Take it Home
A cozy, candid podcast hosted by two NYC roommates with big dreams, figuring life out one honest conversation at a time. We dive into the beautiful mess of being a 20-something woman navigating life, love, career, and everything in between. Whether it's a chat about moving to a new city, dating disasters, or taking a solo trip across the world, we're here to laugh, cry, and grow right alongside you. Each episode is an invitation to a cozy night in our apartment- complete with real talk, a signature drink of the week, and a "take home" moment to leave you feeling lifted, inspired, and a little less alone. You've just found your new best friends!
Take it Home
Craving a Shake Up: With Brandon Halvorsen
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This week we're joined by an old friend, Brandon Halvorsen. We share a conversation about the strange ache for change, even when life looks good on paper. We talk about feeling called to another coast, outgrowing old versions of home, and learning to trust the quiet pull toward something new.
Sip of the Week: Hibiscus Tea
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Noelle:
Hey, I'm Noelle. And I'm Marissa, but Noelle calls me Pete.
SPEAKER_05And I'm Brandon, but Noelle calls me Toast.
SPEAKER_03Welcome back to Taking Home. Yes.
SPEAKER_01We have a very special guest. Just have to say, we were not planning on this. Um, we woke up this morning to a text from Mr. Toast saying he was in town, and we were like, well, we have to film a pod sode, but do you want to join? So And I said yes. And he said yes. So here we are. Life can surprise you in the most beautiful ways.
SPEAKER_00And we have not seen Brandon slash Mr. Toast in a couple of years, maybe. I think so. Which is really sad and really insane. Um, so this is also us just catching up. I mean, we just caught up for the last like 30 minutes, but that's it. We still have so much to talk about. Yeah. We've and Pete and I were talking. Do you remember the other day we were literally talking about how we missed Brandon?
SPEAKER_01Because we did an episode on our road trip that we took in 2020. And we stayed with you for a little bit. And we were like, we miss Brandon so much.
SPEAKER_00And now here we are. Literally a few days after saying we miss Brandon University. And you texted us.
SPEAKER_03Um who who are you?
SPEAKER_05Okay. I know. I'm Brandon. I know Pete and Noelle from college. Um, we all went to musical theater school, and I'm kind of an LA, LA-based boy working in the entertainment industry. Yeah, that's pretty much it. And I'm here in New York for something work-related as well. So yeah, I don't know what else to say.
SPEAKER_00You were born and raised in LA.
SPEAKER_05Born and raised in LA in the suburbs. Um, yeah, so not like true LA, but it's still LA County. So I guess I can say I'm from LA. But yeah, I'm not from like Santa Monica or like Beverly Hills.
SPEAKER_00I didn't even know that Santa Monica was LA. I thought that that was like something else.
SPEAKER_05I thought Santa Monica like was its own.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I thought it was like a city for a while too.
SPEAKER_05It technically is.
SPEAKER_00I don't get it.
SPEAKER_05I guess as someone who like has grown up there, I guess when people say like I'm from LA, or I guess I'm trying to equate it to like New York.
SPEAKER_02Of New York.
SPEAKER_05It's technically a Santa Monica and Beverly Hills and all those places are technically still like cities, but it's within the county of Los Angeles. And so I think people just box like all those different cities into like the umbrella of like LA.
SPEAKER_00So I guess that is kind of like New York. Like Brooklyn is technically a city.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like you have New York City and then you have Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens.
SPEAKER_05Like a city. Yeah, I guess so.
SPEAKER_01Because like our address is you don't say New York, New York, you say Brooklyn, New York.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh, interesting.
SPEAKER_05So it is a same as like West Village, like Upper West Side, because those are all like boroughs within Manhattan. So I guess the equivalent would be like Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Long Island, you know?
SPEAKER_00How many of those are within LA?
SPEAKER_05Like cities?
SPEAKER_00Like, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. I don't know. Maybe a lot. But I guess the main ones would be like Santa Monica, Beverly Hills. I think West Hollywood is even its own city. Um, like there's um like Glendale. Yeah. I'm not gonna say where I live though.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, fair enough. What's your address?
SPEAKER_05What's your social secretary?
SPEAKER_00Um anyway. Um, so Brandon's here. I'm here. And um, so as Brandon mentioned, we all went to college together. We were in the same musical theater class. So Brandon is yet another guest on our show who is from Elon MT class of 2020. He has multiple. Um, well, I guess, yeah, multiple. Three Andrew, Michaela, Tara.
SPEAKER_03Jay.
SPEAKER_00Jay. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01And Audrey but Audrey wasn't in our class. She was a couple years below. Yeah. Most people we've had on the podcast have been Elon. I've been Elon folks, which is great. Elon folks are amazing. Um, by the way, if you're watching, Brandon is sitting on the floor, but we did not make him sit on the floor.
SPEAKER_05I want to show I want I want to show what it looks like.
SPEAKER_00We have a chair, but for someone who he just looks like he looks like a giant. Holy shit. I need to take a video, like zooming into this.
SPEAKER_05This looks like this doesn't make sense.
SPEAKER_00No, because it doesn't look right. Like, you don't look like that. No, I promise you don't look like that. It's like an optical illusion.
SPEAKER_05So I'm like, I'm gonna sit on the floor and it's also comfier that way.
SPEAKER_01I feel like we're horrible hosts because we're sitting on the couch and you're on the floor.
SPEAKER_05The couch is like yaw, like that's like the poster of the podcast that you guys have to be on the couch.
SPEAKER_01Anyway, um, yeah, so we're just gonna chat today and catch up. It's been so link on. Also, what's the backstory? Because I also call you toast now, too, but I always forget how that came to be.
SPEAKER_05Well, I think Noelle just has to tell it because I honestly don't know.
SPEAKER_01Noelle is always making up the craziest nicknames. I really am. And Pete kind of stemmed from Noelle and a lot of other things. But where did Toast and Mr. Toast come from?
SPEAKER_00Literally, I just remember us waiting in line for Einstein's bagels at Elon, and for some reason there was a sign that said like, get your bagel toasted or something. Like it was literally just that. And I and we were just like toast, and then I was like, Mr. Toast. I don't know. And that was Crush Maneier, and literally since then you've been Toast. That is Toast. I don't think I've ever sat and really thought about that before. Like that is so crazy that your name is just Toast.
SPEAKER_01Toast and Pete. Mr. Toast and Pedro. It's so funny because you are like the queen of g like just not just giving nicknames, but the nicknames you give really take off. Yeah. Everyone, you know, whatever.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But you don't have a nickname. Yeah, I don't. Because you're the one always creating them. I call you Noelle. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00What do you call Noel?
SPEAKER_05I also call you Noelle.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I don't yeah. I'm trying to think if anybody has a nickname for me.
SPEAKER_05But I feel like when I call you Noel, I have to say it a certain way. Noel. Yeah. Noel.
SPEAKER_00That's like how Tara does it too. Andrew calls me Mrs. L. That's because I call him Mr. Drew sometimes. I'll be like, hello, Mr. Drew. And he's like, hello, Mrs. L. That's so funny. When I think about you in college, Brandon, I just think of like laughing so much and being so crazy and silly at parties together. Like we were so unhinged.
SPEAKER_05So many Snapchat memories.
SPEAKER_01For some reason, I have like you are like in my Snapchat memories a lot. Something about that.
SPEAKER_05I don't, I don't not believe you. Like I feel like I mean, I feel like I'm I use Snapchat just as much as I did, like, maybe not just as much. In high school, going into college, like I was the king of Snapchat. Like I would post crazy things on my story.
SPEAKER_00I like remember this.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Like I had no shame. Like I just like would send you guys. I hadn't met you guys yet. I would be sending you guys like crazy things on Smash.
