How to really level up!

In Episode 9 of The Rehearsal Period, Ashia and Chenise discuss how to truly glow up and what all that means for them. The two discuss the physical, mental, and overall steps one should take to get to the next level of life!

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Hi, I'm Shanice.

SPEAKER_00 0:01

And I'm Asia. And this is the rehearsal period where we take you from warm-up to spotlight.

SPEAKER_03 0:06

Your behind-the-scenes past to growth, grit, and glow up. A lot happened.

SPEAKER_04 0:26

The last episode.

SPEAKER_03 0:29

Y'all nosy. Yeah. I feel like it was time. So since I hate it.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Don't you hate it when you have friends that can actually sing?

SPEAKER_03 0:41

Okay. Last week's episode was a lot.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

It was a lot. Y'all nosy. I mean, it was necessary. It was. Raise your hand if you thought I was pregnant for real. No.

SPEAKER_03 0:57

What has been feedback posts?

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Everyone's just so excited. They're like, oh, I'm so happy for you. Da-da-da. I am so happy for myself. I mean, I've said it in last week's episode, but it's just the most beautiful time of my life. Absolutely amazing. I feel like, um, I feel, I don't know. I feel like people want me to say, it's such a it's such a difficult time, or we're having such a hard time, but it's honestly been amazing and beautiful and all the things. So everyone's really excited. And I've had some people are like, How can I support, or what do you need?

SPEAKER_03 1:30

So I sighed when you said that because heavy on a lot of times people just want you to live in the struggle that they lived in. Yeah. It's like, sis the friend. That's that doesn't have to be my story. Yeah. Maybe it will soon. Maybe I will reach the struggles in the pits of hell or whatever you're describing. But right now, it's grinding.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Yeah, it's really good. And like I said, I already never slept. So it's not a big adjustment. It's not a big adjustment in that sense, but it is um just an adjustment, of course, in in the other senses, but it's not difficult. It's been really nice, and everyone's been really supportive. Everyone always just asked, like, you know, the boyfriend thing, but we went over that.

SPEAKER_03 2:16

We went over that. I'm like, you didn't watch that episode. Unfortunately, not unfortunately, but like we to unfortunately for you, we told y'all, like, we still together, we fine, everything is good. We locked in. Yeah. Ain't nothing else to say. Not giving you tea on anything else. Yeah. Maybe there also isn't tea to give. Yeah. Sometimes there's not tea to pour. Like, I feel like people be fiend to have a glass of tea, cup of tea. But it's like sometimes the kettle's empty. Your kettle's empty. There's nothing in there. There's nothing to pour. There's nothing to give you guys. So just take that and be happy for us. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

But it has been great. So Baby Girl is officially one month. Happy birth.

SPEAKER_03 2:58

I wanna say happy birthday to you. To you. What do we think of that song?

SPEAKER_00 3:07

Um, I just hate when you have friends who can actually sing and they have to like try to show you up every time because she knows I'm the singer in this relationship. But she just feels the need to hit the high notes. Like, okay, we know you can sing, girl.

SPEAKER_03 3:20

I am like a semi-trained medium singer. Yeah. Same. Oh.

unknown 3:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Shower trained.

SPEAKER_03 3:29

Oh, okay. Do you read music at all? Yeah. Oh. I read the lyrics on Apple Music. But I want to know what it's saying. Um I had that wrong. My review for you guys is the same old same. It's not the same old same. Consistently working, consistently, being a baddie, being a cutie patootie, all the things. And life has been solid. I've been finding my spurts of work, work, work throughout the week. Whether it's the weekend or not. And then the week the weekends I've been having fun. What have you been doing?

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Oh I've been having fun with me.

SPEAKER_03 4:06

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

You got other friends? She literally has a baby. We like to have fun. I do have other friends. Well, I know. I saw your video today, your TikTok. I was like, I was like cute. Cute.

SPEAKER_03 4:22

Guys, there's room for me to pass around.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

What have you been doing for all though?

