w chinese & irish creative chimera Rachel 🇨🇦🎨🧁 on struggles with social media + asking: pro-tips for getting to know your neighbors? (014)

Co-Host: Rachel @vibrantafternoon | Host: Xinyi Xan @xinyixan Want to show your support? Subscribe + Write a Review 🙏 (it's free and means the world!!) QUICK LINKS: Join Our Pen Pals Club - Sign Up!! 📮 Come Say Hi! 👋🏼  @dontbestrangers Your Life Vision Guide: My eBook on how to find agency in your own life! 🌅 Time to Kill, Binge Listen Maybe? 🥺 LAST EPISODE: w Moroccan artist from Netherlands Sana 🍊🥺🌻 on lessons from 2021 + asking: who can you share your struggles with? (013) Hi! You’re listening to episode 14 of Don’t Be Strangers, a series of collaborative conversations on creating meaningful connections and finding agency in your life. My name’s XinYi, and anyone of any background can apply to come co-host an episode. If you’re also into community building or love digging into topics deeply, this is my invitation to you to consider applying! Or, if you’re not ready to record a podcast, we also have a Pen Pals Club which you can learn more about on our instagram page @dontbestrangers! There, you can personally connect with like-minded students of life and potentially even personally meet past co-hosts of this show! Today, I’m speaking with my creative chimera friend Rachel, who I met through the wonders of instagram. I remember I. was asking a stranger on instagram who were some of her favorite artistic inspirations and she mentioned Rachel’s art account! That’s how we connected and planted the seed of a very special and wholesome friendship! Rachel’s always sending me Good News articles supporting the cause of this podcast (such as studies showing the positive effects of speaking with strangers) and quietly supporting on the sidelines, so I truly didn’t except it when I received a co-host application from her. But I’m sure glad she applied. In this conversation, we dig into... (1) what drives us to create, (2) recent moments of sweetness and joy, (3) Rachel’s struggle with social media, (4) our grocery store run strategies, and (5) our tips on how to build connections when starting over in a new stage in our life. With that, I present to you Rachel... [ FULL TIMESTAMPS + SHOW NOTES 🎉 CLICK HERE ] 2:46 - Q Rachel at Xinyi: As a creative chimera, to what can attribute your desire to make so many different things? 🎨 9:35 - Q Xinyi to Rachel: Can you describe some moments of sweetness in your life lately? 🍦 15:55 - Q Rachel at Xinyi: What’s something, big or small, that brings pleasure to your life right now? 🥳 24:34 - Q Xinyi to Rachel: Do you mind sharing more about your struggles with Social Media? 📱 36:31 - Q Rachel at Xinyi: What is your favorite childhood memory and why? 👧🏻 39:55 - Q Xinyi to Rachel: What is your grocery store run strategy? 🛒 53:10 - Q Xinyi to Rachel: What are some tips we can share to help close the gap between strangers? 📣