Happy first week of school to my teacher friends! Oh my gosh, what a ride. This week on the podcast, I have a conversation with Jessie Harbin. She is a preschool through eighth-grade art teacher and the artist behind The Genzennial Dilemma cover art. We define art and talk about the idea surrounding the book How Art Can Make You Happy by Bridget Watson Payne.

This is a fun and quirky episode that I hope you enjoy and maybe it will even awaken your inner Bob Ross or Frida Kahlo. And just for Jessie, roll eagle and war tide.

Follow Jessie on The Gram.

See a photo of Jessie as Bob Ross.

Art Teacher inspo: @cassie_stephenz

Jessie's "artist/friend/love her work/am inspired by": @sun_poured

Another fun artist who is living and working in NOLA: @carychunlee

How Art Can Make You Happy by Bridget Watson Payne

Instagram: @thegenzennialdilemma / @lindsey.mcalister

Website: www.lindseymcalister.com/podcast

Trigger Warning: Eating disorders, body dysmorphia, body image, and mental health.

Presley is a strong woman who has overcome many obstacles that she so graciously shares with others in hopes to encourage and support. In this episode, she'll tell her story and give some practical tips for coping through disordered eating and body image.

PSA: this episode is sponsored by summers in the South because the lawn maintenance service is large and in charge for a bit at the beginning, but hang in there and just know you're not going crazy when you hear it.

Follow Presley on The Gram.

Visit Presley's website.

Presley's blogs on Thought Catalog and She Rose Revolution:

• Facing Yourself Is Scary But It's Worth It
• My Addiction Isn't Gone, But I Choose To Fight It
• To The Woman At War With Her Body
• I Am Learning To Fight The Voice In My Head That Tells Me To Make Myself Smaller
• I Will No Longer Pretend I'm The Perfect Person You Want Me To Be
• Sometimes The Sweetest Loves Never Stand A Chance
• Is It Me Or Is It Human Nature?
• The Voice That Follows Me

Instagram: @thegenzennialdilemma / @lindsey.mcalister

Website: www.lindseymcalister.com/podcast

This is a special episode. Ethan is one of the most creative, thoughtful and talented people I know. He has an adventurous, rebellious spirit and that comes into play in his creative ventures as well.

He shares how he finds creativity and beauty in the everyday and gives advice on how to accomplish that.

Make sure to check out his blog filled with poems at owlandtrain.wordpress.com.

Follow Ethan on The Gram.

The cutest photo you've ever seen of Ethan and his new puppy, Kip.

Visit Ethan's website.

Instagram: @thegenzennialdilemma / @lindsey.mcalister

Website: www.lindseymcalister.com/podcast

On this episode, Geneva and I talk about the relevance of entertainment and pop culture and why you should care about it. We chat about her Disney internship that got her to California, the ways her life is similar to the movie La la land and our mutual love for Pride and Prejudice.

No money, no prospects—you know the drill.

We also cover trusting the process with career pivots and life trajectory changes and she candidly shares her heartwarming story that gave her the initial love and admiration for television and film. Hope you enjoy this episode!

Follow Geneva on Twitter.

Instagram: @thegenzennialdilemma / @lindsey.mcalister

Website: www.lindseymcalister.com/podcast

On this episode, I chat with my works-in-publishing friend and author Elizabeth on how to write a book and then how to get it published. She breaks down all of the detailed steps and expectations you need to write the book that’s in your head or that’s already written and needs you to "pedal to the metal" the publishing process. A little bonus to this episode is that we geek out toward the end of the episode as we chat about following your dreams—so make sure to stick around for that.

Elizabeth also left you with a brilliant plethora of resources in the form of book recommendations, so make sure not to overlook those. I linked them from Amazon, but she would want me to prompt you to purchase them at your local independent bookstore if you can.

I hope you enjoy the episode! And please know that if you have this little idea or dream in your head of writing and publishing a book, I am a totally cheering you on!

Follow Elizabeth on The Gram.

Visit Elizabeth's website.

Preorder Elizabeth and Audrey's book: Liturgies for Hope (coming November 1, 2022).

Elizabeth's book recommendations:

• For when you want to be inspired to write: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
• A fiction book everyone should read: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• Another fiction book everyone should read: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• Go-to memoir: Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang
• Poetry collections: Devotions by Mary Oliver
• Audiobook recommendation: Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Instagram: @thegenzennialdilemma /

How do you even make friends? It can be hard—especially as an adult. It's similar to dating in the sense of "putting yourself out there" and overcoming cringy moments. But once you find those friends, they truly do turn into your second family and are so important for your mental health.

In this episode, we cover practical things you can be doing to make friends stat.

Also, Joe Jonas, if you ever read this, I will always love you.

Follow Robin on The Gram.

The infamous Jo Bro photo.

Joe Jonas's TikTok.

Instagram: @thegenzennialdilemma / @lindsey.mcalister

Website: www.lindseymcalister.com/podcast

This episode is a fun one. It was the first episode I recorded. I texted Tiensae and said, "If I buy podcast equipment, will you record with me this weekend when you are in town?" And, spoiler alert, she was in. The original raw file was two and a half hours long, so there will probably be a part two and possibly a part three.

Tiensae and I talk a bit about dating and the "ick" in meeting a new potential partner. Her boyfriend even makes an appearance to defend himself over her traveling ick of his.

Follow Tiensae on The Gram.

Instagram: @thegenzennialdilemma / @lindsey.mcalister

Website: www.lindseymcalister.com/podcast

I chat with an engineer turned entrepreneur. My friend, Kate, owns an incredible clean beauty business that she puts an inspiring amount of work into day after day.

We talk about following your dreams and identifying and pursuing your passions. It's admittedly not for the faint of heart but dang can it be so rewarding.

Sit back, relax and do something today that you love doing—whether that's reading a book, having a dance party in your kitchen or taking a hot girl walk. Or a hot guy walk, is that a thing?

Follow Kate on The Gram.

Follow Made Simple Living on The Gram.

Shop Made Simple Living.

Instagram: @thegenzennialdilemma / @lindsey.mcalister

Website: www.lindseymcalister.com/podcast