations into the audio space. And
Speaker 2: a lot of times we'll have guests who will come
Speaker 2: onto the podcast and they'll be like, I wish I
Speaker 2: had this, I wish I had this conversation, or people
Speaker 2: don't talk enough about this, And so I feel like
Speaker 2: that shows that we're definitely bringing something new and needed.
Speaker 2: And also I think what's missing is that we have
Speaker 2: a lot of content towards gen Z that is lecture based,
Speaker 2: and I feel like our content is more so coming
Speaker 2: from a compact s't angle to college students and the
Speaker 2: struggles that we experience. It's not telling people what to
Speaker 2: do or feeling very like I guess like teacher e
Speaker 2: like we already experienced that in our classes.
Speaker 3: We don't need that.
Speaker 2: We need something that is by us for us, basically
Speaker 2: in us talking to us, peer to peer type vibe.
Speaker 2: So that's definitely why I feel like tvgu is important
Speaker 2: because we're bringing all of that to the table.
Speaker 3: I agree, and.
Speaker 2: So Jana, while we're on the topic of the podcast,
Speaker 2: I love to know do you have a favorite podcast
Speaker 2: episode that we've recorded, and why does it stand out
Speaker 2: to you?
Speaker 1: Oh that's such a hard question and I think about
Speaker 1: it often, like what is my fav Like, I don't know,
Speaker 1: off of like instinct, I would have to say Black
Speaker 1: Girls in Art Spaces, it's my favorite one so far,
Speaker 1: and leaving room for all episodes. I love all episodes.
Speaker 3: I promise they're like your kids.
Speaker 1: So my children a mother, as you said, but I
Speaker 1: really just enjoyed Black Girls and Art Spaces because I
Speaker 1: have always been interested in like how do you have
Speaker 1: a career in the art world? Period? And I think again,
Speaker 1: like to our points, just like we're bringing conversations that
Speaker 1: need to be had for young women who wouldn't necessarily
Speaker 1: have the tools to have them. So I think for me,
Speaker 1: talking with Casey was just super informative and enlightening. You know,
Speaker 1: I wasn't even an art major, but I was like,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, like I could have been one if
Speaker 1: that's what I wanted to do. It was really nice
Speaker 1: to see Casey living in her passion, her insurants, her
Speaker 1: hobby and making a career off of it and hearing
Speaker 1: her thought process behind it all was super cool.
Speaker 3: I love that.
Speaker 1: What about you, I'm curious do you have a favor.
Speaker 3: Ooh, that's a hard question.
Speaker 2: I'll say probably major and magic at USC And I'll
Speaker 2: say the reason is because the guest she was somebody who,
Speaker 2: like I saw go viral on Twitter, and so to
Speaker 2: actually be able to like talk to her and hear.
Speaker 3: Her side of things, I just really loved her.
Speaker 2: I knew of her, and so because of that, it
Speaker 2: was really exciting to actually be able to like craft
Speaker 2: interview questions to hear her side of the story and
Speaker 2: her perspective.
Speaker 3: So I would say that's my favorite.
Speaker 1: That's so real. I like that one too. She was cool. Yeah,
Speaker 1: love he So we've seen this weekly report trend on
Speaker 1: TikTok in recent months, and for those who are unaware,
Speaker 1: this is what you have been reading, eating, playing, obsessing,
Speaker 1: over recommending, and treating yourself too in the past week. So, Zaria,
Speaker 1: what's your weekly report?
Speaker 2: Yeah, So let me just preface this by saying, I'm
Speaker 2: one of the girlies who is unaware, Like I have
Speaker 2: never heard this academ before, and so you mentioned it, like,
Speaker 2: I'm just I'm not on the TikTok streets like that.
Speaker 2: I have to protect my piece. So this is my
Speaker 2: first time hearing of this, but I'm gonna give it
Speaker 2: a try. For reading, I have been, and I'm ashamed
Speaker 2: to admit this. I have been in the Colleen Hoover
Speaker 2: book talk streets.
Speaker 3: I haven't.