SPEAKER_00But I loved it. And oh my god, I mentioned this, I think, in another episode, but I just have to say, before we move on to our next segment, the first interaction you and I had at Elon, I ate a bite. Was it like a churro? We were all sitting at Lakeside. Oh my god, I remember this. I was eating like a bite of a churro, and it was very like doughy. And I just go, I love dough. And like you have just always brought that up.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that was like a core memory of a first impression for me.
SPEAKER_00That was like the first thing I said to you, maybe.
SPEAKER_05Honestly, I think so.
SPEAKER_00I love dough.
SPEAKER_05I love dough. So on brand. Oh, that's funny. Like it felt like you didn't even mean to say it out loud. Like it was supposed to just be like an internal thought, but it came out and I heard it.
SPEAKER_03It's really funny.
SPEAKER_05And I think that I was like, I'm gonna like her.
SPEAKER_00I love that. That's so funny.
SPEAKER_03Should we move on to our sippy of the weekie? Sippy of the weekie. This is weird.
SPEAKER_05This is a new one. So like I'm not familiar with that one. Yeah, I'm not the other word.
SPEAKER_00It's like a really weird one.
SPEAKER_05Wait, can we try it together?
SPEAKER_03Yes. Sippy of the weakie. Sippy of the weekie. I like that you have the octave above us. No, I think even the same octave. Our voices are just lower. Wait.
SPEAKER_05Do you want me to sing it in my register for a start account? Okay. Five, six, seven, eight. Skippy of the weeky.
SPEAKER_03Skippy of the weekie.
SPEAKER_01That is so pretty. We got impending doom. I guess we're like, You were singing the same octave as us. Your voice just sounded so much higher because we have to registers. Yeah. Well, that's crazy.
SPEAKER_05Music.
SPEAKER_01Music and science. Now it has to be loud. Yeah. Alright, so our sip of the week is hibiscus tea. And there's not much hibiscus. Wait, but we all have little notes, so we should read them. There's not much to it other than that.
SPEAKER_05You guys go first.
SPEAKER_01Okay, mine is. They're always nature themed. If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere. Vincent Van Gogh.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Mine is in all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous Aristotle. We've had that one before.
SPEAKER_05Mine is There Was Pleasure in the Pathless Woods by Lord Byron. Okay.
SPEAKER_00Okay, Lord Byron.
SPEAKER_05I thought that was like a fictional character.
SPEAKER_01I thought it was a Shakespeare character. Sounds like it. Lord Byron.
SPEAKER_05Lord Byron.
SPEAKER_01Imagine your name is Lord Byron. Okay. Okay, cheers. Cheers. Eye contact.
SPEAKER_03He biscoos. He piescooz. He biscoos.
SPEAKER_01What do we think? It's good.
SPEAKER_05I like how it's a little tart.
SPEAKER_01Hibiscous is like a flower, right? So it's not a fruit.
SPEAKER_00But it tastes like fruity. It does. It tastes like um a tart fruit of some sort.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Like tart tart cherry.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Which has melatonin in it. I love tart cherry.
SPEAKER_05Natural sleep remedy.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_05Smile of the week, smell smile of the week.
SPEAKER_01Smile of the week, smell smile of the week.
SPEAKER_05See, we know the week.
SPEAKER_01No, we the true listeners are.
SPEAKER_00I know our literally. They know our theme songs. A true fan, a true friend. Okay.
SPEAKER_05Should I go first?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, if you know it, please do.
SPEAKER_05So this happened. Um, yesterday, actually, I was in the elevator of where I'm staying right now in New York, and I got in the elevator with this family. It was a husband and wife and a son and daughter. And the son was probably around, if I had to guess, maybe like five. And then the daughter was a bit older, like eight. And the boy, the son, was standing next to the part of the elevator that has all the buttons and stuff. And he was just hovering his finger over like the buttons while the parents were trying to like stop him from hitting the buttons because then we'd be like stopping at every floor. And so when I came into the elevator, they were going to the ground floor. I was going to the second floor to go to the gym. And I you have to it, it's one of those places where you have to put your room key on the little sensor and then hit the button. And so I didn't want to be like a party pooper and like press the button instead of having the little boy because I wanted the little boy to have his fun. So I was like, Can you press floor two for me? And then he pressed it, but it didn't go through because I didn't put my key card there. So then I put my key card and I was like, press it again, press it again. And he pressed it and he got so happy that he like did it. And then um we're going down, and the whole time we're writing down the elevator. The little boy is just like wanting to press all the buttons now, and the parents are like trying to stop him and everything. And then we finally make it down to the floor. I'm getting off at the father's like, okay, now press this button here. And it was the button that keeps the doors open, like the two arrows going out. And the father was like, keep pressing that button so so this young fellow can get out. And the whole right down, I was just smiling at this little boy because he was just so excited to like be of help.
SPEAKER_01That's so cute.
SPEAKER_05That's really sweet. And I just love children, so seeing them like you know, be good, you know, and obviously having good parents raise them just made me really happy.
SPEAKER_00That's sweet. That reminds me of Elf when Buddy like goes and presses all the buttons because he thinks it's like a Christmas tree. Yeah, that's so cute. I love kids.
SPEAKER_05I love children. Very sweet smile, Mr.
SPEAKER_00Toast.
SPEAKER_05And then the set the the daughter, his sibling, like was being very supportive of him too, being like, Good job, good job.
SPEAKER_00Oh how old did the daughter seem?
SPEAKER_05She's probably like eight, like well, definitely older than the son.
SPEAKER_00A good older sister.
SPEAKER_05And then when I left the elevator, I like gave him a high five.
SPEAKER_00That's so sweet. That's so adorable.
SPEAKER_05She's very sweet.
SPEAKER_00Well, I love that smile. Um what's your smile? Okay. My smile is that this past week, randomly, I've had a lot of um weird interactions with different like bosses and employers. And I have been standing up for myself, which is really, really hard to do. I get so much anxiety when I have to stand up to bosses and stuff. Like, it stresses me out. I gaslight myself a lot, but I was like, I have to do this now, and I'm just proud of myself. I've been standing up for what I deserve recently. Period.
SPEAKER_05I'm so proud of you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.
SPEAKER_05I'm like also like kind of on the same like bus as you in regards to that. Like, I do for some whatever reason, I just get a lot of anxiety surrounding like conversing with or having conversations with people in positions of power. Same. And I don't know why or what it is. I don't know if it's like the people pleaser in me just always wanting to appease, you know, bosses and you know, people who can help me get a job or stuff like that. But that's definitely something I am working on as well. So I definitely like resonate with that.
SPEAKER_00Well, you just have to know what you deserve, and it's it is really scary. I don't even know what my fear was. I remember when I was freaking out the other day, Pete was like, What are you scared will actually happen? It's hard to advocate for yourself.
SPEAKER_01Well, especially like if you think about the grand scheme of life, we're like we're like new to the the adult adult world. Yeah and adulting and like things like this and advocating for yourself. And a lot of our first year, like our early 20s and our first jobs, like you're figuring out what the things that you deserve and how things work, and and you so a lot of times you don't even know that to begin with. You don't even know what you should be advocating for. But you know, as we grow and learn, we have to just ask for what you want. That's one of the the things that I love, like people say, wait, that's hello. That's one of the things that I love to like that people say that I love to live by is like sometimes you just have to ask for what you want. And I kept saying, What if this was me in this situation? Because you know you helped me through the same almost the exact same type of thing.
SPEAKER_00Because it's me. I'm like, I can't, like, I deserve nothing. I should be getting one dollar per hour.
