iCiNG Podcast Featuring Simon!
[ 23 February 2008 ]
iCiNG Podcast Featuring Simon! (MP3)
Click the link to listen now, or right-click to save & listen later!
I have had a couple of requests for podcasts recently, so I enlisted my boyfriend to help me out. Here we respond to an email I received recently from a girl dealing with… well, being a teenager.
Hope you enjoy it!
Love letters & feather headdresses,
Tags: advice,
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Great advice, I am a 15 year old living in Enaland and I can totally relate to this. Thanks Gala and Simon!
Ps. I looooove your accents! I so want to visit Australia now!!
Love,
Alex xx
Also, to the girl that e-mailed Gala, I hope you get over your problems, and can lead a much happier life =)
I am gonig through high school now and it sucks =/ I think the best years of your life are probably your 20’s and 30’s were you’re old enough to venture out into the world, and young enough to be carefree =)
Flick me an e-mail (crystal-fusion-x0@hotmail.co.uk)
Good luck,
Alex xx
My answer would be no matter how stupid it feels get up every morning and tell yourself you’re pretty. Talking from experience it works. Once you begin to feel confident about yourself people begin to notice the amazing vibes you’re sending off, when you’re happy people will notice.
Clubs are a pointless place to try and meet people, it’s impossible to talk there. Join a club, I climb like Simon and not only does it make you feel great completing a climb but you also make some friends along the way.
Boys are annoying, they never get you at this age. Unless you scream from the rooftops they won’t realize your feelings. If you’re confident the boys will come soon enough, and if not it’s their loss.
I used to live in jeans and a t-shirt too. I also am 15 and live in a totally unfashionable city in Wales. Learn to take risks. Start off small, buy yourself some jeans that make you feel good about yourself then buy yourself some nice t-shirts, a jacket. Maybe buy a key item every 4 months or whatever. Don’t follow trends, interpret them your own way. You can never feel good in uniform but you can maybe have a cool rucksack or make an effort with your hair, whatever makes you feel amazing because you should!
I hope that helps. If you want more advice email me: talkativetoria@hotmail.com
That was great! Awww, Simon seems like such a positive person!
I always get the impression that my teenage years are supposed to be the best of my life. Older people always say “Oh, you’re so young and healthy, you’re full of energy, the world’s your oyster” etc, and thats probably where the misconception comes from (for me, at least). I’ve stopped worrying about not having the “time of my life” at this stage— instead I just look forward to the day when I’ll be leading the life I want to live!
Thanks Gala!
p.s. “Did you hear about Mavis!?” made me laugh for ages.
this is a little irrelevant…but coilhouse mentioned you in their most recent post…just thought you’d like to know!
YAY YAY YAY you responded to my mail! It was far too lovely and helpful and every other positive adjective under the sun (as you’ll probably realise from my e-mail reply)!
A whole lotta British love
xxxxxxxxxxxx
You two are too cute!! I think it’d be great to listen to this podcast every time I get stuck in a silly negative rut – guaranteed to make one all smiles and to bring me out of my own head! Love to Molly for being the catalyst for such a great podcast!
that made me smile a lot. some really great advice, particularly from your boyfriend, who i’d say is almost certainly destined for talk show host fame. [:
You give such great advice. I think it’s lovely that your boyfriend also helped too.
I had an awful time being a teenager. I wish I had listened to this podcast four years ago!
Wisdom comes with age I guess.
Have a lovely weekend
Lucy
This is absolutely wonderful. Both of you are so lovely and positive… it’s completely inspiring!
I agree completely with everyone, it’s a total misconception that the teenage years are the best.
i personaly think your very young years (when you rely on your parents to do everything and don’t worry) and your adult years (when you have to learn to rely on yourself and no-one else and discover it’s okay to worry)are the best
the stuff inbetween is nasty
Love the accents, and I was very surprised that I could understand everything. It’s been so long since I heard a complete talk in English le sigh.
So Simon likes climbing, I agree with him, the thrill of the challenge is amazing! Last year I went climbing this mountain en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevado_d… with my Physics professor and my friends and we are going back next Saturday.
About the Podcast, I totally agree to what you say about talking to people and asking them questions. You can see it on their faces, they like that you are being interested on them and what they have to say.
Physically I’m just like that girl, short, a bit chubby and bespectacled. I used to feel like the ugly duckling when I was 15, luckily I didn’t feel the need to mop around that all the time, my great support system didn’t allow me that (my sister and my friends Arely and Liz are my support system). I always had someone around me telling me how beautiful, smart and wonderful person I was, someone always had something positive to say to me. I think that is the key really, you need to surround yourself with positive people that can reach to you when you are feeling down about yourself.
Teenage years are the worst of your life, I didn’t really adapt until I was in college which was a year and a half ago. Now I feel more comfortable with myself and I can be more open and talk to people.