SPEAKER_03 4:28

I've been I've been a belt line baddie per user. I've been a beltline baddie since 2018. Let's get into that. She has, she has. So every time I look at your God, there she goes again. Looking at my location. I was before you came over and I was like, why she has belt line? No, Beltline has recently gotten a lot of great PR, which is great for the businesses, great for the Beltline. But as somebody who has been in Atlanta for a minute, and I mean the Beltline is new, but not that new. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

But they just constantly have new things.

SPEAKER_03 4:55

They are constantly popping up places. Um I will say people need to people need to learn to branch out from that one congested area, right? By ponds. Right? No, not ponds, not even congested like that, like that. On the belt line, belt line. I'm talking about Crock Street and East.

unknown 5:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

And down. Up until you get to Shake Shack. That area is always so congested. But yeah, I've been a beltline baddie. I've been planting and gardening.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Oh, I need to do that too.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

It's post-Easter, so now is the perfect time to you know sprout things up. Um, I've been reading this new book. It's a little messy, but I do like mess sometimes. Um Pilates Training. Wait, well, tell us what the book is. It's by Robbie Renee, Somebody's Forever. Oh. Okay. So it's a uh sequel to Robbie Renee's book, Somebody's Wife. Okay. And that's messy because it's like infidelity, but like the lead character is very, very educated. The guy she starts cheating with is also educated. There's a lot of Olivia Poe. Oh a little bit. A little bit. It's black love though. It's black love. Um yeah, and been going on dates. That has been fun. Oh. Oh. Like first dates? No!

SPEAKER_02 6:15

What kind of dates?

SPEAKER_03 6:16

You know when somebody raises their voice like that, it's like you're either about to like lie or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

Um dates. With different people. Dates. Okay. Maybe we'll talk about that later. Apparently we're not ready. Apparently we're not ready.

SPEAKER_03 6:39

It's fine. We'll come back to it. We'll we'll circle back. We'll circle back. Yeah. Remember when she almost got kids.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Oh, she's trying. That's strike two. All right, okay, okay, okay. So nice dates, belt line batty, having fun. That's cool. It's about to be concert season. I'm excited about that.

SPEAKER_03 7:00

So excited about that. If y'all have if anybody is listening to this podcast and has um some Olivia Dean tickets, and Cardi, and oh, that's for you. And swing them. Swing them on. I do want Olivia Dean, though. I need the Molivia Dean tickets.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Come get the tickets, I need. Okay, lyrics. Okay, vocals.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

Yeah, no for real. I definitely entered a little Instagram contest to get Cardi B tickets, though. I don't think I would, though.

SPEAKER_03 7:26

Did you tag me? I did. So you don't want to go. I always get it. And I no, I accept it. Somebody tagged me the other day in um A raffle for Braves tickets. Brave games are fun. No, it's Lindsay. Katya would be tagging us with everything, trying to get the response. She winning. She was winning. That's the thing. She was winning. So it's like if this is working for you, continue to do it.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Oh yeah, I won a bottle washer like a month ago. It's been the best thing ever.

SPEAKER_03 7:53

Now, do you think you should like tap into because you know, a couple months ago, the last couple months of the year, you were kind of sorting, starting to tap into the influencer by the bigger. We were. We got free brothers. I feel like you could definitely get more free basically.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

So this is the thing. Um, the answer is yes. I have to figure out how to do it because I'm not gonna lie, I definitely have some deals I have not fulfilled yet. Oh. And they're like, Asia, where's our content? So once I do that and post that, then I'll get to the like daily things because I do got a lot to say. I have a lot to stay to say. Apparently, someone else does too. Yeah. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:30

I feel like like on your stories, on things of that nature, like you just need to tag the stuff that you're using a lot.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

I get really bad anxiety with posting when I don't post for we talked about this the first episode, I think. Like, I think when I don't post for a while, it's because like there's too much going on, and then I just get like, I don't know, it's a mental block. It's a mental block because when I tell you we have so much content, like studio and personal, like sure, it's there's no excuse. And when I tell you I have every camera, every light, every backdrop, every setup under the book, there's no excuse.

