Episode 020 with Megan Elam

[00:00:01] Jacob: Well folks, today we have the Megalodon herself. We've got Megan Elam in the stew today. I haven't been called Megalodon in so long. You used to. I also wanted I also wanted to say stew. I really like you know it's how like a lot of young people stew.

[00:00:21] Megan: I mean stew. Oh.

[00:00:23] Jacob: I think they call me stew. I was like, where did you, call me stew. Yes, we have Megan Elam in here today. Megan has been one of my very close friends for quite some time.

[00:00:31] Megan: I'm doing Christmas with my mom tonight.

[00:01:01] Jacob: Yes. Very exciting. That down in Vancouver. Yes. You came all the way up here to hang out with me for a few. But I did. It'll be back on the way home because you recently moved to Portland.

[00:01:11] Megan: Not so recently now I guess. Yeah.

[00:01:29] Jacob: Like you belong in Portland yet?

[00:01:31] Megan: Um, I love Portland. I think it's like at the right time of my life, um, being like single and living

[00:01:38] Jacob: In like a studio in downtown Portland. That's something I always wanted to do and accomplish. Um, but it's very interesting being in a big city because you don't have like that sense of community like you do in a small town.

[00:01:50] Megan: So I love Portland. Um, I probably after I'm going to be moving out of Portland

[00:01:55] Jacob: Is actually in September ish. Um, and I don't know if I'll move back to downtown. We'll see. I'm thinking. But it's been really fun. It's fun being close to everything. Yeah. We'll see how much you miss it. Like you have such a cool location like so close to all these cool. Yeah. I just walked everything. I just walked. I like walked my workout to Orangetheory and it's like two minutes from my front door. Plenty of places. Go get a bite to eat and stuff to walk to. There's thatny the dike right by your house too. I was good to be able to be able to be to be able to be able. I don't have to drive there. I could just walk to the start of my run. I just walk out my. I just walk out my front door and it's the run.

[00:02:47] Megan: Like it started. Like I'm a true Portland. Obviously. Let's start with speech pathology.

[00:03:40] Jacob: I'm a little bit of a private university. he came back to Cal so decided to a private university is came back to

[00:03:49] Megan: Cal so decided to do the whole work with my mom and do the pre-rex at our community college

[00:03:53] Jacob: Lower Columbia. Decided that I decided to do I had to take a t's test to get into the school. Which I know she is. Little bit.

[00:04:04] Megan: Basically, I've taken a test to get into nursing school. And I remember I could not pass that test.

[00:04:09] Jacob: It's not hard.

[00:04:12] Megan: It's It's reading, writing, critical thinking science and it's on a computer and it tells you every time you get an answers lifestyle wrong

[00:04:37] Jacob: The

[00:05:07] Megan: I'm going to consider other options. we were actually like my papa's birthday dinner and my cousin jessica brought up speech pathology and I had never really heard of a I knew there was a career out there about it but I knew it was a little bit more

[00:05:45] Jacob: And then go back to one person

[00:06:00] Megan: Everyone else doesn't go back I was magically so while I was doing my undergad is working at Starbucks

[00:06:10] Jacob: And I had what we call a regular

[00:06:25] Megan: So I had just graduated I was quitting Starbucks and I was like oh my god I'm going to be, I- now I'm So I kind of got like a little like my feet wet with fat. And yeah, that's kind of a speech therapy, um, and, um, and, um, Lisa Musher. But did you, did you have school in school and speech pathology at that point? Uh, yeah. So my undergrad is, I, I have my bachelor's of science, um, specializing in speech and hearing sciences. So I do,, audiology, phonetics. Um, I do anatomy and physiology of the throat mouth or throat, something else. The answer is yes, but I wasn't like trained in actually being like a therapist.

[00:07:57] Jacob: Right. But she knew probably like, okay, your skills, will be lay into what

[00:08:19] Megan: And she said, um, um, she said, um, someone who applies work to Starbucks.

[00:08:47] Jacob: It's an automatic interview. What, what do you think about that like, like, not as just as an ex Starbucks employee? Like, what do you think about that? Like you, you, like you've learned some pretty valuable things while working at Starbucks. Like, if you didn't make it through the drive, the drive three within five minutes, we had timers like, like the food wasn't free, but your drinks were, but you're going to be free. So I felt like it was very, you just learned very good customer service and how to interact and socialize with people.

[00:09:44] Megan: Which is a really good people skill.

[00:09:46] Jacob: But I feel like that business model is now biting them in the butt? Kind of biting our whole culture in the society in the but because everyone's just like entitled.

[00:09:59] Megan: I don't know what to do.

[00:10:09] Jacob: I don't know what to do.

[00:10:17] Megan: I don't know what to do..

[00:10:21] Jacob: But I don't know what to do.

[00:10:31] Megan: I don't know what to do.

[00:10:39] Jacob: I don't know what to do.

[00:10:47] Megan: I don't know what to do. Anyway, so less derail, Starbucks and coffee, more speech path. Well, I'm going to be a little bit more I got like the base my undergrad to be an actual speech therapist.

[00:11:32] Jacob: You do have to go to graduate school. The time my mind was so I was taking I was taking like four college classes commuting to Portland and working two jobs. I think I had to be there at 3 30 in the morning and I would just be like fresh from like the

[00:11:56] Megan: When I was working at Mr. Forma, I might have told us on the Ryan Santos podcast, but I actually I was I was very hung over on a Sunday. I was so hung over as I was talking to this young couple who was getting married.

[00:12:10] Jacob: I vomited in my mouth like I. I didn't like obviously spewed on them or anything. This is terrible, but like I had just put a hand up and say, excuse me,

[00:12:28] Megan: I had to walk the walk out of my store. Like it was just insane. But that was just who we were. I think you have to go through that like just Wild Street for just a minute. Once in a while, you've got to go to work a little hungover. I did it more than most people.

[00:12:32] Jacob: Unfortunately, but learned. Well, and then as you get older, you suddenly can't do that. You know, oh yeah.

[00:12:40] Megan: Like you're just making coffee like I can do that when I worked at Coldstone. I'm just

[00:12:45] Jacob: Giving ice cream. I can't probably do that. Imagine working out like a like if you had to work a subway in the morning hungover

[00:12:51] Megan: Over versus Starbucks. Yeah, at least when I got to work at like free coffee allt a day. I was like, I'm taking at least in my head. I was taking a year off and that was going to be be it. I'm going to take the year and then to get into graduate school for speech therapy.

[00:13:08] Jacob: You have to do, of course, the G. I'm going to take the year and then to

[00:13:14] Megan: Get into graduate school for speech therapy. You have to do, of course, the G. exam, which is basically like a pre grad school exam. You have to do a bunch of

[00:13:21] Jacob: Entrance essays and. And then you also have to have a certain grade point average.

[00:13:27] Megan: All the things. So I was like, I'm this year and I'm going to to get over. I'm going to take the G. I'm going to take the year and then I'm going to

[00:13:37] Jacob: Get into graduate school for speech.

[00:13:39] Megan: To get into graduate school for speech therapy. I'm going to take the year and then to

[00:13:45] Jacob: Get into graduate school for speech therapy.

[00:13:48] Megan: I'm going to take the year and then to get into graduate school for speech therapy. And then to get into graduate school for speech. And then to get then to get into graduate school for the G. exam. And then to and then to get into graduate school for the G. exam.

[00:14:40] Jacob: .

[00:15:00] Megan: And then to get into graduate school for

[00:15:03] Jacob: G.