SPEAKER_01One dollar per hour. That would be like so bad. That would be horrible. What is your smile, Miss Pete? I'm kind of trying to think. My smile is I hosted my book club on Sunday. And it was just really cute and fun. And wait, how long have you been? I started a book club, I think in 2024, but then it fell off for a while. It took like a big hiatus, like maybe like five or six months. I did not know this. Because life just got crazy. And it was like monthly. And then I had a couple people who were like, Are you gonna start book club back up? Like, start it back up. And I started it initially because like I just really wanted more community. And yeah, so I just started it because I was like, you know what? It's really hard to make friends as an adult. Like, let me maybe I need to take matters into my own hands and start something to where maybe like you know, it can start small, and it did. It was just like a few people, but then like I was thinking maybe those friends can can invite their friends and like anyone can join, whatever. So it was going on for a while, super cute. Um, but then it fell off for a bit. And then I recently decided, I think I started it back up. The first one was this year in February, the end of February. Oh my god. But now we're doing every other month because it's just a lot to like for anyone to commit to something monthly. I think that was part of what made it fall off, was just like people are busy. I felt overwhelmed like hosting every single month and whatever. So I think the every other month system is really nice, gives people ample time to like read the book and then also read other books if they want to read, you know, something else that's you know not a part of book club, whatever.
SPEAKER_05So at first you had to finish the book within a month.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05I can't do that.
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, a lot for me too. And then I also have this huge list of books because I prefer to read nonfiction, that's like my thing. I love it. And I have this huge list of books on my phone that are mostly nonfiction that I want to read, but I think most people prefer to read fiction, and in book club, that's kind of the vibe. So it's like I like to be able to read my stuff too. So I try to read like one book a month, so then one month I can read a book that I want to read, and then I can read book club books.
SPEAKER_05I wish I was a reader.
SPEAKER_01I'm like trying to be more one, I'm not like the biggest reader ever, but I try to fill my downtime like passing moments with reading instead of scrolling on my phone. And that's a lot better for you when I'm on the train during my commute or something. But you don't have that in LA, you try it everywhere.
SPEAKER_05That's what I was just thinking. Like, I was sitting on the train today looking around. I'm doing like Sudoku on my phone. Everyone else is like, they sit down immediately, book open, like right where they left off. And I'm like, that's crazy to me. Like, I'm just so I guess I'm just addicted to like my form of mental stimulation is like I need a game, I need a puzzle. I need that's good too, though. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Do you do like the New York Times games and puzzles? Nah.
SPEAKER_05I used to do wordle.
SPEAKER_04Nah.
SPEAKER_05I used to do wordle.
SPEAKER_01I did Wordle today. Sometimes the kids I nanny are like, can we play Wordle? So I'll do Wordle with them. And the girl I nanny, she's eight. She guessed the word with only having like one letter from it. Or it gave us like one letter. Like we knew the one letter and where it was, and then we knew one other letter, but it was in the wrong spot. And then she guessed it. She was like, quack. What? And her mother was like, no. And I was like, well, try it, try it. And then it was the word. Oh wait. So it's cute. That's a little world wordle story. But anyway, that's kind of crazy. Book club was really cute, and like it's it was funny because the book this month was kind of a flop. Like it was, I didn't even finish it because it I did not like it. It was, I won't say the name of it.
SPEAKER_05Oh, I was just gonna ask.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'll tell you, but I'll cut it out. It's a horror book. But so we all kind of like pitch in ideas, and then everyone votes, and we just get like a little subnop a synopsis of the book, and people can vote for the book. So there was no way we could have known like we weren't gonna enjoy it, but only two people actually read the book. So, but it made me happy that like people still came and you know, we still had a book club, even though the book was a flop. Because you know, you can't win them all, they can't all be great, right?
SPEAKER_05Um and not every genre is for every person, exactly. But I do think I think the genre of horror and as in terms of um literature is like kind of trending right now for some reason. Yeah, I never read a horror smut and it still is smut to this day, but I think horror literature is like becoming the new the new frontier.
SPEAKER_01The new frontier. I would like to read a horror book that I enjoy, but all right. So we have like not really like a topic for today. We have some touch points that have been on Brandon's heart. Yeah. And some things that like we may try to like yeah, touch on.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Well, I just think what you had to say about like finding community, you know, I feel like as adults, like making friends as adults is not easy, you know, because I feel like the majority of folks like they maintain friendships as far back as like childhood sometimes. That truth isn't the same for everyone, you know. Sometimes, you know, just naturally people drift apart or whatever it may be. And I wanted to talk about like in my scenario, I feel like as a gay male adult, I have noticed that I don't really have a lot of like close, queer friends. Like close, close. Like I have a lot of like queer friends, but I feel like I don't have like a community or like a tribe of queer friends in my life. Um, and so I've been kind of wanting to find that recently. And yeah, that's just something that's kind of been presenting itself like just in in my brain as of maybe like a couple months ago, is just this urge to want to like connect with people who are like me. You know what I mean? Because I feel like as queer identifying people or as gay, gay men, specifically, like there are a lot of things and obstacles that we go through that are very specific to us that you know, you can talk like I can talk to a straight female and they may have advice to give, but they may not fully understand the experience that of the thing that I'm you know going through. So yeah, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00So yeah, I do. I know what it's like to be a gay man. No, I'm just kidding, but I I get what you're saying.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so I'm like craving a connection like that, like just you know, and I know things exist, like you know, there are queer sports leagues, there are, you know, queer book clubs, there are stuff like that. So I'm very in these in this next in the in the rest of 2026, I really want to find what that looks like for me and try to put myself out more, put myself out there more um to like find that.
SPEAKER_01I love that. It's hard. I will ask, do you feel like you had that back in college? I did. Yeah, yeah. 100%. And it's hard because I was literally journaling about this like maybe yesterday. Um, so it's kind of just crazy how I feel like whenever we have conversations, there's things align. It's like we're always we're all going through the same shit. Yeah. But I was journaling about how I miss the feeling of the community I had in college. And like I just felt so unbelievably fulfilled by all of my relationships and just like who I was surrounded by that it literally took like the number one place in my life of like all of my priorities, you know, and the thing that was giving me um life at the time.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I don't necessarily feel the same way now. It's not that I don't have community here, but it's just not the same thing. It can never be. I mean, of course it's not going to be the same as in college, but I miss that. And I like want to try to replicate that feeling in my adult life. And I was just journaling about how like this is just a different phase, and like I'll find that again in some form, but yeah, it's just sad when you like had it, yeah, and then you don't anymore.
SPEAKER_05Just one day you don't have it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. College is just so different too, especially when you're in a a major like musical theater and a small class. I'm sure there are some other majors that also may might feel similarly, where like there were 19 of us and we all saw each other every day for four years. Yeah. Like, what?
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's crazy. And we had classes that were like only the 19 of us all throughout those years, too. Other classes we would have like split. But point is, we were all in the same building every day for four years, doing rehearsals at night with each other. Like, we spent like 12 hours a day and we didn't get sick of each other.
SPEAKER_01At least that was my experience. Like, I didn't. I was always wanting to hang out to like every waking moment of my day. Like, I'd want my friends to come over. I'd want to go hang out here. And I feel like such a loner nowadays, not necessarily in a bad way, but just like I really love like spending time alone. My the if there's an extrovert in me, it came out in college times, and I just feel like where'd she go? I'm like always wanting to be alone. But um, yeah, yeah, it's just it's hard.
SPEAKER_05I think there's something also about like going through. Yes, we are with each other every day taking the same classes, but there's something specific to a performing arts major in general where like you're going through the same obstacles and the same potentially like traumatic things with one another. Um, yeah, you know, as far as like we're all auditioning for the same show together, like we're all doing, you know, this one project together.
SPEAKER_00Performance class.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. That that is so specific to the musical theater major versus like I don't know, like a journalism major. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00I guess with performing arts, you're also like sh sharing your heart too. Like I feel like everybody, I mean, a big part of acting and theater school is showing vulnerability. Even if you're not talking about your own life, which at Elon, we were encouraged to like share our own stories in our own life, which which sometimes I think is good, but other times I think it's not always mentally healthy. Um, to like think of a traumatic experience and use it for your acting.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, but either besides that, just like getting up on stage and singing in front of each other and acting in front of each other and dancing, like that's scary. That is so vulnerable to get up in front and like do a performance.