Speaker 2: I've heard so many like bad things about Colleen Hoover
Speaker 2: and her writing, but I read it ends with Us,
Speaker 2: and I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 3: I read it all of one night. I was serious,
Speaker 3: I got down. I did not play with that book.
Speaker 3: I was hooked. I'm not gonna lie. And sometimes you
Speaker 3: need some.
Speaker 2: Good guilty pledgure reads, even though you know, like the
Speaker 2: writing is really bad and trash, sometimes the drama is
Speaker 2: just top tires. So I've been into that. And also
Speaker 2: I've just been lately into reading really trashy romance novels.
Speaker 2: So I'm currently like halfway through to All the Boys
Speaker 2: I've Loved before, Like I'm really into that right now.
Speaker 2: I need like that escapism. So that's what I've been reading.
Speaker 2: So what are you reading, Jana?
Speaker 1: So I have been reading Mamy by Jessica George. I
Speaker 1: haven't been in my romance novel bag, but I just
Speaker 1: have been in my When you're like young and like
Speaker 1: you're learning your life. It's just a book that's for
Speaker 1: the girls. It's like the early twenties, you're like learning
Speaker 1: who you are. It's a really good book and it's
Speaker 1: taken me a long time to get through. But we're
Speaker 1: gonna get through it this month, that is my goal.
Speaker 1: But overall the read is pretty good period period.
Speaker 3: What have I been eating?
Speaker 2: I don't know if I'm talking about when I just ate.
Speaker 2: I had some Nashville Hot chicken with fries. It was
Speaker 2: really good.
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 2: Yeah, in general, like I've been getting so much ubri
Speaker 2: The cafeteria life on campus is just not for me,
Speaker 2: and I've had to like navigate trying not to shame
Speaker 2: myself for spending so much money on food because at
Speaker 2: the end of the day, like I have to listen
Speaker 2: to what my body needs and I need to adjust
Speaker 2: my budget accordingly knowing that. So for all the girlies
Speaker 2: who may be navigating the same thing, like just no,
Speaker 2: like you have to listen to your body.
Speaker 3: So that's what I've been eating. What about you?
Speaker 1: No shame with Uber Eats orders, no shame door Dash orders.
Speaker 1: I have been in my Caesar salad with a fry
Speaker 1: and a coke bag for the past two months, like
Speaker 1: it's been bad and so yeah, I love a caesar
Speaker 1: salad at a fry. I'm there, Like anywhere we can
Speaker 1: go to a diner, five star restaurant McDonald's if they
Speaker 1: have it my house, like anywhere, I will take it.
Speaker 1: I love caesar.
Speaker 3: Salad, no, for real, I will bust down a caesar salad.
Speaker 3: They're so good.
Speaker 2: Yes, I love a caesar salad. So playing. I am
Speaker 2: a gamer girl. I'm not gonna lie. I'm like a nerd.
Speaker 2: And recently I've been really into the Simspore. I've been
Speaker 2: SIMS fan since I was very young, but man, like
Speaker 2: the mod life, the custom content life, like I've been
Speaker 2: in it, like the SIMS four Like I just be
Speaker 2: living at my fantasies in that game. So love the
Speaker 2: SIMS four down that's really about you, so real.
Speaker 1: So I took it in a more of a music approach.
Speaker 1: So I, of course, when we're not listening to music,
Speaker 1: we're listening to podcast therapy for Black Girls University period.
Speaker 1: But I have been back into like my Bryson Tiller era.
Speaker 1: He recently announced his tour for this summer. I will
Speaker 1: be in attendance. So I just had been in like
Speaker 1: my high school chop soul like background music while I
Speaker 1: do work. It's a great album for background music. But
Speaker 1: I also have been getting it back into my jazz
Speaker 1: bag and so my grandfather would be so happy to
Speaker 1: hear this. But I've been listening to Black Messiah by
Speaker 1: DiAngelo and the Vanguard again top Tier if you ever
Speaker 1: need like a jazzy chill album.
Speaker 2: Alrighty, So next is obsessing, right, So we talked about
Speaker 2: this a little bit, Jana, But I am obsessed with
Speaker 2: Love Is Blind. I am in the Love Is Blind
Speaker 2: streets real bad. I watched the first season and I
Speaker 2: thought it was okay, and then I just stopped watching it.