[00:15:30] Megan: It led me differently,-, but that's kind of speach therapy, it was really good, but it definitely changed, it was really good, but it definitely changed, I feel like you were thrown into a few things, you learned so much that you probably wouldn't have learned without that experience, like being able to have that opportunity to learn all the things that you did, it's like it's like an end all the time to be all of all this money, but the satisfaction of that job for one, and then just the, I didn't expect to learn this today, about what I can take into my future, how I can be able to help other kids in the future in these ways and for those people who don't know, I mentioned Family House, I think I mentioned K through 7th grade, it is a non-profit a private school, it hasn't been for me to learn what I can do, so maybe it's not a private school, but it's not for me to be able to

[00:17:16] Jacob: If a second grader was you know doing really good academically they might move up into the fourth grade group because that's just either a little bit higher in the math or the English so it was very based on um they're also heavily based on like physical activity getting up and moving um and making sure you talk out your problems because it's like if a kid comes in on this I would like a lot I would come home and be like it's so hard it's um it's

[00:18:40] Megan: Doing so many different things like our professional development was the Spartan Race

[00:18:45] Jacob: Right oh yeah that's cool yeah dude you guys had such a good team environment with that

[00:18:50] Megan: Um the Spartan Race it's like obstacles yeah I don't remember how many obstacles this I've done I've done so many of these like you've done a ton yeah like I have never wanted this damn javelin and what I need what we need to do is we need to set up a thing in the backyard

[00:19:21] Jacob: Here in me and you will just get super great at throwing javelins but you know I don't think it's gotten it is jaren oh jaren hasn't gotten it I don't know I don me on that- we probably should have asked himt that but um all right if jaren hasn't gotten it that would make me feel better right because he's like super fit I know jaren if you haven't got it we're gonna we're gonna set up a course in backyard don't worry we'll practice so yeah so you guys did a lot of the training that's how you would the team building and in connecting and like pushing each other to to be the best versions of each other obviously that's who you are as a having that as your community as workplace especially when you didn't know it was like that like a lot of people would normally be like oh I want to get in on that but you didn't know it was that so you didn't know that I mean realistically just who you are as a person like you do actually work pretty dang well when you're being pushed in oh I work so I mean my first

[00:20:33] Jacob: Because I think I think it's a 5k right no I think it's a 5k which I think

[00:21:03] Megan: Um at the there's a motocross track down yeah and so they set it up and it's like you got to go under barbed wire you've got to you run five miles eight miles whatever it is but also inb do a bunch of obstacles you're on three the super the or the sprint the super and the beast within the year so within one year you have to do all three so Lisa had us start with the super and I was not a runner so the thought of running eight to 12 miles like gave me an anxiety talk to yeah oh yeah little did I like I just had to get out there and do it like I was just I was all anxious about it and I just need to be able to put it back the first few times I actually panic attack really like oh yeah cuz they were so a family has a team we're training and they were like okay in order to two racing you need to run 12 miles which we was me 12 miles and I remember being at work all sweating cuz I'm like 12 I've never

[00:22:52] Megan: Never been not happening so she had us after we got off work all the kids went home we put on our running clothes and we ran from Tamo Shanner to Lake Sacajawea over the bridge we ran all of Lake Sacajawea and back and we were getting to Lake Sacajawea because at that point we were already and I just had me and like the people as well as brutal from like okay the thoughts that you are feeling when you're like there's no way like these people are not like this crazy like when you're thinking that like how did you jump from just they just tell you they're encouraging you. We stopped that was part of it so we stopped and I'm just literally like breathing hard and I'm crying like I'm actually crying and I remember I think it was Lisa and Chelsea one of them was like rubbing my back and the other was like you got this like you're capable like you've never done it before

[00:24:28] Jacob: But you're going to do it and you're going to finish and so they just kept like the positive mindset in my head okay you got to stop telling yourself you can you can't because I kept in my whole time I kept thinking I have no escape like I have no way of like calling someone to come pick which I can't be saying I was like there's no way of getting out and so I just kind of like panicked but then they just continued actually I remember Taylor at the time was behind me and he kept every time I tried to stop he just pushes his hand forward and like push just not in like barely tap my just that low reminder I'm right behind you I kept running so yeah I finished that and then from there on out it honestly changed my mindset I was like I just ran 12 miles or however many miles I don't know I remember I think it was like around 12 and I kept doing it. Yeah it's definitely mental you know like it's there's no doubt that like just by being in shape and stretching and stuff like this I'm agile and my body can handle it for sure

[00:25:59] Jacob: A lot and that I did not say I'm 17 my dad didn't tell me so he's like you're fine he's like we're gonna go camping and we're gonna go on a little hike the next morning

[00:26:14] Megan: I come in like just a Conc and so I was so mad at him but it ended up being good I guess he had to give me my feet were like bleeding because I was in running shoes I was in hiking shoes it was almost it's like again it's mental you like panic and then you're fine but now like like those same moments so like at mile seven mile nine whatever it is when you hit that spot where you're like all I want to do is just break down and cry right now like now if you have that thing like for one if you even have it you're like I'm good I already know what I'm capable of I'm capable way more atילו and you also like even out um after a while after you have a lot of these victories like oh I just did this part race oh I did the trifecta and I did this you stop even having those little spots that come up where at mile four at mile seven this fall this is messed-up I'm panicking like this like dread that starts happening yes it, it starts to go, after you have a little more victories

[00:27:25] Jacob: Yes um for sure so a lot of like big team building obviously it's a huge community yes um did you guys do

[00:28:05] Megan: , the core of Family House is community service so when you sign your child up for community service um, you're signing yourself your family up for community service including the adult so when I was there we had groups and they pair you in the very beginning so it's like what are you gonna do this year for community service and we each there강 each there's like 12 groups all 12 of us have to come up with a community service project it can be anything can be community society can be picking up trash, it can be a sock donation, it can be feeding the homeless, it can be a soup drive, it can be to be anything so that part's really cool because you get the kids that are involved in the community at such a young age and I think they kind of the more about the community changes their scope of where they live at the time when I was there love overwhelming, overwhelming, was a huge topic, it's for homeless trying to think it's an it's an organization that basically helps the homeless it's like they have shelter and clothing and all that stuff so we were very involved with

[00:29:13] Jacob: Love overwhelming but the community like Longview Coastal as a whole người is very like it was very debatable like a lot of people debated on that yeah I remember what that was about but I just know that well it's no different now because now I see online it's a lot about the civic circle yeah man our. Our town has some really gross views on homelessness really like a lot of loud opinions a lot of loud jokes a lot of I don't know a little hard to explain I guess with our town and but it does have some interesting things when it comes to like hard opinions on things as you know I don't believe in that because there's this I've been almost not wanting to go to the I think to have a proper I think to have a proper I would do to go down there and talk to them I need to know what's going on need to know the ordinance like all these things I don't have weeks and weeks in the life to have a very solid opinion on what's going on there and I, I just don't have time to do that stuff so I don't know

[00:30:38] Jacob: Kind of cool story with that do you really please stuff just confuses me so like I don't know what to think about it well because my family owns businesses you so as a business owner a lot of people the homeless they just think of it as a negative it's people who are on drugs people who are garbage around people who are

[00:31:01] Megan: Alcoholics etc um so part of it when I was at Family House I did a lot with a theming and one night we were doing this like food drive she was telling me about her family� she asked me for my name was and I said Megan she's like

[00:31:27] Jacob: You just look so familiar and I was like oh like I mean I live here you know so maybe you've seen me around she's like what's your last name and I'm like uh and she goes I knew it and I'm like thinking what like what um she was my dance teacher when I like five years old not five probably like seven or eight I was in tap and she was my tap teacher and she's like I remember like yesterday you were in your little red dress you were in my students a high step and I looked at her and she's like I have to be like I'm so happy to be here you know I was so happy to be with you Unless and doesn. Doesn't know what to do and it just like broke my heart because I was like I was a teacher for you, and so you know so you obviously not that you would before but if you would have had judgments toward them you would have shattered that you'd be like oh you're not a homeless lady you're my teacher you're my dance teacher like so I think to look at you know all those tents like

[00:33:50] Jacob: When you see those tents like oh like oh that looks so trashy well I'd there is

[00:33:56] Megan: Who was a child I don't know like I like here I am not giving away all my socks me like here I am not giving away all my socks and walking down there and giving them all my whatever but they're just like the compassion first like some like the comments that I see really make me super uncomfortable and yeah I am on Facebook I honestly don't get on Facebook is a dirty butthole of information it makes me, and then I notice I get I get like heated and I'm just sitting on my couch I'm not even physically in Kelso and I'm reading the status and I just so badly respond and I'm like put your phone away just stop

[00:34:40] Jacob: Reading what I'll do is like and you know some like it will help some people like some of my opinions on Facebook and stuff but a lot of times what I'll be scrolling through I'll be scrolling through in the five minutes and I'll get I'll부�ll get kind of within five minutes a grasp of like here's what people were kind of complaining about

[00:34:55] Megan: Today and then I'll post something like here's what y'all are doing wrong with your life right yeah like I'm giving opinions and yeah it does help you people but it just kind of like muddies into that whole thing it's just like no but that's good yeah I mean I guess you call people out but I don't now Facebook is a dirty dog definitely the only in a small community and I'm guilty I mean we're all guilty just recently my bike got stolen which was insane I'm like I live in downtown Portland so I'm like homeless person stole my bike and this last couple weeks because of the homeless situation with Facebook I've been like really thinking about it and as much as it sucks and I was mad and angry and all these different things like it was hope I