SPEAKER_05Pour your heart out literally through song and dance.
SPEAKER_00Pour your heart out through songs.
SPEAKER_01And a lot of times with each other, too. Like we were doing that not just for each other, but like with each other.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, with each other.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. I've been I've been so nostalgic lately. And it's not like I would want to go back to that time necessarily.
SPEAKER_05I just miss the closeness I felt to those around me in that certain way that I just haven't it's hard to find that, you know, as are as artists who are out of college, you know, unless you're doing you're working on a show or something like that, like that specific connection is hard to find in a a day job, you know, colleagues that you work with at your day job or you know, stuff like that. Because I definitely experience that.
SPEAKER_01Well, because like you were saying, how we were all kind of going through similar things together, and that really like bonded us. Once you get out of college, you're all on different paths at that point. So there's less to I don't want to say less to connect you, because that's not always the case, but like kind of, you know, we're not all on the same path now, we're not all working towards the same thing now. Now everyone's on their own journey.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And you just watch people kind of like all go in different directions. And and it's like beautiful and it's life, but it's so lonely sometimes, I think. It is.
SPEAKER_00I you know, it's funny that you mentioned wanting more of a queer community because obviously the way that me and Pete know you is from Elon, where I feel like I feel like most of our community at Elon was like, I mean, our class was the gays. I feel like like we had one straight man in our class. So when I think of like I didn't even think about that, I just assumed, I guess, that I don't know, I was like, Brandon's good friends with Jalen and Jake. Like they don't even live in the same city as New York. Like, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01This is so like specific, maybe even more so to you than like a lot of us here in New York, because you're literally living on another coast and most people moved to New York after. So, how do you feel like that kind of impacted your journey post-grad?
SPEAKER_05Okay. I I'll I'll speak about it, I guess, in categories. So when it comes to like friendships and relationships, I was I fortunately had like friends from high school back home who who went to college in California. And so I knew I had those friends that I could physically be with back home. So, so those relationships strengthened post-grad. And then unfortunately, because of the pandemic, and also, you know, once the pandemic kind of um fizzled out, pretty much 90%, 95% of our class all moved to New York. So I feel like some of those really strong relationships I had with people from our class started to kind of dwindle just because I wasn't physically in the same state, you know, as y'all. And luckily, you know, we have technology and social media to kind of keep us connected in that way. But that's that's something that that definitely shifted moving back to LA after college. And then I would say, in terms of like career, I've always known I wanted to like live in New York at some point. Like, I've always had that calling ever since I was a kid. Like, I just remember coming to New York as a kid, like as young as probably like five, and just something in my soul knowing that like I'm meant to be in the city, and now that I'm the age that I'm at and I don't live here, even though I've had that soul calling for such a long time, it's kind of I don't want to say disappointing because I know I'll be here one day, but I don't know. I'm kind of rambling now, but like moving back home has taught me a lot about you know, there's not one path like to where you want to be or where you're meant to be. Like moving back home to LA career-wise has honestly kind of been great for me. And the thing is, is like I don't know what my career could have or would have looked like had I moved immediately to New York post-grad. So yeah. And then I guess another category would be like I would say like personal growth, I think. Like, I think moving back home post grad. I feel like I've grown a lot as like a human being, don't get me wrong, but I think you grow a lot more when you're forced to be put in in a new environment, meaning like moving to a completely different city, a completely different coast, and having to navigate that. And granted, I did do that for college, so I I I kind of had have a sense of being able to acclimate, but I'm very sensitive to changes in routine, changes in my environment, all that stuff. So being home definitely for my nervous system is like comfortable. Um but now I'm at a certain age where like I'm kind of craving a challenge.
SPEAKER_00I mean, that's really fair.
SPEAKER_05I feel like it's almost it's almost gotten to a point where like I'm too comfortable that like I'm bored.
SPEAKER_00That's that makes sense.
SPEAKER_05Like I love home, I love LA, I love you know my community there. But yeah, I'm I'm I'm wanting to explore a different part of the country.
SPEAKER_00Maybe it's New York time soon. Yeah. Do you see yourself moving here?
SPEAKER_05100%, 100% like I love New York. Like as soon as I landed in New York and like like got on my Uber to my destination where I'm staying, like I'm I was I was just overcome with like a feeling of like I'm home. Like that's how it felt.
SPEAKER_01That's a sign. Yeah, what the fuck? You need to move because I feel like I never felt that way.
SPEAKER_00I never really did either.
SPEAKER_01I started to more, like, I didn't have that like attachment to New York when I first visited. Um kind of just felt like foreign to me, like overwhelming. Yeah, very overwhelming. All like y'all moved a year before me, like you and like our other friends. And when I started visiting more and more, like knowing that I was getting ready to move, then I it felt like more like okay, like I'm ready to be here. And then ever since I moved, I've been like, yeah, I'm in the right place. But I never had that pull like you did. And I feel like that's such a good sign. Like, I love the quote. I don't know if it's like an actual quote or just something someone said sometime, but like if you feel called to a certain city or a certain like location, there's something there waiting for you.
SPEAKER_05100% something's waiting for you here. Something's waiting, and I don't know what it is.
SPEAKER_00I will say, like, you're such a you're such a theater dancy boy, and obviously TV film as well, but New York has it all. Like you could New York has a lot of film stuff too. You could still pursue so much film stuff and get to. I mean, I know that you audition and you do H La La Marada theater.
SPEAKER_04Yes, yeah.
SPEAKER_00But like, I don't know. You're just such an incredible dancer. And thank you. Yeah, I mean, not that like obviously LA has I don't know what I'm saying right now. I just I can see you like Michelle on Broadway.
SPEAKER_01A Broadway boy. Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_05I mean Yeah, I I guess it's hard to leave a place where like everything seems to be going right and like I am happy where I am in LA, but there is this desire and pull to another place. It's just hard to leave somewhere where where you are kind of thriving. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01This is so funny you say that because you guys know who Emma Chamberlain is, obviously. Um, so she has a podcast and she just announced like last week or something that she was kind of ending her podcast indefinitely to make room for um these other ideas that she has. But she was like, I was watching her video today explaining why she's like ending it. Um, and she said this exact thing. She was like, it's really weird like ending this thing that's going so well for like seemingly no reason because it's like thriving and going so well, but like something in me is just telling me that like I need to restructure things and like she has all these other ideas that she can't like put her time towards because podcasting is on such like a schedule and she's like I need to be like off a schedule for a minute and like creating. But she said that exact thing. She was like, it's weird. It's weird to like end something that's just go, but that's good.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And maybe it seems like I don't know. I guess it's just scary when things are going well, but then you feel something inside you to want to change.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it's like, well, it's a gamble, it's a risk because I do have something good going here.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I'm gonna leave it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05To like hopefully it's weird because I can get someone wanting to leave a place where like they can't find a job or like they're just purely unhappy there for whatever the or for whatever reason it may be. But and then it's like, yeah, f this. Like, I'm gonna, you know, try the city that I've always wanted to move to or move out of the country, even, you know, because I feel like we have friends who have done that who who don't live in the country anymore, which is really cool. Like, yeah. And so I get like wanting to get out of an environment like that, for me, it's like the opposite.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And sometimes I feel like you've just got you sometimes you just get everything you can from one place, you know, that you can at that time. Yeah. And it's okay to want to stay there, but you reach a point of maybe like stagnance and yeah, like a plateau. Just wanting to, just wanting more.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I just want to shift. I want to, I'm craving like a change. I'm craving like a challenge. Cause I know that moving one cross country to to a place like New York City that's so different than LA, like that will be challenging, but I kind of like want that in a way. Like, I want to grow and adapt to that.
