Welcome to our very first episode of Tea Therapy- a segment of Tea With Gen Z where we discuss raw reflections, learnings and emotions! In today's episode, James and Vini explore the importance of introspection through a fun card game!
Intro Music Credits: composed by Pooja Maniyeri and Joshua Thomas
Editing Credits: Amaan Shad
https://www.instagram.com/aus_osa/
https://www.instagram.com/teawithgenz_
Speaker1: Hey, guys. You're listening to the Tea with Gen-Z podcast. Welcome to the first episode of Tea Therapy, a brand new segment where we share raw reflections and honest learnings. A safe space to discuss our feelings, express our thoughts and learn more about ourselves and others. I'm your host, James, and joining me today we have Vinny.
Speaker2: Hi, Jim. Thank you so much for inviting me to the first episode of therapy. I am so excited.
Speaker1: I'm really excited about this segment to Vinny. I think there's real opportunity here to touch on topics that aren't discussed enough.
Speaker2: I think so, too. One of the goals that I have is to really touch on our inner feelings, like consciously think about our thoughts, right?
Speaker1: I think it's really important for us to stay in touch with our emotions, to be able to look inwards and kind of really understand what we're feeling, how we're doing and to be able to freely express that. And if anything, that's one of the things I'm most proud about with our generation. I think that in the past it might have been frowned upon or a little taboo to discuss our feelings openly. But right now with our generation, we're making strides to kind of change that narrative to be able to be more introspective. And I think that's really admirable.
Speaker2: Yeah, James, I 100 percent agree there is so much more awareness about mental health compared to the generations before us. I also think Gen Z is one of the generations that's really going forward and advocating how important it is to be introspective and to reevaluate our emotions and give them importance. But at the same time, I still feel like we have a long journey to still go to reach to a place where we're all aware of our feelings and the things that bother us and really value how important self-reflection and introspection is.
Speaker1: But that's the beautiful thing about this event is that we're all really capable of growth. Our journey starts wherever we are right now. So hopefully to some of our viewers, if you haven't taken the time to sit down with your feelings, maybe by listening to this podcast, this could be the start.
Speaker2: Yeah, I definitely think that learning more about yourself and managing your emotions is a journey, and there's like a lot of growth involved in it. It's not a one step process or an immediate realization. I think a very specific moment that made me realize how important it is to look back at how I feel was right before one of my final exams in high school, where I felt really unprepared. And I was like, I cannot study. Even if I stay up the whole night, I'm not going to get done with this. But then I sat down and thought about why I was feeling that way and why I gave so much importance to that one exam. And then that really led me to realize I had like distorted notions of how much importance marks have in my life. It's really small moments like that that make a huge difference, and all of it comes from taking a step back to introspect.
Speaker1: I'm really happy that you share that with us because the truth is we all face challenges, we all face difficulties, we all face anxiety. And sometimes when we're wrestling with our feelings and emotions, we feel like we're the only people in the world who are thinking these same thoughts. And as a result, we kind of tend to repress these emotions and act out in negative and harmful ways. And that's why it's really important for us to be able to channel these feelings in a positive way. And I think that really first begins by understanding how we're feeling. Although, Vinny, I want to throw a quick disclaimer out there. We may have some listeners right now who think that self-reflection and introspection is something reserved for a select few because it's very nitpicky,
Speaker2: Very high maintenance.
Speaker1: Yeah, that maybe you have to sit down each day and meditate for 10 hours and journal for another three hours. Definitely not. What we want to say is that this process is actually very accessible to everybody. There are small ways that we can implement this in our lives.
Speaker2: Definitely. I think that's a really important point that you brought up. Self-reflection doesn't have to be a very difficult process. You don't have to write a diary in order to understand your emotions, right?
Speaker1: It's not a
Speaker2: Chore. Exactly. It's not a chore. It doesn't have to be like homework. Basically, there are many different ways to do the same thing, and some of these ways can actually be really fun as well. Which actually brings us to the game that we're going to be playing in today's episode. We're not really strangers.
Speaker1: Yeah, perfect. Thank you, Vinny, for that introduction. So we're not really strangers. Is this really powerful card game? It's very approachable, but it allows people to connect on a much deeper level by answering some questions that we may not typically even consider. This actually is the perfect introduction to our therapy segment and gives you a little insight into what future episodes may look like.
Speaker2: I've never played the game before, so it's going to be a first time for me.
Speaker1: So you know what? Without further ado, let's begin. Ok, so let me go ahead and read the first question.
Speaker2: Wait, I want to. I want to begin. Ok, go for it. So do I seem like more of a creative or analytical type? Explain.