[00:35:39] Jacob: Hope that someone who took my bike with someone who needed a bike you know I mean it's like I hope the person that took it and I'm just guessing that there was probably a homeless person like that's like their needs of transportation and like they have nowhere to go some kind of like looking forward into the future I guess I'm like man like when I have kids like I

[00:37:01] Megan: Don't know like do I want to I a bunch of segregation in our future but it's it, it sparks me it's so interesting to me and I think like people like Lisa and the Mushians are like incredible and wonderful and amazing for what they do for like pushing just finding new ways to from like pushing like just just finding new ways to teach different types of people because we're all-all so different totally it's funny because my kids like I'm I was like never like just gonna go to public school and now like they're gonna go to school like a hundred percent no they're going to private school no you probably want to homeschool at this point that's true I want to I do have you seen the movie captain fantastic no we'll talk about that like Marvel or something no it's not

[00:37:53] Jacob: How Megan sorry just listeners so you know Megan has not seen the Marvel movies okay I won't tell him I've seen Star Wars that part out so you're not so I'm

[00:38:04] Megan: I'm anyway okay anyway I'm gonna see for I did yeah see that's a good thing to see because she looks too long at that guy he's not bad yeah I'm right take the we's like he's not problem yeah that's not even that good um so anyway let's just keep expanding on it on the house of different I'll know and I keep going and I keep going and tell me if슷ly one of my absolute favorite is that the schools integrated so there is no like pull I mean you we obviously like to have like one sessions if needed but for the most part it's integrated at public schools you have sped which is special education since completed and they're pretty much never mixed which means like a thing to think um so when I was no like how do I talk to them how do I interact how do I communicate I'm like helping like this kid is different than your buddy but like it was no difference though it's the crazy part like yeah not getting stuck on the fact that they're different they're different than you that's all I don't know I get why we do it because of like education purposes and

[00:40:07] Megan: What not academically but so that part was really cool to me because I had never experienced that even as when I was a kid so

[00:40:15] Jacob: When I first was like going into speech therapy that was one of the things I was nervous about was like you know how to interact with people who are different for anything like that and just so kids just be kids and like just beas and not have those barriers was really cool same� with like different grade groups so like I mean you have kindergarteners through seventh grade if you really think about that's like a huge age gap and they're all just playing just playing just playing like the if graders and ask about the little ones teaching them how to play teaching them how to do, how to do hopscotch teaching them howלים a tree like and that was the other thing too is in kids could be kids like when you go to public school like I'm in grad school now and one of the, biggest thing is, I can't touch kids like you cannot touch the kid came and poke them like can't hug them you can high five of them but you can't you can't touch them I feel like it we're ignoring I think we because their mom's in a come in there with a finger totally no though it's

[00:41:33] Megan: So hard it's hard because with the parents are paying for their kids to be there so, private schools have a little bit more the parents are paying you to like the adult in that time so since you're being paid you can like actually hug a kid or if a kid just like if a little just needs held for a second because they just fall and scrape their knees like give them a big hug and hold them for just a second like it's fine sometimes a little kid need that so when you're at a private school like Family House Academy you're able to do those things and be humans right and so that part was really cool too because I felt like I it actually like get relationships with kids and then they started opening up and then they would start talking and then crazy they started because their problems weren't at the forefront of their mind anymore they're not stuck in flight and flight and the like comfortable man you have all these kids with like behavioral issues schools but part of it's because you put so many barriers on them and then you just send them to like the principal's office or you send them to detention now you get out of school

[00:42:39] Megan: Suspension now you're just not a little and they throw out and then the kids just throwing chairs and doing whatever and it's just like this crazy loop I am just I can't stop I'm I'm like you can't touch the kid anymore you can. No,, I mean I'd be, I'd be willing to say that a hug probably saved my entire brain or not life, but like when I was young like there the connection from a lot of things going on a traumatic childhood like teachers I knew things that were going on in depth with my family because she like knew my family through schooling and I mean I'm sure she probably hugged me more times than I can remember and she probably like made me feel very welcome in this world because of it. I mean I don't know I just I just imagine like these like teachers when they know that a kid needs a hug or he's got these things going on at home just a little arm around a hand on the shoulder some serotonin release. When another human touches you is something that is very important. I don't know that's really weird that what that's like a solid rule.

[00:43:53] Megan: Yeah, I mean it's crazy because my I got I remember a baby sitting license from like the American Red Cross and my teacher let me babysit her kid because she knew I was so imagine if someone did that now the teacher would get fired like there's no way you can't like you're letting a kid into your house you can't be with them outside of like. . Dude what's the end goal if we keep adding these like weird laws and these weird like that you can't do this and you can't do this and you can't do this it's like. And our teachers doing it yeah like of course like I'm sure you'll see teachers hugging kids and the problem is you're going to hug the wrong one. So they're teaching I my first quarter into grad school so no of course no I know legally and all that but that's one of the things they're like drilling into our heads do not touch a kid. I just think that it kind of makes us all dance around in fear and I don't think that's the way to raise kids. And then you have these kids who are acting out and just needing like especially if they're

[00:44:53] Megan: Not getting that at home imagine they're not�eering we're getting the high I mean you can high five a kid but and then they come to school and like you're the biggest example I can think of is like I get that's a weird situation but can't just be like let it pop up on a per base level. Like yeah man that's like you try to solve the four happens like that's thing to a kid. In fifth grade I it was silent reading and I see it and I farted and it was a lot of I was so devastated like I could if I if I poop my pants at that time I probably would have been ruined and then I can't even get a hug from a teacher after I pooped my pants now.

[00:45:36] Jacob: Yeah, it's a rough world we're out here living in. Yeah, I did that too. Oh my gosh. So embarrassed and I just like puked everywhere. Like in the middle of the circle. Oh yeah. You're more embarrassed of like. But she physically picked me up and took me to the bathroom and like kept telling me how it's okay and like changed me

[00:46:11] Megan: I'm like thank you. Like don't make me sit in my puke the whole day. Yeah, well because she and that's the thing is she understands like, okay, this just happened.

[00:46:19] Jacob: Immediately she's probably like this is terrible. This is gross. This sucks. But what instead she's like motherly if this girl was just. Just hide the fact that her tummy hurt because there's she's devastated by what just happened for sure.

[00:46:32] Megan: So this teacher knew what was going on.

[00:46:34] Jacob: What's best for this kid right now.

[00:46:36] Megan: You know, it makes me bummed out and one of my mom happy. This was my mom that was like me.

[00:46:47] Jacob: This is Megan's room now.

[00:46:55] Megan: So Family House is incredible. We could definitely go on about Family House forever But I do want to make sure that we get to Ghana which is kind of extension of Family House I say that's Family House the wonderful Lisa Mesh and led you to Tell me about Ghana Africa Megan. Oh my goodness. So that's another part of Family House They're the all about culture and being globally minded Which is amazing

[00:47:46] Jacob: A lot of math most kids are not going to be able to point out the different like countries and continents and all that you think it's because they're like listen You're the lowest you like you this income and in prosperity Goes like you guys are kind of low over here. So like let's just not teach them about it until ing till like you don't you don't want them to be like cool I'm seven and I'm in the poorest country ever or whatever it is you know, yeah No, I don't I don't know the reasoning behind it because the cool part is when we're teaching it the kids loved it

[00:48:14] Megan: And It's crazy. It's like why aren't we teaching them about the world the world Like we're they're about to go face it in like 10 years and we're teaching them about it right so what we did at Family House is like

[00:48:25] Jacob: Each month we would do a different I can't remember basically but it'd be like okay So this month we're doing Africa and we'd have different like rotations where it's like we're gonna teach you about the music about the people about like You, you know, like the types of jobs they have doing what people look like over there Like do they dress the same do they not so very globally-minded kids were learning so many different things

[00:48:53] Megan: Lisa's daughter went to you know, city of

[00:48:57] Jacob: Oh It's a main school to. Too is the sad part. I should totally know this is it. What's the big one? It's like red and you know, I think It U. S. Are you see a door stop oh They're gonna make fun of me for this later, but she went to a big college and she has her she's a doctor her doctorate in Occupational therapy and so she had the connection her class

[00:49:22] Megan: College level went to Ghana, Africa and They got to spend like a month or something like in a school with children with disabilities and