SPEAKER_03 8:58

Getting into full out, we wanted to discuss our individual steps, our mind frame, mindset behind leveling up. Level up, level up, level up, level up, level up, insert, insert. Um, okay, maybe maybe I go first. Maybe I go first. There's a lot that comes to level up, leveling up that isn't always physical. I feel like if anything, I do think that the physical is the easiest to level up with, depending on what you're going for. Yeah. Um, but the internal, the mental, the well-being of leveling up is the hardest to do. Because think about what I consider leveling up, like that surpasses physical is your mental state, your uh insides your health, your finances, how you treat people, how others treat you, that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 9:59

Just living the life that you feel like you're entitled to that you deserve. And I think so many times people want certain things, but they don't know the steps to get there. So I think it's really important to have those steps and to know what you're doing so that you're not just like wandering and you look up and it's five years later and you're not where you want to be. So we both have pretty good stories, especially the past couple of years, of going through situations and completely changing our living, our our thriving, everything. And I realized it the other day. I was talking to my stepmom and she was like, Are you happy? And I was like, I'm happy with every part of my life, and it's crazy. She was like, That's beautiful. And it's crazy because that wasn't the case a couple years ago.

SPEAKER_03 10:40

So what did physically what did you feel like you looked like a couple years ago when you weren't leveled up when you weren't happy?

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Yeah, I mean, I just didn't feel like I was in between going from a dancer's body to like a grown woman body, and I hadn't fully like accepted the grown woman body, so then I just had like, you know, a little scrawny dancer body with like unfit stomach, all the things. Um, so I think that once I realized like what I needed to do for my body that I have now, and I like realized how I needed to work out, I have to train heavy with like heavy weights. We love a Pilates princess, we love somebody who's thin and lean. I'm not that way. I'm always I've always been like super muscular. So that's like where I had to kind of start leaning towards, and then also just I've always been super muscular, so that's like what I had to lean towards, but also like what I ate. So just being really conscious about what I eat because I have a really short torso, I really care a lot, carry a lot of weight like in my midsection, so I just had to do what I needed to do food-wise and workout-wise to be a baddie with a fatty part for me.

SPEAKER_03 11:54

Physically, before I leveled up, um, I was just like, I still like genetics-wise, I had a little, you know, boom boom back there in the back side. But it wasn't nearly as large as it is now. No, for real though, like I uh outside of dance, I was not in shape. Like, I wasn't in shape. I could dance for hours. Hours. Um, but lifting anything, going on a run, uh, a lot of ab work, cardio exercise, it really wasn't happening like that. So outside of dance, I was out of shape. Um, dance kept me like the physical physical kept me fine because you know you have to like you, like you, you have to have your appearance, your hair, all the things done. But to truly, truly level up, like, yes, it's the fastest to okay, what are what are my go-to hairstyles? Like for me, I'm like, okay, when I truly leveled up, I have in my back pocket some go-to hairstyles. A, I know I can accomplish on myself. B, I can afford to get done and look good on me. So obviously, straight up natural, maybe my little half-wig, sew-in, occasionally some braids. Also love a slick back. So, what are some of those hairstyles for you?

SPEAKER_00 13:09

So, for me, um, we love a natural baddie, of course. I do love having my braids. Shout out to Diamond Beauty Solutions indicator.

SPEAKER_03 13:17

Oh, does she offer discounts? Um, because she like sponsor an episode and we like I don't know, she gets money child.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

She probably ain't messing with us. But I do absolutely love her as a braider. Um, and then you know, we like uh a little blowout every now and then.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

A little blowout goes a long way.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

But what that does make me think about is it's important to understand your individual glow up, what makes you a baddie, because you can spend your whole life trying to be like somebody else. But once you get into that bag of knowing like what looks good on you, what outfits look good on you, what style looks good on you, and that's something that I feel like I've been kind of gravitating towards lately, and it's been making a huge difference.

SPEAKER_03 14:01

So hair is out the way. Talk, let's talk about skincare. So, skincare for me, when I was really leveling up, I was getting facials every month.