Speaker 2: Then I kept seeing all this stuff on social media
Speaker 2: about eighty and class. I was like, let me tune
Speaker 2: into this most recent season, and I am just gagged
Speaker 2: by all of the drama that's coming up. I'm in
Speaker 2: the Reddit, I'm literally trying to get all of the tea.
Speaker 2: I'm in the Instagram comments trying to figure out what's
Speaker 2: going on, what happened off camera. I went back and
Speaker 2: I rewatched all the old seasons too, Like I am
Speaker 2: so obsessed. It's really top tier drama. So I'm definitely
Speaker 2: obsessing over Love Is Blind.
Speaker 1: But I'm happy that you're on the Love is Blind train.
Speaker 1: I'm so happy. Yeah, you're welcome. I have been obsessing
Speaker 1: over Lagree pilates. That has been my hobby, like my
Speaker 1: new like fitness hobby. Like I've changed my workout plan
Speaker 1: completely from like going to the gym and like lifting
Speaker 1: weights and like, you know what I mean. I was
Speaker 1: like in that gym culture quote unquote, and I was
Speaker 1: just like, you know what, I want to trial agree.
Speaker 1: I want to be a Palateis princess. I'm a little
Speaker 1: bit late to the Plate's train, but that's one thing
Speaker 1: that I have been obsessing over for sure. It's so
Speaker 1: much fun, it's so hard, it's great. I love her.
Speaker 2: I want to get into ladies. But it's a little
Speaker 2: intense for me, Like I don't know, it's intense.
Speaker 1: It's intense. It's intense.
Speaker 2: So in terms of recommending, I'm going to piggyback off
Speaker 2: of you for like the exercise train, I've been really
Speaker 2: interested in doing like water exercises recently, like stuff in
Speaker 2: the pool. Here at Spilman we have a pool and
Speaker 2: they have like different courses and we call it aquadivas,
Speaker 2: like we have a bunch of different like zoomba in
Speaker 2: the pool, and I don't know, it's really relaxing, Like
Speaker 2: I just feel like I'm in my little mermaid fantasy.
Speaker 2: It's just really fun to play around in water and
Speaker 2: it's really relaxing. But you're also getting your work out on.
Speaker 2: So I would definitely recommend that for the girls who
Speaker 2: are in their workout journey and they're just feeling miserable
Speaker 2: because I've been there, but this is helping me connect
Speaker 2: to my inner child. It's just something so relaxing about
Speaker 2: being in the water. So that's what I'm recommending. What
Speaker 2: about you, Jana, I have.
Speaker 1: Been recommending that, if possible, get a massage and please
Speaker 1: take care of your body, take care of your muscles,
Speaker 1: like I have tried to incorporate that like once a
Speaker 1: month into my regimen. Now. Is it expensive, yes, yes, yes,
Speaker 1: we do have to budget for that. We do have
Speaker 1: to make sure that there's money set aside for it. However,
Speaker 1: it is the best gift to your body. And once
Speaker 1: I realized this is the only body I have, you
Speaker 1: should probably take care of it. You should probably stretch more.
Speaker 1: You should probably get a massage, should probably drink more water,
Speaker 1: You should probably do all these things. And so I've
Speaker 1: been incorporating, like even while putting a lotion, like getting
Speaker 1: deeper in the tissue, just being more intentional about how
Speaker 1: we take care of our body.
Speaker 2: Yes, I love that so much. I'm so big on
Speaker 2: we only have one body, like and just take care
Speaker 2: of it. I love that so much. Hi, I'm sorry, Taylor,
Speaker 2: and I'm the TBG podcast production intern. We'll return to
Speaker 2: Jana right after the break. So moving on to now, lastly,
Speaker 2: treating yourself. So what have I been treating myself too.
Speaker 2: I'm a tourist, so I just spend money for no reason,
Speaker 2: like it doesn't need to be an occasion. I will
Speaker 2: make an excuse to spend money on anything, so I
Speaker 2: would say, recently, I've been treating myself to vinyls. Like
Speaker 2: I said, I just started my vinyl collection and the
Speaker 2: girlies didn't tell me how expensive they are, Like this
Speaker 2: is really my expensive hobby. I went to the record
Speaker 2: store the other day and I don't even want to
Speaker 2: say on audio how much money I spent. I'm very
Speaker 2: embarrassed about it, but I will always make money for myself.