[00:49:33] Jacob: Most in their culture and like their community

[00:49:35] Megan: So through that Lisa decided that she was going to also do that and she wanted to take a group of people over and I vividly remember I was standing in the school and she was like, hey, I

[00:50:05] Jacob: Did it happen? We did like car washes donations like we did a go fund me like talking about it because what was cool We which we, by the way, we raised money enough money to get over there So I mean I paid for like some things but not like my air fair and like where we stayed was not very expensive so

[00:50:23] Megan: Through the donations and Car washes and all that we were able to go So I get over to Ghana and we stayed at I cannot do not quote me When I was over there either but it's a school for children with disabilities

[00:50:38] Jacob: You have to try it? Which is like I want to say it was like

[00:50:53] Megan: 18 hours flight

[00:50:57] Jacob: Yeah, we did a direct flight from Portland to Amsterdam

[00:51:02] Megan: And then we had like a huge layover in Amsterdam and went from Amsterdam to Ghana which was like another eight or nine hours So it was like a really long, I was like a really long, but once we got there we stayed at the at the school Um, pass through was the guy is the guy who like is the director who owns it and we get there he picks us up he brings us to the school shows us where we're staying We had it was crazy watching how the students live like no running bathroom no running water for the students

[00:51:48] Jacob: Basically

[00:51:55] Megan: But we get there and Oh, it was just so crazy. It was so crazy to see We get there and part of what we were doing over there was we were going to teach because obviously that's what that's what Lisa does And I was going to work with his pastor Joe's wife was a physical therapist or she is as a physical therapist And you kind of see like the like maybe speech therapy or maybe physical therapy maybe I don't know I was still kind

[00:52:44] Jacob: Yeah, so that's their seat No paper no pencils no they have a whiteboard in there and they'd give me maybe a white or dry erase marker, but maybe not might not have that

[00:52:58] Megan: How do you teach like Like how it's like how like how so we gotta sit on a few like of the teachers classrooms and take notes and see like what they do And how they do in a lot of it's me A lot of it's through dance a lot of it's through songs a lot of it was through you repetition and chanting and every now and then they would have I Like a dry erase marker so you could like physically show them and But it was just such a crazy experience the kids wore the same clothes every day They would wake up in the morning and have breakfast together Which the students made their own meals pretty much they had one chef, but everything was a fire So they all sleep there too. Yes, so in Africa kids with disabilities are kind of like Just put away like they so over in Ghana they aren't

[00:53:54] Jacob: Like really a part of society as much Parents just kind of drop them off there and then That's it like So classes they kind of learn basically they're gonna learn like the basics to be able to be a part of society So they're learning some of the basic like how to do addition and how to do subtraction and how to read and write a little bit But they're also going to teach students how to like a trade is what they called it. So in Africa they. They would teach like Maybe how did you beadwork?, so then I can make jewelry and sell jewelry or they're going to teach them how to

[00:54:28] Megan: To some of

[00:54:33] Jacob: It was insane So then they're teaching them how to use their toes to like make jewelry or how to catch fish or how to do things different Your feet but like that's I mean hey, I can't get to be with my toes like Watching it. I was like all these kid have just so much like great and just Watching them every, every day they wake up Help with their food go to class learn a few things learn a trade Go have lunch have like free time outside, which was like a Soccer field that was made like dirt with no net. It just had like the post to their shoes. No

[00:55:12] Megan: I mean kind of but not really

[00:55:15] Jacob: Yeah Were they? What was your like grateful? For this level like were they happy to learn like would they what was so great full and so just like Excited about like life and no complaining like no complaining No, come like they were happy to do their laundry and they would take care of each other So like some of the kiddos who are in wheel chairs who the who can push themselves like the other students would like Okay, like time for lunch and the kids would just like push, one another and go to lunch and eat You know You know

[00:55:48] Megan: I mean

[00:56:00] Jacob: So that

[00:56:02] Megan: I mean

[00:56:04] Jacob: I mean

[00:56:06] Megan: I mean

[00:56:08] Jacob: I mean

[00:56:40] Megan: Of the scrub brush every 17 days.

[00:56:42] Jacob: Yeah, or like I'm one of those everyday showers and I like my coffee in the morning and I had to learn not to shower every day and I had to learn the food was really hard,

[00:56:59] Megan: Because everything was cooked over for a fire, so it kind of had a charcoal-y burnt taste. And they ate a lot of, if they gave you fish,

[00:57:09] Jacob: So it had the eyeballs in the head. That's the best part. Oh, it was real rough I at all? Like any sort of, like, sort of, like, is so different from life that, like,

[00:57:42] Megan: I feel uncomfortable being so out of this.

[00:57:44] Jacob: Do you remember any of those? I never had a panic attack and I never cried.

[00:57:47] Megan: I was never, like, oh, I need out. Like, I need to go home. Don't take this the meanest way, but, like, I'm surprised you didn't. No. No. It's different. I'm sorry if that was rude action. No, no, no, no. I didn't take it as rude.

[00:58:00] Jacob: Because I think because you, I mean,

[00:58:02] Megan: I didn't have Wi-Fi.

[00:58:03] Jacob: I didn't have my phone.

[00:58:04] Megan: I didn't have a computer.

[00:58:05] Jacob: I didn't have my car. I didn't have.

[00:58:07] Megan: I mean, I had money, but I didn't, I mean, I didn't have money because it wasn't in. I forget what it's called, but whatever I forgot sitting and then at your desk sitting, like, you were doing physical activity all� all day long. Like your, yeah, your life is just. Your life is just the work. No. And

[00:59:14] Jacob: It's like, you know, it's all taken from you and you're in this, but you, you're surrounded by these kids who are just so amazed by everything.

[00:59:30] Megan: And so that was

[00:59:35] Jacob: Taken from you and you're in this

[00:59:40] Megan: Part.

[00:59:48] Jacob: And then the other part,

[00:59:50] Megan: I don't know,

[00:59:51] Jacob: I don't know,

[00:59:52] Megan: I don't know, I.

[00:59:54] Jacob: I don't know. I,

[00:59:56] Megan: I don't know. I know that I've been down to a couple of places where it's, it'll be like six people

[01:00:17] Jacob: People on a moped sort of thing. Was it like that? Yeah. And like their quote on quote freeways, like selling things on the freeway, like carrying on top of their heads, selling you jewelry and selling you bowls and selling you different things. So it's just very different, butertime, it was still a city. Once you got out of like a, a, the roads, there was no stop lights, there's no stop signs. There's no speed limit. There's no, I don't even remember if there was a yellow line is just go, just go. You know what's crazy about that is the how dare you governmentותר of us, how did the line on the ground for us? We don't know where exactly to stop like all these little things. Yeah. Not that everybody's like that, but it is, but it is so like different cultures and you seeing them firsthand. It's so crazy. And it's such a reminder of, you know, like, they're happy. They're a lot of different kind of happy. The way that we live over here. Different kind of happy. Different kind of happy. Different kind of happy. I think a lot of times we're definitely afraid of losing what we have, but it's kind of like, you know, sometimes I think from my experience,

[01:01:45] Jacob: Losing what you have is sometimes a good thing. For sure. Yeah. I think I do, I'm just, I don't know, I think that a lot of our mindset over here in the Western world and in cities like ours is going to have have to kind of start, we're like, a little bit start thinking, a little more like people and God. Oh, for sure, because I think when I was there, I've never journaled so much. Much.

[01:02:07] Megan: Which I don't do here.

[01:02:09] Jacob: What do you remember what you wrote about? Well, I got a journal I wanted to write about,

[01:02:13] Megan: Which I still have, I should pull I'm distracted by me here, so I just don't I'm a TV addict, so I have to like turn that thing off.

[01:03:33] Jacob: I'm like, totally obsessed podcast. I'm always pushing podcasts on people like now I have one, so I'm done when pushing on people, but it's the long form conversations You realize that you're like, Oh yeah, nobody talks like this anymore.

[01:03:44] Megan: Nobody lets each other talk.

[01:03:46] Jacob: Nobody has opinions. Whenever we hear two people having conversation, it's either like a fake, like a show or like some something

[01:03:53] Megan: Made up or it's a debate. It seems like. And it's like, what about just two people who maybe they're different, maybe they're friends, whatever, just having conversation about that everybody.

[01:04:04] Jacob: Yeah, and I think P. P. off in the beginning because they're like, podcast like that just. I'm like, sounds like a lot of work and I have to find a time to do it. I like when I first moved to, Portland, I had to commute, which is one way was. was like 45 minutes with the traffic and then the other way

[01:04:24] Megan: Was like two hours with traffic.