SPEAKER_02 14:11

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:13

I did like a subscription, I did a large uh Chipotle, extra chicken, guac. Guacamole. I was on a subscription plan. Gosh, they get you with those subscription plans. But I was paying a uh a monthly payment, and I got a discount on skincare products, high grade skincare products, and then I was able to get certain types of facials. Yeah, and then if I wanted like additional more like complex facials, like it was a percentage off. Nice. My skin popping. Popping. Now I just get facials maybe every three months. Um, but that's another like you can pile up all the makeup, you can have the best hair in the world. That skin needs to look like something.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Yeah, you have to have a good base, good base. I know for me, you know, I have X-Mensoriasis, so mine is a little bit different. I really just have to pay attention to what I'm using. Laundry detergent, like what I'm using on a daily basis. Shout out to Sarah Vay, shout out to Eleven Rose. Like, I use both of those. And just making sure that I take care of it consistently and stay moisturized. That way we're not dusty crusty.

SPEAKER_03 15:24

Dusty crusty. Yeah. Um, it's not funny, but it is. But like I have to double moisturize in the winter because if I don't, I also too get like a certain little small area of like a little, little tiny eczema flare up. Yeah. So I think that's funny. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

But okay, heavy on skincare, heavy on the skincare. Now let's talk about style because that is one thing, especially growing up in the dance industry. I will like be very quick to go to some sweatpants, sweatshirt, like oversized clothes, but I do not like dressing like that. I also don't like dressing like super prissy. And I think I'm just now kind of getting into like my style and what I like, and it just feels so freeing. Yeah. Like not trying to be like anybody else, but like, you know, a little boho, a little flowy, like if you see me, yeah. Like I'm always wearing like flowy pants, like things like that. It's just what I absolutely love.

SPEAKER_03 16:18

Heavy on not trying to dress like someone else or dress like a trend. I think these days, um, so many people and we we all a lot of people just look the same. We dress the same. She looks like her badge. Do you have individuality?

SPEAKER_00 16:37

No, you don't.

SPEAKER_03 16:38

I couldn't tell. And like obviously, I'm saying that with a t-shirt and a jeans on, you have your classic staples, but I'm more so me talking about those trendy, trendy, trendy outfits you look at and you're like, yeah, that's from 2018. Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Those are the boots, those are the boots we were wearing in 2023. Like that kind of copying and dressing the same. Your classic fits, never gonna go out of style. Never some jeans, never gonna go out.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Oh, tank and some jeans. Meet me tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 17:09

Y'all, I know it's $80. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 17:14

You see me? I did. Exactly. So let's get it. They say it. Tank air. Tank air. You said she's gonna give me that for Mother's Day.

SPEAKER_03 17:22

Okay, I will. You know, I will. I'll give you a tank air. I'll give you a tank air top. But they will you in you up, period. It is $80 though. That's sponsored. Tank air sponsors. It is $80 though. For its fake top. But I've had them for over a year. Yeah. And all of the wash and drying. I have three. All of the wash and drying, same size, same fit, has not shrunk, has not lost its shape. Like your paper will get more.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

Nice. Okay, cool. I really like that. Now let's talk about something else that we've both recently kind of encountered, which is a more materialistic blow-up. Because this week, this week and last week, both of us.

SPEAKER_03 18:14

What you laughing about? I'm laughing because, like, not us both getting caught new cars like within like a span of seven days.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

We had to, both of us had to. We didn't have to like we were talking about it, but it was really fast. And I know everybody was saying the same thing. They probably said it to you. They were like, Asia, you just said you need a new car like two days ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I did it. Like, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 18:35

Like when we the thing about us where we set our mind on something, and like we can go a little bit of like talking about it, but then after I'm talking about it. I'm gonna exactly after a while of just talking. You know what? No, like I took my little baby, R.I.P., my girl, I took her to the mechanic. Sorry.

unknown 18:54

Oh God.

