MY FIRST YEAR

In today’s episode, we speak with Aaron, a sophomore at the University of Florida. Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Miami, Aaron describes growing up in a largely Hispanic community, learning English quickly after moving to the U.S. with his mother, and enduring intense academic pressure that led to burnout and heated conflicts about leaving home. Unable to afford out-of-state options and facing guilt tied to his mom’s sacrifices, he chose UF and found freedom to be himself and build an LGBTQ friend circle. He describes balancing classes, internships, and a job at Starbucks, while pursuing public relations and journalism, and shares advice about exploring college while staying true to yourself.Be sure to check out other episodes in the My First Year series, wherever you get your podcasts.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

For all the students arriving at college for the first time this week, hear from Shreya, a University of Georgia student, writer, poet, and founder of the autism advocacy nonprofit Color Me Blue.Shreya reflects on leaving behind the familiarity of home, adjusting to college as an introvert, and finding a group of friends who made her feel truly seen. She shares how poetry helped her process the transition, why she decided it was okay to “care too much,” and how stepping outside her comfort zone opened doors she never expected.  From choosing UGA over her dream of New York City to navigating homesickness, friendship, ambition, and what she calls “future nostalgia,” Shreya’s story is about learning that you don’t need to have your whole future figured out to embrace where you are right now.You can check out Shreya’s Substack: https://substack.com/@shreyasophieAnd her latest poetry book on Amazon📚 https://www.amazon.com/Stars-Puddles-Clouds-My-Eyes/dp/B0FPXRQJLK?ref_=ast_author_mpbAnd follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasophie/ ❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions. Learn more: https://sophiamedia.co/MyFirstYear🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

Nikki lost her husband Rob to cancer when she was only 46. She talks about leaving her first marriage where she was a self-described tradwife and young mom of three, meeting Rob with whom she had a profoundly close bond and a beautiful marriage, losing Rob to colon cancer, working through grief and anger, and continuing embracing love and life following Rob's passing.Nikki met Rob when they were rival Speech and Debate coaches for two of the strongest teams in Oregon. They bonded over their shared love of literature and language and fell deeply in love. Together, they raised their son, Justus, and Nikki’s three daughters from her first marriage, and taught together in Oregon, Brazil, and across the world during their 20-year relationship.In 2022, Rob learned that he had stage-four colon cancer and was given about 11 months to live. During their remaining time together, Nikki and Rob were radically honest with each other and resolved to bond as much as they could before he passed.Under Brazilian law, Nikki had eight days of bereavement leave before she had to return to work. She describes what those first few weeks felt like: supporting their 12-year-old son, finding a widowhood community through writing, learning Rob’s guitar to honor his memory, and building a new home while keeping Rob present in her daily parenting and conversations.You can find Nikki on Substack: https://nikkidarling.substack.com/ And follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikitafeminista/ Be sure to check out other episodes in the My First Year series, wherever you get your podcasts.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

What does it feel like to leave behind everything you've ever known—and begin again?My First Year in America is a new podcast from Sophia Media exploring the deeply personal stories of immigrants and the first year that changed their lives.Through intimate conversations, our guests revisit the excitement, uncertainty, fear, discovery, and transformation of starting over in the United States. They reflect on the people they left behind, the challenges they faced, the moments that shaped them, and how that first year changed their identity, relationships, and sense of self.Because sometimes, a single year can change everything.My First Year in America premieres September 4.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

What happens when you bring a dog into your life? From Sophia Media comes a new podcast exploring the profound transformation that begins when a dog enters your universe. Whether it is your first dog or your tenth, that first year reshapes far more than just your daily routine—it changes who you are.In this trailer, hear from dog parents Brian, Jennifer, and Beth as they share the exact moments they fell in love, discovered a new sense of purpose, and realized their hearts had grown bigger than they ever thought possible.Join us for My First Year with My Dog—an intimate look at how the dogs we welcome into our homes end up transforming our hearts, our relationships, and who we become. Premiering August 25, 2026. ❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

How is Gen Z really experiencing college? In Season 1 of My First Year in College, hosts Sophia and Rosabelle talk with college students and recent grads about the dreams and expectations they arrived with-and the anxiety, loneliness, joy, discovery and triumphs they encountered along the way. Going beyond the polished version of college life we see on social media, My First Year in College explores the emotional and intellectual lives of young people as they navigate a defining year of change.🍎 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-first-year-in-college/id6801327435🎵 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0346Gmh7CUjMgx2wT1IRyV?si=8989f284ca3b4f1f🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

Tulsa resident Eric Heimdale became a full-time caregiver for his wife Patty, who showed early dementia signs around 2014–15. Eric recounts meeting Patty in 1991, blending their families, and a serendipitous earlier connection through a shared home address. After Patty failed a cognitive test and was prescribed memantine and Lexapro, Eric says the drugs led to violence, hallucinations, and a sudden loss of mobility. He researched alternatives, weaned her off the medications, and regained a calmer version of Patty. Over eight years he learned to be proactive, adapted their home and routines, retired and closed his lighting business, and found support by writing for the caregiver Facebook group Molly’s Movement. After Patty’s death, he reengaged with music, writing, and improv while sharing caregiving lessons about attitude, patience, and acceptance. He says that caregiving was the hardest job he ever had and the best job he ever had. 🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

