Have you ever felt both connected and conflicted by the place you came from?

In this episode of It’s Both, I sit down with my longtime friend Thomas to unpack our shared experiences growing up in youth group — the joy, the community, the creativity... and the fear-based teachings that left deeper marks than we realized.

Through real stories and honest storytelling, we explore the emotional complexity of faith, belonging, and identity. Thomas, who now works in mental health and is deeply connected to music and art, shares how those early experiences shaped his worldview — and how he’s been reconstructing his beliefs ever since.

This is a conversation about holding multiple truths, about embracing both the beauty and the harm, and about what it looks like to find your personal growth journey in the gray areas between faith and freedom.

Whether you're deconstructing, healing, or just wondering what to do with the mixed feelings of your past, this episode is full of authentic conversation, emotional resilience, and a reminder that you’re not alone in the complexity.

Key themes:

- Navigating life’s gray areas between faith and doubt

- The lasting impact of youth group experiences

- Mental wellness, emotional intelligence & questioning authority

- Found family, self-discovery, and creative healing

- The power of vulnerability in storytelling

If you’ve ever felt stuck between what you were taught and what you believe now, this one’s for you.
Tune in for a deeply human, heartfelt episode that makes space for embracing contradictions — and finding peace in the in-between.

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Thank you again for listening and remember, life isn't either/or, it's both.

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