Speaker1: I think that's a really good question. So I worked with you for a while now in a variety of different things. So I want to lean towards analytical because you kind of create structure and you use more logic by the same time. I feel like there's this creative element as well. I really do think there's some mixture of both of these things, and I think that's kind of what this question is showing that we can't necessarily fit people into one category per say.
Speaker2: That's very interesting because I would have put myself for creator, for sure. Oh yeah, I definitely have like this artistic, poetic and writing side to me that maybe not a lot of people know about. So maybe that's why they see more of the analytical side.
Speaker1: Yeah, that's interesting how different the perception of others are for us and our perception of ourselves. Ok, let me go ahead and read the second question then. Oh, here this is fun. What character would I play in the movie?
Speaker2: What character is it like?
Speaker1: I don't know. Take it however you want.
Speaker2: Ok. So there like two things that come to my mind. The first one is like which TV show character would you be? And like, which type of character? Like a main character side character?
Speaker1: The second part seems really interesting.
Speaker2: Yeah, for you. I would say main character. Like, I feel like from when I look at your life and when I look at you, you have your own journey of growth. And I've just seen you over the past year worked with you and I can kind of see your story. So it's like, I'm watching someone grow. So main character.
Speaker1: I love that Vinny, and I think we actually all want to be main characters, you know? And like, if we actually think about it, technically, we are. We're all main characters of our lives. Yeah, we kind of get to determine how our story goes, but really quickly, I'm curious as well. What would your answer be for the first type of interpretation?
Speaker2: Most of the shows that I've watched their sitcoms and they have like a very, very certain kind of character, I don't
Speaker1: Let me simplify this for you. In the Friends TV show, which character would I be?
Speaker2: Oh, my god, OK, I knew you were going to ask that. I knew.
Speaker1: I mean, it could be a combination of characters just saying,
Speaker2: Because I don't think I can put you in a box.
Speaker1: And yeah, we're going to give you a time limit. I'm going to count down to five.
Speaker2: No, no. I think you might be a mix of Chandler and Rachel, OK?
Speaker1: I mean, look, I can see that
Speaker2: Because you have that drive and ambition and all the style that Rachel has. And then Chandler is just supportive, funny. I actually went through that right back at you. I want to know which friends character you would say I am.
Speaker1: I feel like one of them definitely has to be Monica, and I know that you're saying you're more creative, but I still really see that whole organized and very analytical person. So I'd say part Monica. I also want to say a little bit of like spontaneous. So maybe I throw in Joey in there, too.
Speaker2: It's very interesting.
Speaker1: No, so far this has been really fun, Vinny. Let's read the next question.
Speaker2: Ok? This is interesting. When was the last time you surprised yourself?
Speaker1: That's a good question, Vinny and I feel like the tone kind of changed instantly. The first two questions were a little more fun casual. Now I feel like this is a little more introspective, which is perfect. I mean, I'm going to ask you the question, but in a little roundabout way. I mean, the thing is with me, I love pushing myself to keep seeing how far I can go, and that means sometimes putting a lot of work pressure on me. But I think I really surprised myself recently where I balance an internship while studying at the same time. And it may not be the biggest thing to everybody, but for me, that's something I'm really proud of, and I feel like that surprised me in a really good way because the thing is, we never really know what we're capable of until we're put into that situation itself. And I think that's one of the beautiful things discovering different facets of yourself and realizing that we're all so much more capable than we give ourselves credit for.
Speaker2: First of all, I'm definitely really proud of you for handling your internship while you were studying as well. I saw how busy you were during that time was in awe of how you handled it. And secondly, I love that you brought that up. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone really is the only way to grow and know how much you're capable of and even increasing your own potential to do things right.
Speaker1: And that's the thing. Is that once you surprised ourselves and we've realized I'm capable of this, we're still going to be surprised later on. There's new things to uncover about ourselves and that's really special. Ok, let's move on to your question now. So what are you more afraid of failure or success and why?
Speaker2: So my first thought when you actually read that question out to me was why would someone be scared of success? So like my initial answer was failure. But then also looking back at my journey and how I've grown in college life, I don't really feel like I'm scared of failure anymore. I look as failure as something that helps you grow and learn so much more. So I think I look forward to failing sometimes as well, because that shows me that I'm trying something new, but I'm still intrigued by why someone would be afraid of success. I guess it could be like if you've really been looking forward to something some dream for so long and then you finally achieve it and then you don't know what to do next. That kind of feel,
Speaker1: Yeah, I actually think the same thing. So I think the only reason someone can be afraid of success is that once you've achieved something that you've been working your whole life for, I feel like maybe people can spiral until it's the sort of existentialism like, Oh no, what do I do next? Or also, maybe it's because once you achieve success, however, you define success. There's this extra burden as well. There's this sort of responsibility that gets added to you. I mean, look, Spider-Man literally says with great power comes great responsibility. And so I could also kind of see how that factors in.