[01:04:26] Jacob: And so I was like,

[01:04:27] Megan: I got very

[01:04:35] Jacob: Tired of, you know,, I think I told you I'm gonna do no YouTube.

[01:04:51] Megan: I'm gonna quit YouTube.

[01:04:52] Jacob: Okay, yeah, when you said that, I was like, no YouTube. So that's crazy for me. I listen to so much YouTube. I'm not so much of a watcher as I am. Yeah, I was thinking more like the podcast aspect.

[01:05:18] Megan: And my like YouTube algorithm fucking bots have me so figured out that like my within the first 10 suggestions on my- YouTube channel is going to be something that I'm like, oh that. Listen, I want to check that out. It's very, it kind of sends my attention novelty every morning. And I just kind of want to take all the crap that I've been learning and finish learning it for a month and not have you too.

[01:05:44] Jacob: How are you going to continue learning it?

[01:06:17] Megan: It's not

[01:06:28] Jacob: Just like whatever YouTube's algorithm feeds me. Yeah. So it's I. That was such a question I asked you too. I'm like, oh you don't have YouTube. How are you going to learn a book? Well, I mean, dude, dude, I used to be very much addicted to social media and that's something I'm getting rid of that again too.

[01:06:45] Megan: And it's word that doesn't associate with me. I hate that word, but after that we're addicted to.

[01:06:55] Jacob: No, dude, my dad used to smoke meth. And so when I think of addiction I'm like, me saying addiction next to social media is the dorkiest thing I've ever said today. So everyone, everyone's addicted to social media. I mean, I'm addicted to social media.. We're all very addicted to many things.

[01:07:09] Megan: Of you just learn how our brains work. I guess. It's how it is. But as you get older, you start to have experiences. That like, you know, change your, you start to go to places like Ghana and see the world from different eyes, from different views, from different heights, from different temperatures, everything.

[01:07:26] Jacob: Just experiencing the world through different lenses. It's important. I'm. Glad that we've stumbled into the, the learning world of podcasts.

[01:07:35] Megan: Yes. So, Ghana was amazing. One of the many. Many things that you did with Family House.

[01:07:42] Jacob: You have obviously continued your career, your, your. Learning. And you're going back to school now, right? I am. I'm back in graduate school, which I said I would never do. I was always like, I'm never going to go back to school. Why'd you say that?

[01:07:56] Megan: I was so done with school. And when I graduated in 2015,

[01:08:00] Jacob: I had done it for five years. I switched my degree. Or yeah, I switched my degree twice.

[01:08:05] Megan: I was just done. I was like, oh, God, like it's just, it's a lot of money. It's a lot of effort. It's a lot of time. And then at the time, I was like finally.

[01:08:13] Jacob: Making money. And able to travel a little bit more with my friends and do things like music festivals and, you know,

[01:08:20] Megan: Small things like beach trips and all these different things with you guys. And then I moved in with you and Shay. And I just was like, I love being like an adult.

[01:08:29] Jacob: Like it's just so nice to not. Things. Yeah. Like I just, going to school was going to like alter

[01:08:36] Megan: Kind of being an adult. So in my head I was like, and I'm done. I don't want to go back. And then in my head, I was thinking like I'll get this great job.

[01:08:44] Jacob: You know how you always think you can get this great job speck. And you're just going to keep like getting promote.슷 promote it promote it. And they'll have all the money in the world. And life is figured out. And never have to have that worry. It'll be happy. You know, nothing will go wrong with that job.

[01:08:57] Megan: But whating. like Family House was so for you like it was such an intense great experience. And I think it taught you like so much at that time. But I think even like a couple years after. After Family House, you're now like, yeah, these are things that I super valued about that place. Like these are things that I do want around.

[01:09:32] Jacob: Yeah. What I didn't realize what was happening being younger.

[01:09:36] Megan: I did not realize I had a mentor.

[01:09:39] Jacob: Like I had no idea.

[01:09:41] Megan: Like Lisa was my boss.

[01:09:44] Jacob: She was my friend. Like I trusted her. Obviously, like she's like shaping me into an adult. Like she's giving me all these opportunities like out of my comfort zone teaching me doing all these amazing things.

[01:09:58] Megan: And then there was times I fought it.

[01:10:00] Jacob: Don't get me wrong.

[01:10:01] Megan: We had conversations.

[01:10:02] Jacob: We had, you know, lots of other things happening. Happening. So that which hence I'd come home like crying. Some nights. So this is so. But I had no idea.

[01:10:12] Megan: And I was like, so.

[01:10:13] Jacob: I was like, you know, you know, you know, you, you, you,

[01:11:13] Megan: It's a great hospital to work for.

[01:11:16] Jacob: Provide free benefits.

[01:11:18] Megan: All of it.

[01:11:21] Jacob: It's just not.

[01:11:22] Megan: For me, though.

[01:11:23] Jacob: I don't really enjoy working with adults. Which it's so acceptable to like get to pick, you know, actually,

[01:11:29] Megan: The best thing super competitive in my life. But I just I don't want to compete.

[01:11:37] Jacob: Like I just, I don't want to. I just noticed all my coworkers were always just constantly . Who's going to get promoted into the supervisor?

[01:12:00] Megan: What's going to happen next year? I'm just. And it was a hundred percent working at Family House.

[01:12:16] Jacob: Like I remember? As many hard moments as I come home most nights. Like, wow, like I had a really good kid today.

[01:12:23] Megan: Like, wow, that kid made good progress today.

[01:12:26] Jacob: I made a difference. I made a difference. Like that kid's comfortable. You know, or I'd have like a kid texting me being like, I need help. And I'd be like this kid feels comfortable coming to me

[01:12:35] Megan: And asking me for help. Like in their personal life, like it was just such a

[01:12:40] Jacob: Rewarding job. So then I kept, but I will say I

[01:12:45] Megan: Did not like teaching.

[01:12:47] Jacob: I did not like. Like lesson planning.

[01:12:49] Megan: I did not like that. I'm really glad that Lisa like pushed me to do it. So you can really know. Yeah. Because I remember when she told me I was going to do like

[01:13:01] Jacob: A lead teaching forלים. I think it was like computers. I like looked it. And I was like, huh, no, like no, I'm not.

[01:13:08] Megan: Because you really, so you pis

[01:13:12] Jacob: Oh, I was like first month. I think was when I came home crying the most because I was like, oh,

[01:13:17] Megan: Classroom management. I mean, that itself is like a whole nother level. That's a lot of responsibility alone, but it's also a lot of pre planning.

[01:13:58] Jacob: What's is your plan B? It seems just right for you. It seems like you're like, yeah, like, of course, I didn't want to go back to school. Like this wasn't the right, of course, I would have loved to have life. Just everything's planned out now, and it's great, but the way the way that life actually works is you've got to just

[01:15:19] Megan: And who goes back to school at 27. , like our society that you should be in your career by then. So like, I need to go back to school. I'm going to have to do an internship for a year and that's going to be rough but I also have like great friends and family who

[01:15:59] Jacob: Support me. So I mean, the small obstacles of now really, really add up to a much better life. I mean, this, this, maybe it's not the most ideal thing to live with your mom for longer again, but in the long scheme of things, like you're going to be a lot happier and the rest of your life working a job that you

[01:16:17] Megan: Would do, then you know, I didn't want to have, that couple years of uncomfort moving back in with my mom or taking these loans out or whatever I got to do. So then you just live a whole life of uncomfortable. I think choosing your, your uncomfortable choosing your pain, choosing

[01:16:30] Jacob: Your like choosing your struggle right now is

[01:16:33] Megan: A great thing to do. because it's like, I think everyone just gets so comfortable with their everyday life

[01:16:41] Jacob: And they don't realize how miserable they are. Right. And it's just like, why aren't we, why is it like, go back to school or change their career like midlife like, okay, maybe I'm 15. I, I'm going to suddenly decide that I want to be a doctor. Why shouldn't I be able to go be a doctor? Well, I think that what we're discovering more and more and especially even just the few guests that I've had, there's a lot of people who are like, yeah, I was doing that. And then it's like, no, I didn't want to do that anymore. So I quit it all. And now I'm doing this. Cool. Right. It's great. I mean, I think making it okay. And then, you know, helping each other out through conversation, of course,年 with the struggles that are inevitably going to come with these things and letting everybody know thatз that like, hey, like, like, hey, like, if you're miserable right now, like, like you don't have to just suffer for the rest of the rest of your life, like you can

[01:17:30] Megan: Just

[01:17:34] Jacob: Do whatever you want to do.