What really happens when a woman becomes a mother?Beyond sleepless nights and diapers, motherhood transforms every part of life—our identity, relationships, careers, priorities, and understanding of love.In My First Year as a Mother, women share honest stories about what no one prepared them for:😬 The anxiety of bringing home a newborn.💙 The isolation of postpartum.✨ The unexpected moments of joy.🌱 The journey of rediscovering yourself.Through each deeply personal conversation, we hope to help mothers and mothers-to-be feel less alone and more connected, less judged and better understood, less fearful and more loved.💕🎙️ Premieres August 3, 2026.Listen wherever you get your podcasts.🍎 Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-first-year-as-a-mother/id6795897663🎵 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/033XQomO3dVAYrAqVbM0Bs?si=300d4e6d44f144c8🌐 Learn more: https://sophiamedia.co/MyFirstYear❤️ Subscribe for honest conversations about motherhood, identity, and life's biggest transitions.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

Send us Fan MailMy First Year as a Father is an interview-style podcast that centers on the often unheard stories of fatherhood, especially during that pivotal first year. By listening to these men speak openly and honestly about their own journeys – the doubts, the fears, the transformations – the listener experiences something that rarely exists elsewhere: real talk about what it actually feels like to become a father and adjust to a new reality.Website: www.SophiaMedia.co/MyFirstYear 🍎 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-first-year-as-a-father/id6798906988🎵 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0342KedHU37th2BZlvN6yA?si=5a8fb97f64c6449f ❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.#Fatherhood #child #Relationships #men #Parenting #identity #purpose #love #Podcast #MyFirstYear 🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

Hosts Sophia and Adoley interview Twiggy Damy, a care manager in the Bay Area, about her immigration journey from Acapulco, Mexico to California in 1991. Twiggy recounts losing her father at age five, being raised largely by her paternal grandmother, and her mother’s repeated moves to the U.S. that left Twiggy longing for reunification and struggling with suppressed grief. A full year after she had packed a suitcase for America, Twiggy finally reunited with her mother and stepfather in San Francisco’s Mission District, adjusting to small apartments, public transit, limited holiday traditions, and not speaking English.  Twiggy unexpectedly found belonging through community theater for high-risk youth, which shaped her path into family- and community-based support work and deepened pride in her multicultural roots.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

In this episode of “My First Year With My Dog,” Sophia and Samira interview Brian Berger, who shares his story of adopting a rescue dog with his wife, Amy, after years of wanting a dog. They initially sought a small dog but connected with a quiet blonde pit bull (later named Christie “Brinkley”) at a Brooklyn rescue. Brian describes bringing Brinkley home and early adjustments in a Brooklyn apartment, including crate training, consistent positive-reinforcement training, and milestones like learning stairs. He reflects on how Brinkley provided companionship, patience, emotional support during stressful finance work, strengthened relationships and community connections. A year after Brinkley’s death, Brian discusses grief, therapy, and complicated feelings about adopting again.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

In today’s episode, co-hosts Sophia and Rosabelle speak with Dagny, a Los Angeles–based singer-songwriter and NYU Gallatin graduate who created her own college major (“Language Curation and Ethics”). Dagny recounts growing up homeschooled in Connecticut, adjusting to public high school, and graduating in 2020 as COVID ended senior milestones. She chose NYU largely for the excitement of New York during the pandemic and moved into Brittany Hall as an athlete with online classes. Early freshman year she felt isolated, explored her sexuality through a crush on a teammate that ended painfully, and fell into depression, using journaling, songwriting, running, friends, family to cope. A supportive friend group and an influential professor helped her regain confidence, confront imposter syndrome, and reflect on slowing down, self-acceptance, and pursuing music and a grounded life.Be sure to check out other episodes in the My First Year series, wherever you get your podcasts.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

Concert musician, food book author and Asian philosophy, Qi-Gong and Chinese medicine teacher Andrew Sterman recounts how he decided to have children with his wife Anne, a master acupuncturist, marked by a ceremony inviting “universal creative forces.” He describes two successful home births in 2004 and 2007 with midwife and doula, using acupuncture during labor, and the mystical intensity of birth. Sterman emphasizes dads focusing on postpartum recovery, being responsive, avoiding toxic masculinity, and meeting children as distinct personalities from birth, following the child’s lead, limiting overstimulating toys, and finding the first year primarily joyous despite fatigue, co-sleeping challenges, jaundice, and work-life tradeoffs.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

Sophia introduces “My First Year: The Anthology” and kicks off with an episode from the upcoming podcast “My First Year as a Mother.” The series is co-hosted by Sophia and new mom, Casey Georgi. For this episode, we learn more about Casey’s story. Casey describes pursuing IVF to avoid passing on her husband’s rare genetic brittle bone disease, osteogenesis imperfecta. She shares reluctance about invasive IVF procedures, her unexpectedly calm pregnancy, and a difficult birth after developing cholestasis that led to a three-day induction, and ultimately, a C-section. Casey discusses her physical recovery, breastfeeding journey, and the emotional toll of an exhausting feeding schedule, including the isolation she experienced. She also explores deeper tensions: career-identity struggles, her complicated relationship with her own mother, and shifts in intimacy with her husband, all while becoming more mindful and grateful as Violet grows.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.

From Sophia Media comes a new podcast series exploring the moments that shape us. My First Year is a collection of deeply personal conversations with people from all walks of life, reflecting on the experiences that transformed them—moments of courage, uncertainty, loss, love, reinvention, and discovery.Our guests revisit some of the most meaningful chapters of their lives and explore questions like:How did this experience shape you?What did it teach you about life, love, and yourself?Did it change the path you were on?Did it bring you closer to who you truly are?Because sometimes a single year can change everything.Listen to the first show in the series, My First Year: The Anthology, beginning July 3rd, wherever you listen to podcasts.And join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.My First Year. Real stories. Lasting transformation.🌐Follow the series wherever you listen to podcasts and join our growing community at sophiamedia.co.▶️ www.youtube.com/@MyFirstYearSeries❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.Email [email protected] and share your own transformative first year with us.