SPEAKER_03 18:55

What are you talking about? I took my car to the mechanic, and because the check engine light was on, I was like, okay, what now? Um, mine's just a paid-off car. So I'm like, trying, like, yeah. A car payment is not true. You tried. I tried. They was like, yeah, I mean, I so he came back. I was like, give me good news, give me good news, Chuck. He said, You know, oh, the good news is an easy fix. I was like, oh, great. Bad news, it'll cost $1,500. So I was like, at this point for the year, the year and the make of the car, like it's a no. It doesn't, nah, nah, nah, nah. Four days later, I had a new car.

SPEAKER_00 19:29

And I know that's right. She sent me the pictures. I said, Oh, period. I hear you. Four days later. She said, level up. She said, catch up, mustard.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

Catch up. Um, talk about yours. Why did you?

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Okay, so this is getting I absolutely loved my car so bad. Oh my god, I had a Porsche McCon. It had red leather seats. It was beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 19:52

I remember when you got it too.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

A baddie. That was 2020, right? I think it was like 2021, maybe 2020. 2021. I don't know, somewhere around there. Yeah. But when I tell you, the brakes kept going out. That's scary. In the name of Jesus.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

Especially knowing that look at I mean, look at who you're holding right now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

And that and that is what made me do it too, because it would do this thing where it wouldn't happen all the time. It would happen maybe like once every couple of months. All of a sudden the brakes just stopped. And I'm talking, I'm driving, pressing my foot down, and nothing is happening. And it happened maybe like four or five times. Oh my god. And it was it it it sounded, it felt felt like that sounds like it was so scary. Like there were times I was on the interstate and it happened, and I was getting off, had to swerve around people. Um, very, very scary. Something that I tried to fix three different times. They thought it was the ABS module, took months to get here and fixed, thought it was something else. Like there were three different things that we thought it was. And you know, I just kind of learned to live with it or die with it. Um then, but then when I got her, I was like, you know what, I'm not about to play with you with that part.

SPEAKER_03 21:01

Like as much as the cards, something has to happen.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Yeah. And I had already put thousands and thousands into it. I tell you, like the ABS module alone, that repair was like maybe like 3,000, 4,000, something. But I was like, I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:18

I got hit by a semi-truck summer of 2022. My car hasn't been the same since. Like it got repaired, all the things. I'm thinking everything is sweet. Like a couple months later, like weird stuff just started to happen. Yeah. We don't know, we're just too cute for that. We're just too cute for that. But that is a clear sign to level up because now it is everything's sweet. Yes. Exactly. Everything is sweet. And it feels it feels good to just know, at least for the next couple years, like, hey, I have a reliable car, she's cute, she's new. Is your new car black? I actually got a white car.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

Oh, I didn't know. I just saw the inside of it.

SPEAKER_03 21:58

Yeah, I got I got a white car. Um a mini, you know, compact SUV because my old car was black and I was like, you know what? A little change. A little change. And that's the problem.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

Once you go white, you No, I'm just gonna you Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 22:15

She went over to the other side. I did. I'm a swirler now. This is my third black car. I think I'm just gonna stick with it. So you're like, you're just like all year. Because once you okay, that's cute for you. Me, diversity. Yeah. Me, diversity.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

Me, necessarily quality, but racism.

SPEAKER_03 22:38

No, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

I'm sorry, I just love the black car. The pollen is eating it up right now, but it's fine. I think I'm gonna get a wash tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 22:48

Yeah. Outside of like car purchases in terms of love and lamb, but also mind you, like with this advice, like don't be listening or watching this thinking, like you have to. I gotta get a car tomorrow. Yeah, no, we were ready. We've been prepping. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But are there any other like large purchases, large purchases you did? And maybe not even in like the the theme of leveling leveling up, but you're like, okay, I have to get this. I want to get this, like, I have to get this done. Da da da da.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Well, I know obviously I had gone through a divorce. So I went from, you know, having my house with my ex-husband, and then I had to get this place, which I I mean in the picture, like if you look at it, it's not a level up, but it's very much a level up. Like, we had a house, it was not me at all.

SPEAKER_01 23:36

It was just like it wasn't forced.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

Like, it was like if you look at how my house is now compared to how my house is was yeah, yeah. Yeah, this is much more me. Like, this is in the city, like I love it. It's just in the middle of everything, and it's just very like calming versus before it was very like gaudy.