[01:17:36] Megan: I mean, I mean, if I worked there much longer, I would have taken my own life.

[01:17:39] Jacob: I mean, that's how much miserable I was.

[01:17:41] Megan: And, obviously.,.

[01:17:43] Jacob: I'm a very intricate person. I have many more reasons besides just not being fulfilled there. But like, thinking that we need to suffer like, okay, this is my life. I did the thing, followed the rules and this is my life now. What I mean, what I mean, what the truth is you can, you can take direction, you can be like, you know, I want to experience this thing now or this isn't exactly what I thought it was. You know, don't try to get back what you had before, I mean, Itarded. You know, what did I like about the job I had before? And now, with a couple years under your belt and more grown maturity, you're able to retrospectively look back and say these things were very valuable to me. As far as my life goes this is what I want to have more of in my life And then you pursue that in your school, so yeah, so I guess just I want to I, do I want to give a lot up do I want to you know like but just know the money is not going to make you happy every single day Like if you hate your job, but you're making really good money

[01:19:11] Megan: Money is not the only currency And I think our society gets so stuck on that and that's what I mean

[01:19:48] Jacob: Literally just suffering, that's you. You know that's the ultimate goal of humanity once you're like doing worlds get away from suffering We want to make sure that everything is easy and in more comfortable But Again, it, it's just a very different world and to have a To have a good happy life with a smile on your face is just not always get as much money as you can Sometimes it's like I'm like I just want to get as much money today so I can have more money as much as I can It just feels so good like I'm not going to have to be a liar

[01:20:17] Jacob: Yeah, I don't even have a chance to get a chance to say that You know you're not gonna get enough money to love it I'm just, I'm just here for it What is it? It's just I'm so cold I'm gonna wash my You're like oh my gosh I'm trying to throw a towel. You're gonna go far, right? I'm not going to do it I'm gonna go far I'm not going to waste any, no I'm going to take some time And I'm just gonna take a break Just to get to you I'm not gonna make a that I'm gonna butt it down I'll still make money I'm just gonna, I'm gonna take a break I'm not making $%±$% .

[01:21:08] Megan: Das war mit! Das war of breakfast and a can for dinner and a can for dinner and right there's three. Just differences in people you always want like a drink when you're eating like

[01:21:48] Jacob: Carbonated drink definitely a carbonated I like carbonated drinks but Jake's really weird he can eat an entire meal and not have anything to see I don't think that's weird like I didn't realize that it. was that other people always had a drink like I guess yeah you go to a drink. What drink do you get your drink first yeah and then I probably wouldn't like overeat ever. I don't know overeating is such a mental thing like an actual like oh my stomach's full because I'll be like my stomach stomach's so full it hurts ten more handfuls of chips though still gonna eat that dessert stheke and shaley got Jake and I in a dessert I was I was a person ever it it's horrible's horrible she's not that cool you know I used to just be a salty guy just like chips man and popcorn and stuff like try this chocolate okay and then before bed I'll literally be like tired like okay let's go to bed but I'll be like should I have like a piece of chocolate for I go sure what is that doesn't affect my life in a great way she and she got me into like deep like I actually

[01:23:21] Jacob: Bought a pint of the Ben and Jerry's the brownie batter core she always buys bought that when I live with you guys now I'm into it and I hate it was so good okay are you gonna are you gonna throw it away so you've done hole 30 I've talked about whole time here a couple times that

[01:23:39] Megan: You've done it to seek and we're gonna do Whole30 we're gonna do January 6th is before what's your opinion on Whole30 like you've also done a bunch of like um it's a change of eating habits Whole30 is just so great actually what's funny I remember jaren and shaley and I we were coming. back from Disneyland I had just done like a New York trip and I had been talking about doing Whole30 for a while probably like a year actually so I there's never a good time to do it you're really like there's always like with our lifestyles there's always a birthday coming up or there's always a good plan or whatever and for some reason we don't want to eat good food and drink and and all the good that come with that birthday no on the airplane and I had bought the book and so I committed to California on the way back I read the book because I was gonna do Whole30 it was always gonna buy anything of this tree you move out of your house and suddenly you don't have allergies anymore but you never need you you eat the same food every single day no idea the effects of if you fillic

[01:25:58] Jacob: Of

[01:26:03] Megan: Crap I know before Whole30 like shaley was dealing with a bunch of stomach stuff I was gonna have to

[01:26:12] Jacob: To my mixed up now I can't remember but something was gonna have to get removed I would like get these like upper stomach pains that were so intense that they were similar like heart attacks and so whenever it fell I also working on trying to figure out like what the heck and she kept seeing

[01:27:04] Megan: Change your diet and I was like I don't eat because I don't eat bad I don't go to McDonald's every day fast food every My fast food is like a sandwich or I don't eat french fries every day and stuff but I was drinking like Diet Coke every day and I just I don't I went there and she's talking about my like what are the long-term effects of parlor set because you have me taking this every day and I'm at the time I was like 24 25 she's like we don't know it's kind of a newer drug like medication see that's the story of everything we're taking and then she's like and it's typically for older people which no offense but older people aren't gonna be living another like 50 years older you're gonna die very soon I was like well that's not

[01:27:56] Jacob: That's scary like so if you don't

[01:28:04] Megan: Thought like that too and they on the plane was like amazed by it actually went number I went and ordered I got an order that was so good because that helped me because I'm like cool like another diet but like actually like seeing the book and making myself learn a different one yeah and it's so and you've talked about it but it's but it's not a-a but it's not a diet you take out all the bad foods that we don't need as humans and you can get out for 30 days and then you slowly reduce each

[01:28:48] Jacob: Different type of food so you might reintroduce dairy for like a week and then take it back out like see how you feel with dairy then like take that back out pulling I don't know carbs and by it's like does your knee pain hurt again are your toes

[01:29:03] Megan: Are you

[01:29:10] Jacob: Are you

[01:29:14] Megan: Crazy because you notice

[01:29:19] Jacob: I am all for I'm excited to

[01:29:22] Megan: I feel

[01:29:27] Jacob: Well, so inflammation I think I've described this to you in this way before too. A way that I read it in this book I think the book was Emily Fletcher Ziva Meditation or the Z-Technique or something. I don't know the worth looking into, Emily Fletcher. It's a good meditation technique. But she described like whatever it is like when we're eating and we're processing it and we're having like a reaction to it.

[01:29:53] Megan: Our bodies, bids and things. So I think Ziva is., it just grows as you're, as you're running from a lion

[01:29:59] Jacob: Lion. Like no, because your body is prioritizing, like no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Send it to that. So like we're so used to being inflamed all the time or inflammation. The inflammation or seven. Now your, whatever the equivalent of your body, that your body should have been doing to heal yourself and process these things properly. Your fingernails growing in this situation.

[01:30:29] Megan: Maybe your fingernails haven't been growing. So we get older and we start to have these different different pains and these things. Like I, I don't know. I don't want to paint every single problem on.

[01:30:39] Jacob: But me.

[01:31:20] Megan: You. I think we were in Seattle, Anthony's house and we all had ketchup for the first time, but that wasn't Whole30 approved ketchup. And we were like, this is disgusting. It was so sugar. It was like a lot of get like that. So like so you don't eat, you can eat fruit on Whole30. It's pretty much like a. Hunter gatherer diet. You can eat fruit. Fruit, but you don't eat like you want to get rid of your sugar cravings. Right. So you're not eating like any other stuff and you realize after a couple of weeks that fruit is so flavorful and delicious. I like was not a fruit person and I didn't,

[01:31:52] Jacob: I didn't like orange juice.

[01:31:53] Megan: I didn't like any of fruit and I on Whole30, which I know is me trying to get into sugar. So I tried to like limit it, but like I actually enjoyed fruit. Like it was one of those things where like having fruit was actually like a treat. Whereas like, like right now if you gave me fruit, I'd be like, I know. Thanks. That's gross. I know.

[01:32:13] Jacob: I don't want that.

[01:32:15] Megan: I don't want that.

[01:32:16] Jacob: I want either.

[01:32:17] Megan: I don't want me.

[01:32:18] Jacob: I don't want that. It's not even like how you feel after you have your first cup of coffee. You know, it's even more, it's not, there's not, it's not energized. It's a clarity.