Speaker 3: So I did treat myself period, But what about.
Speaker 1: You, Jana, I have been treating myself to close. It's
Speaker 1: always closed. It's it's that it's actually sick. It's really bad.
Speaker 1: It's sometimes embarrassing, but yeah, close, Sprick's coming. Oh I
Speaker 1: need clothes? Oh this weekd I need something? Oh I
Speaker 1: neat socks. I need choose to me, there's always space.
Speaker 3: That was me for the TVG Live event.
Speaker 2: As soon as I saw the memo of the time,
Speaker 2: I was like, let me go ahead and look up
Speaker 2: what I'm gonna wear, Like I can't be meeting all
Speaker 2: the team members and not look the best.
Speaker 1: So the way I got my outfit today, like the
Speaker 1: way it's already the.
Speaker 2: Way mine's was delivered today. I'm about to open this
Speaker 2: package right after the stage.
Speaker 1: We're on the same page. I was like, ooh, yeah,
Speaker 1: I need an outfit for my work trip. Oh I
Speaker 1: need outfit for after Like I love it. I love
Speaker 1: the reasons why I need more clothes, Like, yeah, it's great.
Speaker 1: So I love our weekly report, super cute, super fun.
Speaker 1: Thank you for indulging in that, Zaria. So what podcasts
Speaker 1: do you enjoy listening to when you're not working with TBGU.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so, of course my obligatory answer would be TVG
Speaker 2: of course, like the Girls Know. But outside of that,
Speaker 2: the first ever podcast that got me obsessed onto podcasts
Speaker 2: is The Read, which I know is like a basic answer,
Speaker 2: but I absolutely love The Read. I literally was listening
Speaker 2: to that when I was in elementary school, which is
Speaker 2: so inappropriate. But I've been a long term refan and
Speaker 2: then as a result, I'm a fan of other podcasts
Speaker 2: that are in that universe or that friend group, So
Speaker 2: The Friend Zone, Jade, and XD Getting Grown. I think
Speaker 2: I didn't miss any, but those are all podcasts that
Speaker 2: like when they come out, like I need to be
Speaker 2: on that episode as soon as it drops.
Speaker 3: So those are the podcasts I enjoy listening to period. Yeah.
Speaker 2: So, Jana, I'm wondering who do you dream of collaborating with,
Speaker 2: either as a guest on TBGU or in other aspects.
Speaker 3: Of your work.
Speaker 1: I really enjoy learning from, like the media industry. What
Speaker 1: we've seen and heard from, like the interviews we've had
Speaker 1: with some of the media girlies, is that there's so
Speaker 1: many gaps and it's all open for interpretation. As to
Speaker 1: like how do you get in the space, what do
Speaker 1: you do? What's the day to day? How to get involved?
Speaker 1: And so I am manifesting a couple ideas, but just
Speaker 1: to give everyone's inside a little bit, I really want
Speaker 1: to collaborate with an actress, like a young actress of course,
Speaker 1: and like learn being in the industry that young, Like
Speaker 1: how is that? How is it being a blacklack women
Speaker 1: in the industry, a young black woman in industry at that?
Speaker 1: Hopefully they're a student, so like how do you balance
Speaker 1: like being a student with that? It's just like the
Speaker 1: day to day, as we've learned from talking with Sidonias,
Speaker 1: when you're in the limelight, like your life is just
Speaker 1: perceived to something different than what it really could be.