Speaker2: So you mean like your expectations for yourself and maybe those expectations of you could also increase?
Speaker1: Yeah, that's possible. Although you have to answer which one are you more afraid of?
Speaker2: If I had to pick, I would go with fear of failure. I'm really enjoying these questions. It's really forcing me to think about some ideas that I never considered before.
Speaker1: Yeah, I was literally going to say the same thing. I feel like these are questions that we've never thought about. I love it.
Speaker2: Yeah, I'm really excited to ask you this next question now. Let's hear it. What is the most pain that you felt in your life that wasn't physical? When was it and why?
Speaker1: Well, when you're actually dropping me some heavy questions, I feel like most of the pain that we remember actually aren't the physical ones because sure, we could get bruises and we could get scars. But I feel like for the most part, you know, unless it's something big, they heal and we forget about them. I feel like the non-physical ones actually last the longest. So if I were to answer that question, I feel like it would be something that happened slightly recently, and it's the falling out of a friendship. I feel like that hurt me in a way that I haven't been hurt before. And look, I could go into little detail, but that almost is irrelevant. This is a friendship that I really cherish, and there wasn't really much that could be done to kind of save it. I guess there are just times when people drift apart as we grow, as we mature, unless we change. Some relationships just don't fit the new version of ourselves. And it's not something that we can force or shoehorn the friendship or relationship to work, and that it was just kind of part of life.
Speaker2: I think you've touched on something really profound. And I think I know what you're getting at because I've been in a similar situation with quite a few of my friends in the past two years, actually with the pandemic and just transitioning from high school to college, I think we're all changing so much and many times people don't change in the same ways, right? At the same time, though, that doesn't make it easier for us.
Speaker1: It doesn't make it easier.
Speaker2: Yeah, that was a really good question. Thank you for being honest about it.
Speaker1: Let's actually move on to the next question. And Vinnie, I'm going to throw you with an equally heavy question just to get you back.
Speaker2: Ok?
Speaker1: What are you still trying to prove to yourself?
Speaker2: I think that is it's like the perfect question that you could have asked me at this stage of my life, and that actually pushed me to think, What am I really trying to achieve? What am I trying to get? What I was trying to prove to myself for a very long time was that I was what my dreams, what some of the goals I
Speaker1: Had when finished. Are you saying that there were moments in your life back then when you kind of felt like your dreams or your goals for yourself or two out there and that it's not something that you can have?
Speaker2: Yes, I definitely think that there were times in my life in the past, especially during my high school, when I was applying for colleges or when I was writing my board exams where I was like, I'm not an a star student or I am not an Ivy League college student. I just felt like there was nothing about me that would make me good enough for those. Things, but now it's more like I have the potential and I have to get there by putting in effort.
Speaker1: I'm happy that you've had that journey and I think that that's something a lot of people right now who are listening can relate to. You know, maybe not that exact story, but there might be things that they want to achieve or that they want to reach. And, you know, sometimes they may be embarrassed to tell people that's their goal because they feel it's too ambitious or it's too daring or it's too far fetched. And I think the story that you shared with us is really powerful because we just have to look inwards and realize that we really are capable of these big things as long as we put in the effort.
Speaker2: Yeah. And I think this concept doesn't just apply for like big goals or big dreams. It even comes down to little things like Am I funny enough or am I cool enough? Am I smart enough? Like, yeah, all of those things are inside you. Maybe you just have to find the right way to display them.
Speaker1: Yeah, because it's so easy to doubt ourselves. Feel like we're at that stage in their life where some of us may not even fully know who we are. You know, it makes it easy for us to doubt ourselves, to doubt our capabilities. And that is why I feel like self-reflection is so important.
Speaker2: Genes, I had so much fun playing this game with you today. It actually made me think about so many things that I had never considered before.
Speaker1: Now I'm happy you've had Fun Vinny because I've also really enjoyed this conversation. I feel like there is a lot of fruitful discussion and kind of share more of our own experiences, and I think this is the perfect way to really introduce this whole tea therapy segment. And to our listeners, you can expect more of these conversations in future episodes. We'll really dive deep into these types of topics, really unpacking some of the things that we're feeling and giving advice on how to process it. And that officially wraps us up for today. Thank you, Vinny, for joining me.
Speaker2: Thank you for having me.
Speaker1: And to our listeners, thank you for joining us. Their very first episode of T Therapy. If you enjoyed this content, be sure to follow us on Instagram at Twitter, Gen-Z underscore to keep up to date. Until then, we'll see you in our next episode.
Speaker2: Something to with Gen Z. Bye bye.