[01:32:58] Megan: I mean, that's I guess that's the simplest way to put it. It's, you do get this new clarity and I think a lot of it, obviously the food we eat, it's not as much directly as the food. It's what each of our individual bodies do to process these foods or what they do to process these certain things that take longer than, other parts of the food. A lot of it's not a proper nutrients from the

[01:33:19] Jacob: Food that we. Eating them as you've been sitting there just can't in there and just not know it know and then your body. The one body. Dude. One. A couple of weeks.س a couple of weeks ago. I! actually shamefully just a whole bag of spice.

[01:34:02] Megan: I did.

[01:34:03] Jacob: I did. I. I did. That's like my favorite. But it's. I woke up in the. It wasn't. It wasn't. It wasn't. It wasn't. It was a. I genuinely think that I'm going to be doing this much longer. Like it was like a. Dude, your bum hurts. Your bum is feeling bad. I would do things like that. But cool. I would do

[01:34:44] Megan: Things like that. But cool. I know. the.

[01:34:53] Jacob: I know. I didn't need to put as much lotion on. I could walk outside and inside. I wouldn a. I wouldn't be just. Just dripping with snot. My nose in the morning wouldn't be as swollen. Sometimes my dry skin would be cracked in the morning. I wouldn't have that. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not.

[01:35:43] Megan: I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm, I'm not going to let. I'm not going to let these. I'm not I'm not going to let these people down or myself. I'm going to continue every day and send them the things I'm doing. I'm doing. It helped me accountable. If you have a group of friends that are going to do it. I highly recommend doing a group chat or something.

[01:36:32] Jacob: And then to start. So simple. I remember I text the group chat the day before we started. I remember I text the text the group chat the you. I remember I text the day before we started.

[01:36:41] Megan: I thought

[01:36:44] Jacob: The so.. and will is..... I.. and광

[01:38:14] Megan: And I still don, t put you on anything., well so I just did another Whole30 last month, just by myself and it seemed like even that like a like it, it kind of does start to burn off a little more juice from these things that you're like super to do even just the second Whole30 was enough for me to like, okay, I think I did kind of chip away my, right after our first day, I'm just like, I'm just like, what did I learn about my body from this from this, it's only food or this, you know, we use the word diet, but diet is everybody is on a diet. Everybody has a diet of food. The. The word diet is like the, we like very confused about what it means I think as a culture. It doesn't mean that you're, if you're not on. What we have is if you're not on a diet, you're just a reckless garbage disposal. And if you are on a diet, you are sad because you can't eat the reckless garbage

[01:39:38] Jacob: Disposal things.

[01:39:43] Megan: And if you are on a, if you're on a diet, you're on a diet, you're on a diet, you're on a diet, OR you've gained a pound. And it's crushing. It's just like, well, I'm going to go eat a cart and I'm ice cream- now because screw

[01:41:20] Jacob: This. I don't think that it's like, I don't think it's valuable information if you think about

[01:41:24] Megan: It. I think maybe on day one versus day three, oi but like because even if you did lose weight. Like what and we did the Whole30 and I promised Jake I wouldn't wait myself and I did not cool part of hold 30 to take everything out of your house that you either going to eat

[01:41:43] Jacob: Or do.

[01:41:44] Megan: So if it is not the Whole30 approved, take it out of the house.

[01:41:46] Jacob: I think you guys took it to best shaley's house. I think like coffee creamer just want to remember my coffee. Like if it's in the house and that's what you're craving, you're eventually going to give it a 30 days.

[01:42:13] Megan: Your brain will find a way You're actually eating like it 100% because we don't read our labels. We don't actually know what's going to if you

[01:43:14] Jacob: Yeah, I took that out of my house. I promised After the 30 days I of course, brought my scale back because I was like, oh, it's been 30 days. I So good I need to nouve. And I remember being so upset that I only lost. I think it was nine pounds. And then I That's another thing you're not supposed to count calories like you're supposed to just live your life If I would have from then to now continued hole 30 Like how much further down I would be like nine pounds a month for nine pounds a month for a year Like oh man, and then I think I think I'm gonna because it's like why were you so down on yourself for losing nine Like that's a lot of weight. I know we do we do yourself and it's a dang thing Just think about, think about all the many little battles that you won in your head over those 30 days

[01:44:12] Megan: And then you're like fuck those that anything The thing that Whole30 changes for a lot of people I feel like it kind of pushed you on something

[01:44:30] Jacob: Like I just don't like the scale. I think the scale makes no sense. Like why do we need that information? What knowing how I mean pounds you way is a important thing to you. Why to me If you don't have any other goal like back and we didn't have all this other information About the human body all these'll these things. It's like okay We do have this weight thing that we discovered however many years ago and that seems to be pretty good indicator

[01:44:55] Megan: Like if you're way-over this healthy Ah, you're healthy like it seems very old and primitive not even primitive It just seems like a very old-school way to get information and I think instead of how do I I. Lose weight or how do I get this number on the scale to go down and you treat, treat it as how Do I learn about food and fitness and my healthy lifestyle to where it can benefit me for the rest of my entire life because Is life really just gonna be trying new diets every couple months failing at them Hating yourself for six months trying another diet you try that one it worked a little bit Then you hate yourself for another six months. Like it seems like I just know like being in and out of gyms and in knowing a Lot of like different people have tried different diets. I just. Just see the same reoccurring thing We don't really learn about our eating habits. We don't learn about what is dexterless So you like to whatever you can put this way. Yeah, but learning about all these things learning how they affect us personally

[01:45:51] Jacob: Learning about our own body itself

[01:45:54] Megan: Getting rid of all the crap and then starting again like after you do your 30 days with Whole30 You just slowly introduce little things like one thing at a time. Oh, I had I

[01:46:16] Jacob: Boom I

[01:46:59] Megan: Keto diet right now and like I know. I think through Whole30 I learned that dairy is what makes me feel extremely inflamed. I think I, I might actually be lactose intolerant. I think a lot of people don't know that.

[01:47:12] Jacob: Yeah, I don't spew the lactose intolerant. I think a lot of people don't know that.

[01:47:15] Megan: I think a lot.

[01:47:16] Jacob: Yeah, I don't know, I, I don't know these things. Are they because we've had these weird chemicals prolongingly in our body for all these years? at some point our bodies stop putting that in there. some point our bodies stop putting that in there.

[01:47:24] Megan: I, I don't know, I don't know. The cheese because most is in pizzas it's just covered in cheese so much cheese so much cheese Dude our bodies internal like our bodies internal systems when we get all the amount of cheese that I've put inside my body at once Literally, why are you eating more mozzarella sticks and there's some people who can eat a lot of cheese and it doesn't even affect them It's just we're all different, but I think that once you start having

[01:48:21] Jacob: Awarenesses of like I ate not really feel good or I mean really you know we do correlate a thought of our food a lot of our food

[01:48:28] Megan: Like diet and what we eat and what we do with like our physical look like our physical look I'm gonna eat this so it's gonna give me a pound of fat and I'm not gonna wear this dress later Like we think of thoughts like that but it's like no you're gonna eat this and it's gonna make your brain' Your brain isn't gonnaing to feel as great as you want it to do. Tomorrow you have an interview that's important to you Tomorrow you have a date with your girlfriend and you want to show up as present as you can

[01:48:55] Jacob: If you have this beer and this pizza today, is it gonna make you kind of feel a little foggy tomorrow morning? I'm like yeah, I do want to live my life, but am I willing to borrow a little bit of happiness from tomorrow to eat this crappy food and sometimes the answer is no And I think it's good that the answer is thought I'm like I'm like I'm like cool I'm just not gonna eat that totally I don't throw a fit my own head. I'm not like oh, I don't get that my life sucks is like candy as much pasta as I want It's good. It's all good learning experiences, but it's all learning and learning yourself Which is just so hard to figure out yourself, but it's all you have to over the years figure, figure it out like learn what's good and what's not and what works for you and what doesn't Yeah, just try stuff the stuff and try stuff and like feel your body again not try to like how. How does this make you look or oh, I can fit into these bands which I you know those are great goals like you know enjoy these little girls enjoy the little

[01:49:49] Jacob: Wins that you have but I don't know I think just well yeah and then taking those like failed experiences

[01:49:57] Megan: I mean I've done so many diets, but like keto diet like if I tried that and doesn't work. Okay. What did work for me? , what didn't let's keep continuing with what worked right well yeah remember to set like the I've tried everything I listen to a lot of like, like, Tony Robbins yesterday morning was on of course and he was saying about the sentence like he'll online with people and they'll be like I've tried everything to lose weight and he's like oh everything Can you can you name all the diets and they're like well, okay, I've tried thousands and he's like like well thousands can you tell me a thousand of the diets you tried hundreds I've tried hundreds of different diets hundreds that's crazy can you name all 100 and then they're like and then they get to the point and it's like

[01:50:40] Jacob: I've tried the few things and they just don't work you know, but it's our mindset we don't do what you just said like take, but I would just like not I don't want to say star of myself but I would just not I would eat like a big breakfast

[01:50:50] Megan: Which and it's not because like I'm starving myself it's more because I just like I don't feel like I ever feel슷 hungry and then I'llותר eat a big breakfast and a big dinner and it's just not keeping my metabolism going when I was like, doing my best it's when, I'm eating small meals throughout the day and it's not like big ones and it's just like keeping like every two hours just eating but it's so hard for me to do that

[01:51:37] Jacob: Right yeah I mean in your lifestyle have to switch with the sometimes too right?