Speaker 1: And so just wanting to understand their career path and
Speaker 1: like how they got to where they are. I think
Speaker 1: is something that you know, as a person that watches
Speaker 1: movies and watches TV shows and engages with media every day,
Speaker 1: I'm just naturally curious, like, so what's your life, Like,
Speaker 1: let's talk, Let's have a conversation. As someone who is
Speaker 1: an audience member, say the least, but that's what I
Speaker 1: will say. I just really like talking with the girls
Speaker 1: who are in the media. It's just so interesting and
Speaker 1: they're so creative as well so talented, because that's what
Speaker 1: I would say.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, we can definitely chat online because I have
Speaker 2: some actress records. Okay, Stormy read call us.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was trying to give the energy a Stormy reading.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, yeah, storm read for sure. Yeah, so, Zaria,
Speaker 1: what media did you watch, read, or listen to when
Speaker 1: you were younger that inspires your work today and what
Speaker 1: do you want to do post grad?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: So I touched on it a little bit earlier when
Speaker 2: we were talking about the podcast I listened to. But
Speaker 2: when I was younger, I was very much watching stuff
Speaker 2: that I had no business watching at my age.
Speaker 3: I was never like a Nickelodeon, Disney girly.
Speaker 2: I was on like HBO, Like I was really watching
Speaker 2: some stuff that I should not have been watching, Like
Speaker 2: I was on Game of Thrones when I was like
Speaker 2: in elementary school, Like it was real bad. But I
Speaker 2: feel like from watching adult stuf while I was younger,
Speaker 2: it's kind of informed. I guess my writing style, Like
Speaker 2: I was the head of the game. I don't want
Speaker 2: to brag that I was like doing my writing and stuff,
Speaker 2: So I would say that's definitely informed just.
Speaker 1: My talents, and you're ahead of the game.
Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you. It's nicer when you say when
Speaker 2: I say about myself, I feel like, hello, ay keep it,
Speaker 2: thank you, Jana. And I also used to watch like
Speaker 2: a lot of commentary YouTubers, and I think that informs
Speaker 2: my love of pop culture, which definitely plays into my
Speaker 2: work at TBG, like you have to stay ahead of
Speaker 2: the game on what's going on. And to that point, also,
Speaker 2: I was scrolling through black Twitter like I'm a very
Speaker 2: very young age and I'm still into it now, like
Speaker 2: I'm a little bit too obsessed with Twitter, Like it's
Speaker 2: real bad actually, but like I said, I feel like
Speaker 2: it informs my work as somebody who has to be
Speaker 2: up on what's trending, and then of terms of what
Speaker 2: I want to do postgrad, I would really be satisfied
Speaker 2: with anything that is like in media, particularly media that
Speaker 2: caters to black women. So I'm kind of already doing
Speaker 2: that now and I tell people all the time. Everybody
Speaker 2: who knows me knows this. My dream, dream, dream job
Speaker 2: is to work for Parkwood Entertainment with Beyonce. So listen,
Speaker 2: if somebody from our team is listening to this, Okay,
Speaker 2: her publicist Vett, if you are listening to this, like
Speaker 2: call me, call me please. So that's like my dream
Speaker 2: dam job. I don't care what I would be doing,
Speaker 2: but yeah, that's what I would love to do postgrad.
Speaker 2: But generally, like the media jobs, this is where I'm at,
Speaker 2: This is what I love to do. So as we
Speaker 2: are preparing to close out, I would love to hear
Speaker 2: from you, Jana.
Speaker 3: What does TBG use future you look like to you?
Speaker 1: An intense question. So overall, TBGU is going to be
Speaker 1: engaging with more girly is our age, having more real
Speaker 1: conversations about the lives that we live, having more conversations
Speaker 1: like these where we're just having a chat, like I
Speaker 1: feel like sometimes professional gapping it can feel disengaging and
Speaker 1: it can feel like you're not included in that space.
Speaker 1: And so really making a priority that when people think
Speaker 1: of this brand and people think of the Little Sister
Speaker 1: brand of TBG is oh yeah, I feel like I
Speaker 1: can relate. That feels like my older sister, like giving
Speaker 1: me advice. It feels very digestible. But overall, like just
Speaker 1: having more content that relates to pop culture that brings
Speaker 1: us back to being aware about who we are and
Speaker 1: who we want to become. Having fun. I feel like
Speaker 1: fun is really important to me in this twenty second
Speaker 1: era of my life. It's so important, Like having fun
Speaker 1: conversations is so so important in a serious world, and
Speaker 1: so making sure that black girls can have fun and
Speaker 1: learn within that fun space, I think is the best
Speaker 1: way to like summarize how I see us moving forward.