SPEAKER_00Also, you could move to New York and realize that the reason why you came to New York was to show you that you love LA more and go back. I'm not saying that that's gonna happen, but I think if you do feel a calling somewhere, yeah, you gotta try it out. Nothing is permanent. This actually helped me because I felt very comfortable in North Carolina during the like during 2020, 2021. And I was like, okay, I'm gonna make the move to New York October of 2021. But I was really low-key enjoying my time at home. Granted, North Carolina is nothing like LA. Like, I actually could not pursue any theater in Greens. I mean, yes, there's like regional theaters around the area, but I could not pursue it in the way that we want to pursue this career in Greensboro. Um, so I maybe I would have stayed if there was if Greensboro is more like LA, but I was really just loving spending time with my family. Greensboro felt so easy. I love the nature, like my mental health was doing really well. And I was just like, okay, I guess it's time to move to New York because theater's picking back up and time to pursue my career. And my mental health went to an all-time low, like when I first moved to New York for a little bit. Um, and now I absolutely love it. I've luckily made it through that period, but it was a really hard transition for me because I had also never really left North Carolina besides studying abroad. But that was a set time where I knew the start and end date. But this was my first time being like, I guess I'm leaving North Carolina. Yeah. Because I was born and raised there. But one thing that helped me during my transition was knowing, which I knew I wasn't gonna like be like, no, I'm leaving New York and moving back to Greensboro. But just knowing that that could be an option really helped my anxiety. I was like, if I really hate this, no one's forcing me to be here. I can always go back to Greensboro. I can always, I can move somewhere around them, I can move to Austin, I can move to Colorado. Like, you I I don't know. I'm just saying, Claire moves to Austin recently. Claire Rouc.
SPEAKER_04Claire Rouche. Claire Rouche.
SPEAKER_00Claire Rouch. I I feel like if you don't do it, then you'll always wonder why. And I know you're going to. I'm not worried about you never moving here, but it's one of those things where even if you come and realize you hate it, like if you don't do it, you'll always have that question.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, it's also like I've I've told, because everyone always asks me, like, not that people shouldn't, or not that people should feel bad for asking me, but everyone's always like, When are you moving to New York? Like, I thought you were gonna move like last year or five years ago, blah, blah, blah. Because I've been telling people, like, yeah, I'm thinking about moving next year, and then the next year happens, and then I don't because I book something in LA or okay, the year after that, and then same, same cycle, the cycle just has kept repeating itself. And then people are always like, Well, you gotta move to New York when you're in your 20s because that's like, you know, prime time, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so now that I'm like turning 28 this year, and like I haven't done that because people have like implanted this thing in my like adults specifically have been being like, You gotta move to LA in your 20s. I'm just like, oh, like, that's so annoying. Like, because I also did like, I don't know if you guys know what astro cartography is. Well, it's it's kind of similar to what you were saying about how like if you feel a call to a place, it's because there's something there for you. It it kind of along those lines. So it takes like your astrology, like time you were born, place you were born in, it takes your whole birth chart. I I don't know, like the the I guess it's a science, I don't know, but it takes that information and it tells you based off of that where in the world you would thrive like romantically or thrive career wise, or thrive, and it could literally be in like Bali or like Germany, like it could be in like crazy places in the world.
SPEAKER_00Interesting.
SPEAKER_05And so I kind of was like researching into a very, very like like a novice. Like I don't know what I'm looking looking at. But it told me that New York is a place where like my there are all these like lines. They're they're I don't know what the lines are called, but where it intersects, like those intersections are what are the places like that you need to be in. And New York was one of those places for me.
SPEAKER_01Was LA just out of curiosity?
SPEAKER_05I don't remember. I was really looking at it for New York. I don't really think that's that's so cool.
SPEAKER_00You literally just like Googled all of this.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna do that later. Yeah so I'm so curious.
SPEAKER_05And it'll there were also some places like out of the country that you know kind of random I don't remember what those countries were but it'll give you information like that.
SPEAKER_00Maybe you need to just like go on a trip.
SPEAKER_05Go on a trip to one of those places and like see what comes of it. Interesting. So but then it also said to go off of that said like um moving to New York in your 30s based off of your astrology and where the planets will be in the future moving to New York in my 30s will be like really really like effective and like beneficial for me.
SPEAKER_00Interesting. Yeah I love that I get I understand why you've stayed in LA because you obviously keep booking things which is incredible. So it's like you've established a your career there. Like yeah I guess it gets to a point where maybe you just have to make the decision for yourself and and obviously unless you book like a huge movie like the I don't know like a career changer obviously stay in LA but maybe you stop auditioning for other things there for a second and just like New York.
SPEAKER_05Yeah I was literally just talking about I was like maybe I just have to like stop going to these auditions you know and and booking them so that I can move to New York. Just stop booking.
SPEAKER_01Just stop booking stop booking so much. But like the thing is when you're pursuing this career I kind of look at at it as like a whole thing like you can move to New York and still book a movie in LA and then go you know like literally yeah big they'll pay for your flight you know like if you book something big it doesn't matter where you are they'll get you there.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_00My mom always like before I go on big trips like before I went to Thailand and South America this past summer my mom is always worried that I'm gonna like book Broadway and she's thinks that I'm missing opportunities by going on these trips and which and I always tell her and what I've started doing if I have something really a bit like something huge that I really just want to do in my life like before I went to Thailand I was like here are the dates I'm going this is when I'm going yeah and my mom's like but what if you book Broadway I'm like if I book Broadway then I'll cancel the trip. Right. But I'm not gonna audition for things that you pick and choose your bottles. I stopped auditioning for things that I would rather go to Thailand over. Like if a random regional show that's gonna pay me $300 a week I'm like maybe I would do that like just to put on my resume if I weren't about to go to Thailand but I'm I want to go to Thailand over doing that. Yeah. If I book a Broadway show I'll cancel my trip and do it later because why the fuck would I be like sorry Broadway Thailand for two weeks which like also fair but like not just for like a two week trip. So I think you know you could think of it in that way too like audition for the things that you would push your move out further for but maybe stop or maybe start submitting to more New York stuff. Yeah and your agency is bi coastal which is awesome too that's great.
SPEAKER_05Yeah yeah so I mean I can feel like things in the works like I can feel that I'm like held by the universe and that like when when I make the move like it'll be in its divine timing.
SPEAKER_01For sure definitely I also feel like I mean your 20s are great you know for figuring shit out but I I'm excited for my 30s same I'm also like scared just because of the concept of it is weird like whoa not being in my 20s anymore that's weird. But um I think you know people glamorize and like romanticize 20s in New York online and everything. And I think it's it's amazing and great and there's so many awesome things about it but I think it's also like really a struggle when you're figuring your stuff out and like I just think like 30s are probably gonna be even better.
SPEAKER_00So y'all the girl I nanny yesterday was like how old are you? And I was like 28 and she goes you're old and I was like I'm not old and she goes that's almost 30 and I said well 30's not old and she was like yeah it is yeah kids think 30 is old obviously oh I'm like not you being read how old is she she's 11 not you being read by an 11 year old I know that's crazy and like eight year olds like the girl I nanny her friend was like um she asked me the same thing she was like are you married and I was like no do you have a boyfriend?
SPEAKER_01No how old are you 28? Oh my god she's 28 and she doesn't have a boyfriend I'm like oh my god you're roasting me right now and I have to look I have to look at these eight year olds and go well it's because a lot of men are disappointing. Right I mean yeah and that's start teaching them it's not a you problem it's a men problem I did I was like you have to understand it's not me I was like men it's if you wanted a boyfriend you could go find a random man on the street who would be your boyfriend.