SPEAKER_03 23:56

They low-key it was they low-key gave like that like 2010 bling bling mirrored furniture.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

Yes, yuck, yeah, and I know like who? Oh, anyway, so that was a level up, and just the fact of just being in a place that's calm, being in a place that where your spirit is relaxed, that's a level up in itself. So I'm happy about that. Something else is just that, like, studio-wise, there's still a lot that I want to do, but there's a lot that I've already done. So just continuing to like level up, that's probably my next project this summer, is just making sure that's exactly how I want it.

SPEAKER_03 24:39

So I love that. I love that. Um, I'll just put it out there for me out outside of like the the large purchases. Well, I guess maybe technically this would be a large purchase, but I'm sitting on it because I don't want to pay for it myself. But you know how they say like black women always trying to get extra degrees? I have been toying, like seriously toying with the idea of getting my masters.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

You should. I'm a big proponent for education. Me, I wasn't getting a doctorate. I dropped out during the divorce. But you were.

SPEAKER_03 25:10

I was. Are you gonna go back? No.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

I don't want to, but you should.

SPEAKER_03 25:14

Master's is good enough for you.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Masters is good enough for me. You should go all the way, though.

SPEAKER_03 25:19

What I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 25:20

I don't know. Why?

SPEAKER_03 25:21

Why would I there's my doctorate degree?

SPEAKER_00 25:23

There's not a point. There wasn't a point for me. That's why I didn't, that's why I stopped. Like exactly like the life started life thing.

SPEAKER_03 25:30

I was like, I don't actually need that. With some black women, like we I say we, we really just want the title and to be able to say, like, have my doctorate PhD. And what? Put some respect on my name. Early childhood education. But but but in other times, it's really like sis, you really like you could stop after the masters.

SPEAKER_00 25:50

Yeah, and I should have, but I was just at that point in my life, it was just all coasting. I was like, might as well. It was during COVID. They had like dropped the like some of the um requirements. I was like, might as well.

SPEAKER_03 26:02

Also, like the the other side of it is like, hey, if this is gonna make you happy, if this is gonna make you feel accomplished, black girl, go get your doctorate. I'm not gonna stop you. Who am I to hate? No, but you need to for that master's yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm putting it out there. I am interested in getting my master's. I don't want to pay for it though.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Um, tell your job to you.

SPEAKER_03 26:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

I bet they would.

SPEAKER_03 26:27

Yeah, I bet they would.

SPEAKER_00 26:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:29

Yeah. So we'll see. We're here for it. We'll see. Thank you. What school should I go to? Um, I don't want to go in person. Oh. Uh, I don't know schools here. Does it have to be here?

unknown 26:41

No.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

You should go to University of Tennessee.

SPEAKER_03 26:44

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:45

Um moving on. As we're looking at this orange phone. Um, no, I'm just kidding. I don't know. I was going to East Tennessee, but um, you know, I feel like you could go to UGA. They have a lot of online programs. I did my um MBA online.

SPEAKER_03 27:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:05

Somebody told me if I ever wanted to get my MBA, he has connections to a certain school that is like extremely hard to get to the city. Oh, who told you that? And it's like just literally based like to get into the school is based off of recommendations. Oh, who told you that? I will not say on camera, but I may I may take him up on that. I'm like, but but I'm torn, like I'm like, do I want my MBA or do I want my master's in like maybe like public health administration or something else?

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Oh, yeah, I I forget that you could do both. Yeah. We'll think about it. I don't have any advice for you. Um, I got my MBA. It's great. I feel like I learned a lot. I feel like that would be catered a little bit more towards you, but I can see the health as well.

SPEAKER_03 27:48

So we'll workshop it off camera. Um, stay tuned if I commit to that.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:52

Don't hold me. Like if I if I don't though, like, like don't be talking about me. Let me know. She said you're not going to do it. She ain't committed to nothing.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

She just said we do what we say we're gonna do.

SPEAKER_03 28:00

Right. And it's like we didn't say we're gonna do it. I ain't seen no graduation pictures, Shanice. What's going on? Um, okay. Last thing about leveling up. Is she okay? That's a this is a lot. This is a lot.