Speaker 1: But yeah, definitely just engaging more in the community, gauging
Speaker 1: with more experiences, more voices, learning from other women, ourselves,
Speaker 1: and just moving forward in that way. That's what I think.
Speaker 2: But what about you, Yeah, so double tapping on everything
Speaker 2: that you just said.
Speaker 3: And also I think I.
Speaker 2: See tvgu being the go to hub for just young
Speaker 2: black women, young college students. And I also say, I
Speaker 2: would really love to see us being like a pipeline
Speaker 2: for young Black women who are in college and studying psychology.
Speaker 2: You're hoping to become therapists. We already have like becoming
Speaker 2: a therapist content on the regular podcast, but I think
Speaker 2: there is space for us to really talk about what
Speaker 2: does that look like when you're actually in the muddles
Speaker 2: of being in college and kind of navigating through that experience.
Speaker 2: And then of course I would love to see more
Speaker 2: like campus activations for TVGU. I definitely see that in
Speaker 2: our future, more in person stuff, more engaging on the
Speaker 2: ground with the girlies who are on campus, and definitely
Speaker 2: like being more active on our.
Speaker 3: Social media pages.
Speaker 2: I'm really looking forward to some upcoming ideas that we
Speaker 2: have for the TVGU social So all of that is
Speaker 2: super exciting to me.
Speaker 1: So you you gave more details. You're cooking it. Listen,
Speaker 1: we in the lab, we'd have been in the lab.
Speaker 1: I was trying to be cute with it, but we
Speaker 1: have been alert. Sorry, So Zaria, can you give us
Speaker 1: a little bit more of a sneak peek at what
Speaker 1: we have coming off this year?
Speaker 2: Okay, I don't know if the girls are ready, but
Speaker 2: I'll go ahead off with them, you know, just just
Speaker 2: a little some sum So we're definitely looking forward to
Speaker 2: doing some more format breaking podcast episodes. I won't elaborate,
Speaker 2: but we're definitely trying to keep the girls on their
Speaker 2: toes and I'll let them know what's coming. And then
Speaker 2: we're definitely, like I said, looking forward to doing more
Speaker 2: things on social media. We have some upcoming series coming
Speaker 2: up segments, so I'm really excited about that. And then
Speaker 2: I would also say some more visually appealing elements, some
Speaker 2: more video content.
Speaker 3: You can definitely look forward to that from us.
Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, what she said?
Speaker 2: Yeah, alrighty, So I think we are at the end.
Speaker 2: This has been such a good conversation with you, Jana,
Speaker 2: and so in a switch of roles, I'm gonna ask
Speaker 2: you where can we keep up with you? And one
Speaker 2: of your social media handles.
Speaker 1: Okay, so you can keep up with me on Instagram
Speaker 1: at jina dot ls so j A y n A
Speaker 1: dot e L l I S. I'm also on LinkedIn
Speaker 1: because we're getting professional, So follow me on LinkedIn. It's
Speaker 1: my name, Jana Ellis and yeah, connect with me there.
Speaker 1: What about you?
Speaker 2: You can find me on Instagram at yours truley Zaria
Speaker 2: so that's y O U R S t r U
Speaker 2: L y z A r I A H. And then
Speaker 2: I'm also on LinkedIn, like I said, Beyonce's publicist call me.
Speaker 2: I'm on LinkedIn at Zaria Taylor.
Speaker 3: So yeah, period.
Speaker 1: Well, I have enjoyed catching up with you. Talking with
Speaker 1: you has been such a dope episode. I've been so
Speaker 1: excited for the future.
Speaker 3: Of TVGU same z's thank you, Jana.
Speaker 1: Of course, I want to thank Zaria once again for
Speaker 1: joining us for this episode. To learn more about the
Speaker 1: work she is doing or to do more research on
Speaker 1: this topic, be sure to visit Therapy for Black Girls
Speaker 1: dot com slash TVGU. This episode was produced by FRIEDA. Lucas,
Speaker 1: Elise Ellis, and Zaria Taylor. Editing is by Dennison L. Bradford.