Yeah, you two give great advice!!!
Kisses!
psh, i knew before i even heard this that simon would be totally wise and mystical
How wonderful! That was a great podcast, and you both sound so lovely that I listened to it twice.
Its so strange for me to realise that I was that person once, chubby, short, bad teeth, awkward and a bit antisocial. And I don’t know if anything drastically changed about me physically, but sometime in the past year or two I woke up and realised that I’m beautiful and lovely and capable of being a charming and interesting person. And that I could forgive my fellow peers for not always being kind, reasonable amd decent human beings because they are teenagers too who may not have the right idea and are awkward just like everyone else, and they are unique and have problems and are learning to grow up and everything, so I can relate.
The way I’ve most changed in the past couple of years, I guess, is I started caring about the feelings of other people, making others feel comfortable and being polite, which makes you very approachable by let people think that you are paying attention. I discovered that maybe the only thing good about being a teenager is that you can get away with being rediculous sometimes, and are bound to constantly embaress yourself anyway, so I’ve explored many diffrent types of hobbies, music and fashions and constantly try new things without the pressure of not looking stupid now and again. Something that has made me at least feel more sexy and cool is to walk about in a confident and carefree way, smiling and walking as if to music, which tends to make people look up to you and makes it less easier for people to look down on you.
So thats my bit. Goodness, I can’t wait to stop be a teenager and get on with my life! But with the right outlook, its not so bad. :)
THANKYOU GUYS! Seriously, you both made my evening. Woe is me that I live in soggy old London and not in Australia. If I did I would definitely seek you both out and invite you out for coffee, you sound like you’d be fab to talk to!
I am like the girl who emailed (15, live in England, worried that I am living the ‘best years of my life’ badly etc.) and you gave really helpful advice. Usually when adults give advice on being a teen it’s patronising, but you weren’t at all and for that I thank you.
To the girl who emailed: If you’re reading this and want to chat to someone your age and in your situation, email me! I’d love to talk to you!
claireh127@yahoo.co.uk
oh wow. i LOVE simon!!
is there anything cuter than him?
Gasp. This sounded so much like me!
I LOVE your accents! Australianishness is adorable :)
monkey analogy was cute too ;)
thank you so much for the advice!
kitti xxx
You guys are wonderful!
More podcasts?!
I don’t have much self confidence, but I always try to say something good to myself. Start replacing bad thoughts with good ones!
Best of luck!
You two are an inspiration :)
I was the exact same at that age and at a little older as well…(now 18). I think everyone has to go through that stage, but it’s a case of finding out who you are and who you want to be and making your perfect life happen. I’m in year 13 in London and it does get better as people get older and more responsive to genuine people as opposed to the weird version of ‘popularity’ they have in English schools (which seems to be focused on how many boys you’ve slept with!)
I had a secret weapon though-I was the new girl from Ireland, so I could sorta recreate myself. Although it backfired as I still wasn’t sure of myself and was very easily led. I recommend working on making friends with boys, which will take practice, but you have so much more potential friends that way. Also being a more positive and friendly person will naturally endear yourself to more people anyway!
Oh you guys are adorable! Too much! And stamp collecting! Hilarious! It’s lovely to hear your voice again and your mad hybrid accent. And Simon: I’m a complete sucker for an articulate well-spoken man – especially one from NZ! I think you both gave awesome advice, and I was so pleased you jumped all over that ‘best years of your life’ nonsense; I mean, really, what kind of sad life do you have if school was the best part?!
My advice to the girl-from-Gloucester is: find something, some aspect of your life, that makes you happy and gets you through and is going to be there for you when everything else is bringing you down somewhat. Reading or photography or knitting or Shakespeare or soccer – it’s really helpful to be able to say to yourself “Yay! Today is Tuesday and that means dancing!” or “Three more sleeps until the big game!” or whatever.
Hey and “Nana” is usually right: veges, water, sleep, exercise, etc.
This was fantastic!!!!!!!!
xxx
Thank you both for that.
Much love! xo
it’s great to know there are people like you out there ~
gala, simon … you are absolutely wonderful!
I am definately going to try and listen to this on vaccay when I have access to faster net. My computer won’t download past the ‘monkey’ part of the podcast. awww….
But what I heard was good. :)
You two are seriously adorable!
I just wanted to say that I really appreciated the comment about how the best years of your life start when you make a decision to change your life for the better. This was something I really needed to hear right now. Thank you! :D
hi :)
i’ve wanted to write u for a while, i have pics of u hang on my wall along time, u were another girl i liked her style, like most of the girls i have pics of. welll… most of them are models..i sew…so i like pics of clothes i like in fromt of me. anmyway, after around a year i had a pic of u on my wall, i reviseted u’r blog around 2 weeks ago, by accident and it changed my life, i EFT on everything now and it made my life so much better. and i love your advises, anyway, i wanted to let you know you made a big diffrence ( i also told all my friends) in the other side of the world (israel),i also liked u’r accent even if i couldnt understand everythin :)
thanks
adi
Accents make my day so much better. My dad still has a bit (another aussie!) but its just not the same.