SPEAKER_04 28:16

This is a I feel like you don't there we go.

SPEAKER_03 28:20

You could put her up now though, right? Or was she?

SPEAKER_00 28:24

You wanna try? Okay. The transfer do not be transferred. Okay, gotcha. That's why I'd be trying to put her down when she's awake. She wouldn't have any today. Gotcha. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 28:33

Okay, we'll cut that a little bit out. What do I what else do I want to say about leveling up? Do you have anything else to say?

SPEAKER_01 28:42

Oh, I do have something else. What is it? Let me ask you a question.

SPEAKER_00 28:47

So what other aspects of loving level So what other aspects of leveling up come to mind when you think about it?

SPEAKER_03 28:58

Let's get into finances. Let's get into okay. So one should not go into debt trying to level up. One should not um accumulate a bunch of debt trying to level up. One should not live paycheck to paycheck and try to level up. And try to level up.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

There's a difference between investments though, but I don't recommend you do that if you do not have experience because I don't know how to or anybody to like help consult you and walk you along from point A to point B.

SPEAKER_03 29:30

Um, I do think finances is a is an aspect in leveling up for sure. Are you lowering your credit card debt, your student loans, any other debt you have? Are you building savings? Are you maybe if this is for you, are you investing in something?

SPEAKER_00 29:47

Investing, retirement, all of the things, and it's crazy because this economy that we're in, a lot of people get really scared. Y'all, millionaires are made during recessions. So it's like if you prep yourself and you're doing what you need to do, once everything drops, once the once those stocks drop, businesses start selling, that's when you need to buy. So it's all about prepping and making sure that you're ready to go. But you don't need to be scared about like this time that we're in. You do need to make sure you're prepared, though. And that's I love a good investment.

SPEAKER_03 30:16

This is not financial advice, but this is financial advice. I just, you know, I'm just saying that for a little clause. Yeah, yeah, level up in the finances. Finances very important. You can start small, stick to a budget even before that. Print out or look on the computer, look at where all of your money is going towards. Ooh, girl. Uber eats. Uber eats, Instacart. Is it the grocery store five minutes away? Hey. I mean Instacart. She's talking about me. Just ask me. I'm talking about myself too. Okay. I was like, God, I love the Instacart, especially because lately I've been getting the girls, and the girls know. The girls just know to pick the best things. Especially things that I actually have on the list. Okay. Yeah. But outside of that, if I'm trying to level up in my finances and like maybe lower down things, raise things, I'm gonna limit my Uber Eats Instacart. I'm gonna try to keep up with the Joneses. Yeah, don't try to get off. Sometimes you need to just get off social media. A lot of people don't do these these days, but get off social media for a couple of months and lock in.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

Yeah, for sure. Just lock in, do what you need to do. A lot of people don't like to do it. They don't like to hear that they need to do the hard things. But I always like to think about it. If you're budgeting and if you're doing things appropriately, then it actually gives you more freedom. It does. Yeah, and you don't feel guilty about it. Mm-hmm. So exactly.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

Alright, you ready for our listener led top? Let's go.

SPEAKER_03 31:49

Okay. I feel like this is gonna be a good one. Hi, Asia and Shanice. I just finished listening to your latest episode and I wanted to say how moving and inspiring it was. Asia, hearing you share that you're now foster mom absolutely warned my heart. It takes such a special kind of love and courage to open your home to a child or baby in that way. I'd love to hear more about what that experience has been like for you so far. Maybe what surprised you, what's brought you the most joy, and how it's changed your perspective. Uh, something for me. Shanice, your reflections during the episode were just as thoughtful as always. It got me wondering, have you started thinking about your own timeline for having a baby? I'd be really interested to hear where you are in that journey, whether you have planned, whether you have a plan in mind, or you're just letting things unfold naturally. Thank you both for being so open and real. Your conversations always feel like such an honest window into life's transitions, and this episode was so meaningful. Wow, wow, wow. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