SPEAKER_00Literally now because um she she'll be in for a rude awake and ending yeah it's pretty it's pretty crazy I have something to say oh say it I know say it I feel like a lot of my twenties have been for me having fun in New York too like fun times being on the struggle bus a bit like I've always been kind of a late bloomer in a way where I think about back in middle school high school and college I was always like never cast in shows for the first few years or like ensemble for the first few years and then by the my senior year is when I'm like finally getting all the things I've been working years for. It happened literally middle school high school and college and I have just accepted that I think it's the same way for me in my adult life too like I'm like yeah I was not meant to be on Broadway in my 20s and I really feel like good career things are coming for me in my 30s and I feel the same way for you too Pete like we're not all destined to be on Broadway by the time we're 25, you know? And I'm not even saying like maybe my career success will be Broadway. It'll be something else. I mean I'd like to be acting but like we always just use Broadway as the I know that's always the example but that's not the only thing blueprints yeah yeah but I I really feel like my 20s were for me doing random shit.
SPEAKER_01I don't know I mean we had so we had a lot of like life experience yeah and fun and going out there's a lot to be said too about like having that like struggle moment in New York and like I think like having to figure it out for yourself really helps you grow. And like everything too I think as an actor it's so funny because like you can justify anything you do by just saying like well I'm living and having experiences that can inform my art yeah and like exactly my journey so oh my god your nails oh my god there was like a spider pete nails are so cunky really are really cunty nails right now they're pressons no way yeah there's this were they made were they made for you yeah well they she had different sizes but there's um this girl who comes into the jewelry store that I work at like when we have whenever we have vendors and she makes handmade like press-on nails she had all these different kinds I'm living from I picked these ones I feel like just to round out this conversation I want to like touch on the community aspect a little bit more yeah because I feel like it's so important but I was talking at dinner with a friend recently like a couple days ago she had said something like I feel like finding friends like genuine like ride or die friends in your adult years is harder than like finding a partner like a romantic partner and I was like I see that argument because I feel like when you are in search for a romantic partner the the blueprint is kind of laid out for you of how to do that. Of course it's different for everyone but it's like oh you meet and you you're attracted to each other and then you go on dates and like it's normal to go on a date because that's what you do when you're looking for a romantic interest. Like you're dating you're getting to know each other there's this like expectation in the back of your head like ooh I want these things I want you know this is gonna go here and with friendships it's not laid out like that for you. Like it's hard to date like you kind of do have to like go on dates and like spend time but it's really hard as an adult to like prioritize getting to know someone as a friend when you know I like I think maybe someone like like having a coworker that you really vibe with is like a good way to make a friend because you're with each other so much and you like talk so much during that time. But like outside of like work or things like that it's so hard to like genuinely get to know someone and you have to put in the effort and like date each other low key. Yeah. But that's not like something you think about doing with friends.
SPEAKER_05So yeah you know what I mean yeah I've seen like the way just from personal experience like making friends as an adult is like you have one front one solid friend in your life and they have their whole kind of circle of friends that you're not friends with. And then the middle friend starts inviting you out like with their circle of friends and then you kind of start getting absorbed into that friend group. That's how I've kind of seen adult friendships working and operating a lot between Noelle and I.
SPEAKER_01Yes Noelle had her like childhood friends here in New York and then I would always hang out with them. Yeah and like we do a lot of things together and stuff.
SPEAKER_05But I yeah you're right I feel like that's a big way that's like the most common and most I think natural way that I've seen a lot of from a third party perspective adult friendships forming but also I've also experienced that as well um kind of getting absorbed into a friend circle that way but if you're looking for kind of a specific type of friend then I feel like you have to be a little more intentional with who you you wish to you know befriend.
SPEAKER_00It's so do you guys find it really hard to keep up with not fr I mean I guess keep up with friends and try to just make time for everyone. Like I've become such a terrible texter ever since moving to New York I don't know like like I know I ghosted you like a few months ago and I'm sorry. Oh I don't remember oh okay like I I just feel like I'm constantly like trying to do so many things and I don't know what it is because before moving here I was really I was one of those people who never had like unread texts in their phone like always texting people back and now I just feel like I don't maybe adulting is just so hard and I'm still getting used to it but I'm like how do I keep in touch and how do I make like keep is life just is hard.
SPEAKER_05Yeah I think it's like no I 100% agree it's definitely hard keeping in touch with people once again intentionally because of social media and stuff and it's like given that I live on a complete on the complete opposite coast as like y'all or any other friends that I have who live in New York it's like I feel like we're up to date with one another because of social media and Instagram stories and kind of communicating via Instagram stories and being like oh my gosh like that's so cool you're doing that and then you kind of have like a mini exchange on Instagram and then it's like okay that was like our catch up for like the month I'll talk to you again when you post something else that's interesting enough for me to respond to but like actually reaching out to someone because they crossed your mind or like like I've been trying recently to honor that. Like if someone pops into my mind like I'm I'm thinking about them I'm trying to be better about like picking up my phone and texting them being like hey just want to let you know like you crossed my mind and I'm thinking about you and I hope you're well and you know if you feel called to be like would love to like FaceTime or like hop on a phone call just to like hear your voice and like catch up a little bit like would love to do that. But sometimes like we're everyone's so busy you know that it's hard to make time to do that. And sometimes I don't know like it can maybe even be a little bit weird to to do that if you especially if you haven't talked to X person in like half a year or whatever. Yeah but I'm trying to honor that that call to like and be more intentional um with like reaching out to people when I think of them.
SPEAKER_00Do you guys think this is more of an American thing? Like are we just so in the grind and so in like I don't know that's such a good point this culture like do other count I mean I'm sure like we're not the only country but I'm like do people in like the Netherlands for example or I don't not fucking know other countries like think about how like do they find it hard to keep in touch with friends and keep up with people in the same way we do or is it because we're all out here really grinding, you know?
SPEAKER_01Like I think I it's probably amplified here depending on what you do. I mean like that's true this country is large and the different regions literally feel like different countries. Yeah they could be they do like I don't know if you live in like Oklahoma maybe you're not feeling yeah I don't know whatever you're doing but especially like in New York and then I think especially being artists like working towards our big dreams and doing all these things I think that probably amplifies it. And I also think it's like more than we realize I think it's social media like what you were saying and like feeling like we are less lonely than we are because we have our phones and we have everyone on there in in like touch of a button. Yeah. And it's but it's like a false sense of it's not real. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04It's not real.
SPEAKER_01It's not it's literally not but it's not it's like really like dulling or dimming the connections we have because like you were saying it's like it's just a false sense of oh I caught up with this person because I I saw what they're doing. I saw their story. I see their story every day I see their face every day. Yeah and it's just scary I don't know I I've been thinking a lot recently about our phones and like what life would feel like if um we didn't have social media to the extent that we do now.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because I just don't think as humans we were meant to experience this and something the correlation I there is a correlation with like the time we were in college like TikTok and Instagram weren't what they are now.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01And so I'm wondering if part of the reason I'm feeling so different in my community now than I did in college I'm sure there's so many different reasons but I wonder if like the social media and how that's taken off in a way that it just like wasn't before if that plays a part in it too. I don't know. It's hard to measure how it actually makes us feel because it's just such a part of our our culture now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah our culture I will say I always say this I I feel like social media was originally a good thing. I mean I think that there are good qualities to social media I think in a way it's nice that you can look at people's stories and respond and be like oh cool glad to see you're up to this yeah you know I think it's an easy quick way to keep in touch with people but then at the same time it's an easy quick way to keep in touch with people like it's not as intentional as it could be.