[01:51:46] Megan: Being able to eat every two hours isn't exactly so that's also a thing is like you know maybe you have your diet figured out in your life but then like in I started drinking it is because I was in LA I was like okay like I need to do something and so my parents are trying to help, and I went to LA weight loss is what it was called which is all about more like eating fight like more Fiber

[01:52:54] Jacob: And all these different things I weight.

[01:52:58] Megan: The reason I started diet coke is they said substitute because I was drinking regular coke at the time which is like 200 calories a can so like substitute for diet and I remember the first few times I drank diet coke it was so gross I hated it

[01:53:12] Jacob: But I wanted to lose weight

[01:53:42] Megan: Better but maybe I should probably I drank too much last month or whatever you got it you got to have little pushes and pulls throughout your life you're like nope but I'm going so it's good I feel like and you just progress and

[01:54:49] Jacob: Progress and because that's my right right now I'm trying to learn how to say no so it's really

[01:54:55] Megan: Which Lisa's been trying to teach me that since I was like 22 right she's c I'm not even kidding I had my kayak before it got stolen and then we're gonna go go kayaking but it ended up getting too late but yeah she's probably going to be like you're still working on

[01:55:43] Jacob: That no thing I have to work on too I mean like saying no it's a weird thing like standing up because a lot of times people are caught off guard when you say no it's like no I don't like no I'm choosing to not to not do that or

[01:55:59] Megan: I mean there's a million weird examples but like so is something having come up with the

[01:56:04] Jacob: Podcast for I want to here's the thing is I'm not

[01:56:12] Megan: It's obvious that like some random producer is not going to be on my podcast, because I'm still like this the different levels I'm not like that I'm just a regular dude

[01:56:23] Jacob: You know DJ like I've done things in the audio world � I do this like mental health thing but like I'm not like some somebody I people like people are like hey I think that I

[01:56:44] Megan: I haveข but I also I'm like

[01:56:49] Jacob: Just because you know somebody who has a podcast you're using my platform yeah saying no in that it's something that it's hard it's like to do but it's you have little is it so I learn little areas of my life so this one side like why am I saying no really follow it like right out these things like it's not just no but it's like I mental health like I'm checking out for me I'm making sure things are going the way that I want them to go I'm making sure that I'm in control here and not like my it's hard I burn this month so that's why I'm like this coming year I'm going to be like because it's things I want to do you know so Thanksgiving it's like we've had Thanksgiving Black Friday Christmas shopping Christmas

[01:57:45] Megan: I was doing finals I went to Arizona three days went to the Ariana Grande concert the Chainsmokers I went it was Easton's birthday like went to the gingerbread party went to the white elephant parties like I said I said yes to literally everything so like the end of November and December I like totally crashed and burned like划d and so I think I text you and I was like having a moment and I was just like I

[01:58:12] Jacob: Need to learn to say no to things this coming year like I just have to things I want to do it's a lot of things I want to say no to.

[01:58:21] Megan: Well that's the thing is it's always fun

[01:58:27] Jacob: I'm not going to be like I'm not going to be able to say yes to and have a cool life but sure like just finding all the fun stuff doesn't really leave you time to like build your life and heal and also, just recoup just like sometimes you could have so much fun that it's like I couldn't possibly have any more fun because the like I get better I'll get better I'll like sit like the end of the day and watch like endless amounts of TV but it's during the times I should be sleeping you know I mean like I'll come home and it's like 10 o'clock at night and I'll turn on it's almost a little exactly relaxing but also a little stress that I'm not sleeping yes I'm like I really want to watch this new episode of Grey's Anatomy but then it's like you should be sleeping right what I had to do for myself to I feel like I'm pretty good at it now but I know I've been taking care of

[01:59:22] Megan: My career , I'm not tired but at 12 30 I'm stopping what I'm doing I'm doing these things so for me I had to stop like researching stuff and like learning things and like doing things that were like pushing my brain to like stay awake and stuff and I had to start doing more mild stuff like for me I was like 12 30 or whatever it is go sit We're not the first year I lived with you. I would wake up in the morning and you'd be getting home from work

[01:59:51] Jacob: I'd get home. I'm still weird about sleep and I don't sleep a little differently than other people do but I like staying up every single night like working graveyard for your whole life. I don't know some people do feel really good about it but it does have weird effects on us it really really does and it's in it may feel a different way about the rest of the world because when you wake up in 11 30 a. m. every day you're already like hours behind everybody you wake up dressed because you have tons of text you have people been texting us in the morning you have to solve you have appointments you need to make or go to I don't it really started to add up Myles like there's a lot of because I'm working this schedule of this job that's such a good point because when I wake up before my? My friends do I get up at like five in the morning like this morning I got up early. I think I got up at like six cleaned worked out got coffee before like a lot of my people were awake and I remember I just remember thinking I feel so good like

[02:01:07] Jacob: I accomplished so much and a lot of the world's in up yet it can't imagine like waking up behind right now well in you in you have I have your momentum when other people like for me I was I had this weird thing I always I was able to work when I wasn't working like had the time off like on the it ends if I wasn't DJing or I wasn't working like midnight to 4 a. m. for me I was like cool I enjoyed being up at that time because I can work creatively and I could do like what I want like to me it felt like there was less noise in the world like less like more people are asleep so there's just like there's

[02:01:39] Megan: Just a way where something crazy but that's

[02:01:42] Jacob: But like the even getting used to to those little things you know for sure

[02:01:48] Megan: It's I've always wanted to try graveyard though

[02:01:50] Jacob: Because I am the type that and through pretty much and I'm a hard sleeper like Jake could like I mean he's also me pranks on me when I was sleeping how do you I never have a lot of my pickles I found in my pillowcase that's just because you have a thing about the would stay there for days and I would not know yeah I don't the way to turn this

[02:02:12] Megan: On me Megan because if the same car for a couple days real hanging out and I had put a pickle in her big one not like a little pickle like the giant size pickle I put it in her car , like in the driver's side door or something and then and then the car sat in, like a couple days and I was like one of those big pickles right from like Safeway Iting. Oh it's so gross. Did you eat it or not? No it's so gross. Okay so you're wasting it. It was probably just so like warm. Yeah you think you're so you're going to Ghana and these people have less food

[02:03:04] Megan: You're just throw away these perfectly good. I said that when I came back from Ghana is like there's people in the world remember everyone be like you can't say that I'm like I mean I just witnessed it. It's true. That's a good perspective. I know. All right Meg well we are getting up here in time let's go ahead and close it out. I appreciate you coming on the podcast. Yeah we'll definitely have to have you more. I think me you and Shailie should do like a trio one. Yes but I don't know like impress her with the pranks that I could put on you in front of her. Something about it I'm just. Just like they watch. I'm the I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I on the head real quick. And you're here. Oh yeah we used to like play fight too and Shailie you and Shailie you just speak stop it. It's funny I have three older sisters but I like I don I don't have this relationship with them at all but like mean you'll like the crap out of each other. Oh he like duct tape my bedroom door shut.

[02:03:57] Megan: I never did that. Oh that was Shailie. I happened but it's fine. I forgive you I kind of

[02:04:02] Jacob: Miss living with you guys so I miss the loss. You can move back in. I know do I get the basement. No just kidding. You can get that. I move into your basement. You can get the out back. There's this little house. Stop. There's this little dumpy storage-shed that has your name on it. It's perfect. We can put a new lock on it. With the evil step sister. All right Megan I love you very much I appreciate your friendship you're ? a