Love that. So thank you for writing that, of course. Um, I think the thing that surprises me the most is um how many appointments they have. Like last week we had a total of I think 11 appointments between her caseworker, my caseworker, court, visitations, wick appointments. Like there were so there's just so many appointments. And luckily, I do have a little f a little flexibility in my schedule, but that was just something that I I'd been told, but I just didn't know. Like it's like every other day someone's like, I need to see her. I need to see her, I need to put eyes on her, which is great. It means the system is doing what they need to do. But that is definitely something I was not um prepared for, how overwhelming that feels because you know I am pretty good with my schedule and like having things laid out, but then someone randomly messaging, like, I need to come over today. And I'm just like, Okay. Wow. Um, so and yeah, people are in and out of your house checking for things and doing things and popping up, and yeah, so it's a lot. Um, what were the other questions?

SPEAKER_03 33:51

I think they also said, like, has any that surprised you? Um, and like what's brought you the most joy? And then they said how it's changed your perspective.

SPEAKER_00 34:02

What's brought me the most joy is just having her around. She's just so so happy all the time. Um, she's so excited to do things. She just she's still an infant, so she sleeps.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Yeah, I was about to be like, she's excited at the month. Yeah, like what is it? She's excited at the moment.

SPEAKER_00 34:18

She smiles.

unknown 34:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

She smiles and we read our books, and she gets she just stares at them and she just loves me. And you can just tell, like, there's a bond. There's a bond.

SPEAKER_03 34:35

They should go into the system.

SPEAKER_00 34:37

I'm about Hair Zeus, whoever the fuck you are. Stop. Shut up. God, stop.

SPEAKER_03 34:46

Okay. You got company in your bathroom, quiet as a mouse. God. Yes, he could be ripping our floors up. That's fine. All right, let's get to this. Okay. Okay. Cut.

SPEAKER_00 35:01

You were gonna say she is. She's always excited. She um she she likes reading, listening to music. Like, she smiles already. And yeah, I don't know if that's normal or not. One of my friends said, like, her baby didn't smile for a while, but sis be smiling all the time. So yeah, that's just very rewarding, and I absolutely love it.

SPEAKER_01 35:19

I love that. What'd they ask me?

SPEAKER_00 35:22

They said, Oh, child.

SPEAKER_03 35:26

They said, girl, what the when you when you gonna do something with your life? Pop out. Um, a lotto. Let's let's start with who? With who? Um, call me old fashioned. I would love to be married before I have a baby. Um, outside of that, I'm working on that, and what working on that looks like, I'm just living my life being the best version of Shanice. People fall into, you know, things of that nature. If that happens soon, great. If it happens a couple years from now, amazing. Um, I do want to be a mom, but I want the foundation to be in place, the foundation to be as solid as possible before I um attempted or attempt to get pregnant, give birth, all the things as of right now. I think you know, everything is fine of that nature, but I'm also not against fostering or adoption. So that also would be something later down the line in the future. If I'm married, I would, you know, look into that. But that's like my timeline. Like, yes, I want to be a mom. Yes, I have a lot of love to give, but I'll be able to do a little later. Thank you. A little later.

SPEAKER_00 36:42

I definitely understand that. So thank you so much for that question. If you guys have a question, send it to us at therehearsal period at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_03 36:50

Please send it to us. We read it anonymously. We don't be sharing out there, things putting you out there anonymous, but we'd love to hear from you.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

Yes. And if you guys like this episode, go ahead and like, comment. Go ahead and like, comment, and subscribe, and put your post notifications on so you can be notified whenever we drop a new episode.

SPEAKER_03 37:12

Please, please, please. And you can find me at Sneesh J on everything, or my business is at the work lab, not an O, an E.

SPEAKER_00 37:20

You can find her at Asia Carp, or my business is Divine DanceATL.

SPEAKER_03 37:25

And then of course, follow at the rehearsal period on everything. We share social clips, listener letters, little quizlets, quiz, quizlets. I'm showing my age. You get it though. I hope y'all enjoyed this episode.

SPEAKER_00 37:39

All right, you guys, we'll see you next time. Have a great day. Bye.