SPEAKER_01It's like we've used it to replace our social life rather than just having it be like an add-on to it. Yeah. And I think that's when it gets scary. I was actually listening to um the psychology of your 20s podcast you should listen to it if you haven't she recently did an episode on something of this nature and get ready because this is sad and scary but if your screen time is like six hours or more a day that's 90 days out of your year. 90 days out of my I don't like mine's definitely higher than six I can tell you that probably same I mean I don't know what equates like what equals screen time because I use my phone a lot because I'll just have it playing a podcast or like doing things that maybe I'm not looking at my screen but yeah like my screen measure screen time with like when your phone is like unlocked and you're like yeah I'm not sure about that. I don't know either I've never known if it counts like when you're listening to music or something like that as well when you're not really like looking at your phone but it may be doing something for you in the background. But regardless I'm pretty sure like my screen time is that or up above which is crazy if you really think about it like what do you mean I've used this for six hours out of this entire day but that's apparently it adds up to being 90 days out of the year which is three months right yeah so three months that's a quarter of the year. That's scary. Is that a quarter of the year?
SPEAKER_00Yeah three months is a quarter of the year quarter of the year love to hear that love to hear that if that adds up over multiple years that's uh uh I don't like that so I've just really been thinking it's like been on my mind a lot and it's really hard to live in a world where everything kind of revolves around social media now it's just especially too much especially as artists because I'm like how do I uh detach from this when like you know I was literally having a thought today because uh I've been trying to post a lot more for the podcast just because I wanted to reach more people and the way to do that is through social media and to get a following but I was thinking today about how I hate I mean I don't well I kind of hate a lot of parts of social media like how addictive it is how like sometimes when I'm with people in person I hate when people are like on their phones the whole time like because it's like what's the point of living through this phone when you're with someone like in front of you you know what I mean like and we all do it sometimes. I mean you and I live together so obviously we have phone time where we just sit in silence and are like scroll and it happens but at the same time I'm like that's crazy. But I was thinking today I was like am I a hypocrite because I here I am vlogging my day and like posting all these things because I'm trying to reach people on social media. But at the same time I fucking hate that now the only way to be an artist or to have a podcast feels like you have to also be a content creator where I don't necessarily want to be I mean I I will say I have been enjoying making TikToks and that's good social media more but at the same time I think like if it wasn't necessary and we could just like have our podcast and it just reached out to people automatically then I don't think I'd be doing it. Yeah. At least not like this.
SPEAKER_01You know it's interesting because it on one hand it feels like this wonderful resource for artists to use where maybe those opportunities wouldn't exist if we didn't have social media. But then on the other hand it's like well now it feels like the only way because now all the markets are so oversaturated and now it's like no one's gonna find our podcast just because they're listening to podcasts because there's so many podcasts now. It's just like everything is just I don't know I don't know I I think about it every day and I'm like uh I don't know.
SPEAKER_00Brandon do you feel the need to post about like on your grid or whatever about About acting stuff or like how you're an actor, like to help you get jobs.
SPEAKER_05I think there definitely is an element of like knowing I would like to post about this so that when people when casting directors or potential, you know, writers, directors, whoever, because in LA, a lot of the times when I get any sort of on-camera work, it's typically through referral. Um and people check out your social media to see, you know, your vibe, your aesthetic, what you look like, all the superficial stuff. And so there is a part of me, unfortunately, that does feel like I do have to post certain things that I'm up to. Yeah. As kind of like a highlight, like real of like, you know, kind of what I am. But the way like I I love taking pictures as, you know, memories and little blips of my day. And I like just sharing that. Like, that's just something I enjoy because I was a huge, like, I don't know, like I was really big on Tumblr and I just I I love aesthetic and I love, you know, curation and all that stuff. And so there is a part of me that like posts for that reason too. Um, but I've come to understand that like social media now, you know, is a marketing, it's it's a marketing tool for us as artists. And, you know, and some people do have separate profile, separate accounts for like their artist account versus like their personal account. But I think my identity, my identity as an artist, and then my identity as like a human being outside of being an artist, like they're just kind of intertwined now. I feel like I'm able to kind of like post a good balance of both.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. I feel like in LA that's even more a thing.
SPEAKER_05It is, it is. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00What is it? Okay, a lot of people talk about how LA, not to like shit on your city, but how it can be superficial. Like lots of people there look the same. There's a pressure to like I guess just look a certain way, be a certain way. Do you feel that pressure in LA?
SPEAKER_05I don't. I honestly maybe I I feel like I feel like I kind of feel like that way about New York in a way.
SPEAKER_00Interesting.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Like I from my experience and from the friends I have in LA, I feel like I don't feel that way. I feel like at least the people in my life and the people that I know personally in LA, like, they're so laid back and they they they don't really care about image. But I'm sure there are people who exist in LA who are very much of like the plastic surgery and the botox and the facials and this and that and whatever, which is like like the influencer worlds. Yes. But I feel like to be honest, a lot of those type of people are like transplants, like they're not actually like from LA.
SPEAKER_01I feel like the pressure, like everyone says in New York, it's the opposite. Like, people don't care. Like you can do anything you want, and people don't care. And I agree with that. Like, I do feel like you could be you could go out in your robe. I think I've been to like the laundromat in my robe.
SPEAKER_00Like, yeah, no, literally, I look weird in the laundromat.
SPEAKER_01But the pressure I feel in New York is sometimes it's like, how much of an individual can you be? Like, how different can you be from everyone else? How can you stand out? We're in LA. I feel like the culture is more like, how can I look like the most perfect version like everyone else here? And you know, I I will agree with that.
SPEAKER_05I think New York, there's a sense of like uniqueness and individualism that I think uh uh even just walking, like coming from LA here and just like you know, people watching and walking the streets and like kind of observing, everyone is so like blinders, blinders in their own world. I feel like to your point, it is kind of from like a selfish, like egotistical, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Like it's like we don't care, but I actually care so much, you know.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I'm just so focused on like me and like where I have to go and this, that, whatever. Which you know, I think that culture just exists in New York. Like everyone's like hustle, bustle, gotta, gotta get to this meeting, gotta catch the train, gotta do this, gotta do that. And in LA, I feel like the selfishness may come from like a different place. And I can't I don't exactly know what that place is exactly, but that's just from what I observe, you know, having experienced kind of you know, with both coasts.
SPEAKER_04Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Interesting. But also at the same time, I feel like there's so much kindness here in New York too, that people are unwilling to explore. Like on the train ride here, I was sitting next to someone who literally just pulled out their like Nintendo Switch and I just like struck up conversation with him, and he was so willing to like talk to me. Yeah, and I feel like in LA, like that may not be a thing. Interesting.
SPEAKER_00Maybe I think people are nicer in New York than people let on.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think, yeah, everyone's kind of in their zone, but like if you do have conversation with people, it's usually pretty pleasant.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, no, of course, yeah.
SPEAKER_00By the way, I had the most pleasant experience. I literally Andrew Purdy texted me a few days ago and was like, my friend in Book of Mormon is doing this short film. Do you want to be a background person on it on Tuesday? Yeah. So I was literally just like background for this short film. I was on a trivia team. Um but it's so it was all these Book of Mormon people. Andrew wasn't even there. So it was like me and like all these like Book of Mormon people, and everybody was so nice. It was like the most pleasant experience. Like I walked in and the uh producer, like I guess, recognized my picture and she was like, Hi Noelle, welcome. And I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm this background, but you know my face and my name. And everybody was just like, so nice to meet you. Like, so you know Andrew. I don't know. It was a very pleasant New York experience, and especially like going on to a set.
SPEAKER_05On set, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Me and Pete have both talked about this because Pete did um like a featured background for a Hulu series that comes out soon. Guess what the character's name is? What? Beautiful Woman. What? Yeah, it was a bit of an ego boost. Funny, but yeah, beautiful woman. That's cute. Oh yeah. We're both like really interested in the TV film world, but I feel like I personally have not spent a lot of time on set. So like I did like, I was a little role in a vertical film um like a couple months ago, and that was fun. But that made me realize because I felt like I seemed so green, whatever, compared to everybody else. Like, I was like, I don't know how to fucking be on a set. Like I know that I love to act, and I know that I've taken acting for the camera classes, but being on a set, I'm like, whoa. So it was also just a good opportunity to be on a set. And I felt like the one I did a few months ago felt a little more cold. And today everyone was just so nice. I don't know, maybe it's because it was a group of all these like theater people. Book of Mormon. But I was literally like so all these people from Book of Mormon. It was so funny. Um, I don't really know why I started talking about this. Oh, just people being nice. So it was a great New York day. I made a lot of friends, like yeah, it was really fun, but I'm just trying to be on set, and I know Pete and I have talked about this too, just in any capacity. Like, yeah, I just want to learn more just about it. Yeah, because we're so used to being on stage, like in a theater environment, and it just feels so different. I'm like I don't know how to like I just just paying attention to when they say like action, like what things they say before then, because I'm like, I don't know any of this.
SPEAKER_05Um yeah, I think being on set is the equivalent in my brain, is like the whole process of being on set is like what tech week is in theater because it's just so much sitting around and waiting. And even if you are like on the set and not in like a holding area or something, like during tech, are being on set is like having to stand still and like be lit and like hitting that number. And okay, is everyone on their number? We're setting this like special on you, blah, blah, blah, blah. And like being on set, it's like you're standing there, you're getting like touched up. They're like the gaffers like doing all the like lighting stuff, and like in theater, you have the rehearsals where you're on your feet, you're working, you're playing, or you know, playing with other actors, and all that doesn't happen on set. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00That's so that's such an interesting way to put it, and that feels really accurate too. Like, it doesn't really feel like a performance.
SPEAKER_01It's like it almost feels like theater is a luxury to the actor experience because like you are really truly living a character's journey from start to finish, um, and playing and yeah, I mean, from my small experience on set, like and just observing like what the other people were doing too, and just how everything was working, it was like, whoa, this doesn't feel like I would get to like feel the journey of the character.
SPEAKER_05Like that whole feeling of the journey, you low-key kind of have to do like on your own.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and it's so um a completely different process.
SPEAKER_05Process.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because they're both hard in different ways, but I yeah, it's maybe just a lot more like work internally.
SPEAKER_00Well, it's funny because I feel like a lot of film actors who go and do a Broadway run will talk about how hard it is.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they're like so much respect to a Broadway actors.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think maybe they're just difficult in different ways. They are different yeah, difficult in different ways for sure. Like the Broadway, maybe it's easier to get into character and to act the show itself, but you have to do it so many fucking times. You don't get a second chance, like no one's saying cut.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, like you have to n know everything and keep going, the show must go on. Whereas in film, like you can stop and start, stop and start, but then you can't then that's pulling you out of the scene. Yep, yeah, so it's just like different, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Such different hard to stay in character. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Do you see yourself like in your absolute dream? Did you just like take a bite out of your face?
SPEAKER_05I really want to chew on it. I have literally watched you like I want to, I want to like chew on it.
SPEAKER_00Don't eat thoughts. Um in your dream of all dream acting gig, would it be a movie or like a TV show or whatever, or would it be theater?
SPEAKER_05I would love to do a movie, like a feature film. Because right now I've only done some TV stuff and short films that have gone on to like win a lot of awards, which is really cool, but I've never done a full like feature-length film. Um, and I would love to um do that. I think like TV is great, and I've been fortunate fortunate enough to like d do a pilot and stuff, but I don't know, there's just something artistic about a film that's different than like something episodic.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um did you just recently film the pilot? When does it like last year?
SPEAKER_05It's supposed to come out this year. Right on the trailer's out, it looks very fun, very, very um yes.
SPEAKER_01Can you say what it is? Yes, or if you want to.
SPEAKER_05I don't I think the set title, it's called Lonely Boy. And I think that's really all I can say about it as of right now. But yes. Um Is it about a lonely boy? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay. That's that.
SPEAKER_05Yeah and that's that. But yeah, I would say my dream of all dreams, I would say like a movie. Like, I just really want to go to like kind of how Maddie's movie, The Cathedral, like went to um.
SPEAKER_00Did it go to Sundance?
SPEAKER_05No, it went to somewhere in April.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah, it went to the Venice.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, like really cool. To do that, like would be really cool. Like, I've had my fair share of film festivals, but it was always for like a short film. Like, I want to go to like I want to get into Sundance or can't yeah, can film festival or like South by Southwest or something like that, something cool. Telluride. And it will happen. But I also love you know, theater. I would love to be a part of an OBC. I would love to be a part of just originate something.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Big dreams over here, y'all.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, if you haven't noticed the conversation, always just ends up going towards artist talk, which is great because that's who we are. Yeah. I mean, it says a lot about like what our goals are. You know, how it works and how what it's like to like be an actor. Mm-hmm. Go, you know, go in for your dreams.
SPEAKER_05Well, yes.
SPEAKER_01Well yes. Well yes. Um is there anything else we want to say, or should we wrap it up?
SPEAKER_05Anything else? I feel like we low-key covered like a lot of things. We covered a lot of things. I know we did. Which is cool. So given that we winged it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I'm never worried. We wanged. We won it. We wanged. We winged it. We wanged it. Wang. Um, all right. What's the take home, you guys? Our last segment. Bobby Love Moon. Leap Hop. The take home is toast and he be schools. He be scoos.
SPEAKER_05I guess I didn't really even get to touch on my whole thesis of home and what home meaning, but I think my takeaway is like the idea of home and community are things that as adults are honestly kind of ever changing in a way. Or at least right now in this in this chapter of my life. And so just remembering that like your community and your home is like what you make of it and um how beautiful that is.
SPEAKER_00I love that. And when you move to New York, we will be part of your immediate community. And my home. So true. And your home.
SPEAKER_01Well, that was great. I don't even need to add anything to that. Okay. Well, y'all, Brandon, where can people find you?
SPEAKER_05Oh my gosh, you can find me everywhere. Like, Odyssey, you can find me on Google. You just Google me. I'm at BrandoStar on Brandon. BrandoStrum!
SPEAKER_00BrandoStar. Give me a follow. What about TikTok? Do you post on TikTok?
SPEAKER_05I'm on TikTok. I don't really I post very impulsive videos.
SPEAKER_01Your matcha, your matcha videos. Those look so good.
SPEAKER_05I do some like drink reviews sometimes whenever I'm feeling called. It got to a point where like cafes started reaching out to me, being like, Are you serious? Yeah, like come come. Like, I don't even have a following really. Like, they're just like, come to our cafe and try like our new limited edition drinks up for free. That's amazing. If you just like video, and I'm like, okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Um, that's awesome.
SPEAKER_05Branhalve on TikTok.
SPEAKER_02Oh my god, you're not brand star.
SPEAKER_05I'm not.
SPEAKER_00I don't know why. Brand please.
SPEAKER_01Okay. And thank you so much for coming.
SPEAKER_05Thank you guys for having me. This was such like a crazy like uh like crazy impulse.
SPEAKER_01This morning I did not know this was gonna happen. No, like literally.
SPEAKER_05Be on your podcast and to just like sit here with y'all and just talk and chat. It's been too long.
SPEAKER_00Warming my heart.
SPEAKER_05It's been far too long.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. It has really been.
SPEAKER_01You can follow us at Take It Home Pod on Instagram and TikTok. And you can follow us on whatever podcast platform, streaming platform you're listening to this. Um, that way we'll show up in your feed every Thursday. That's when we come out with a new episode. Share this with someone who you think would like it. That would be helpful to us as we're trying to expand our reach. And thank you for listening. We love you guys. We love you. We love you. We love you. We love you. We love you.
SPEAKER_04Bye.
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