Aside from that, great great great advice. A good approach of looking at something that in hindsight seems straightforward but when you’re in it is just unbearable.
you can totally hear the chemistry between you and simon. you’re so lucky to have someone so positive and encouragin by your side :)
its only been recently that i’ve had enough money to splurge on things like clothing, but i have to say i appreciate having only a little because it made me a lot more precious about what i would buy, every article of clothing was so much more important- so everything i bought i had to be in love with. i also have the habit of buying totally versatile clothes now that i can dress up and down to cover every occasion!
i agree with gala and simon that these are definately not the best years of your life. once you’re out of school you’ll have so many more opportunities to grow, meet people, and do what you like through your own independence. you are also not forced (in most circumstances) to be surrounded by people you do not want to be around.
good luck sweetheart x
and as always gala- you’re amazing xx
Gala, this was absolutely fantastic. I feel exactly like the girl who wrote this letter so I felt like you were both talking to ME. But no matter your situation, anybody can benefit from this advice.
& Simon seems like an amazing guy! You’re very lucky to be with him. But then again, he’s also very lucky to be with you!
Loved the podcast.. and just reminding everyone that Gala and Simon are New Zealanders, not Australians :) They just live in Australia! And New Zealanders are not Australians: we don’t even share a land mass!
(me gets of the I’m a Kiwi and I’m PROUD soapbox)
lol…
I forgot to say something meaningful:
1. Your teenage years are years where you learn how control your hormones, get the hang of your looks, start trying to figure out how you fit in society, learn how to get what you want without your parents figuring it (deviousness), focussing on your studies (really important) and making really good friendships that LAST. The reason why us older ones say they’re your “best years” is because you’re not all dragged down by big mortgages, having aging elderly parents to worry about or teenage kids to worry about :) Invariably your Mum does your washing, cooking and keeps the roof over your head. You don’t have to think too hard about that. Us older types have to do that for ourselves, AS WELL as try and have a good time (!), PLUS work 8 hours plus a day and travel and cook and clean and worry about famliy and stuff…! I reckon you guys have it better, but in a different way!
2. My Mum is 76 (nearly 77) and is not old. She’s an Internet junkie, plays Scrabulous with me on Facebook, has a digital keyboard and knows how to download music, photos and so on :) If she had a choice, she’d spend all day every day on the ‘net. So 75 isn’t old. You’re as old as you feel!
3. Having said all that, when you’re 15 days are really LONG. When you get to about 34-35 you find that the days slip by really fast and so does your life. Time is the biggest healer and seriously in a week’s time things will be different. So write down your experiences of RIGHT NOW and in a week’s time compare with how things are. I betcha it’s changed.
4. As far as boys go: BE FUSSY!! Don’t kiss any frogs! Don’t go for the best looking either… the best guys are the guys who make an effort, don’t come on too strong physically and are interested in PEOPLE. You don’t need a boyfriend now ‘coz they’re more interesting when they’re older :) And they think using their BRAIN when they’re older, too!
5. Decide on values that are good for you e.g. if you don’t think it’s good to rag on people, then don’t. Like yourself – find things about yourself you like. If you’re smart, celebrate that. if you have great eyes (forget the specs), nice nails, great hair, nice skin, tidy or organised or artistic or easy going then celebrate that. Remember you are SO WORTHY of respect, politeness, good manners. Don’t allow those with no values to impact yours.
‘nuff said.
(me gets of the I’minmy40sthatswhyIsaythesethings soapbox)
:)
This was a lovely thing to download and play while driving to one of my gigs (my car has a port for my ipod – I wasn’t dumb enough to drive with earphones in, obviously). I liked how the advice to meet people was to look outside of school, and I totally agree. Talk to everyone – all of my very lovely fiends are from chance encounters met at gallery openings, lines for concerts – there’s nothing better than finding beautiful souls to talk with, even if you don’t end up friends it’s a good experience.
awww, I miss you guys! I loved just hearing your voices again, and Si, that was just like the many many wise conversations/advice I’ve had from you over the years! I too, probably could have used that when I was 15, but I think I managed ok!
It just made me miss you both so much! And as always, very sound advice! take care my lovelies!
P.S. I loved the ‘Simon and Gala are Kiwis’ comment… hehehe…
Wow, Gala, you don’t sound anything like I expected. I think it’s because of your look, and the internet base, it fools me into assuming people are American even though I know very well that you are a Kiwi in Oz.
It’s great to hear a couple of young Kiwis talking sense and helping people out :]
You guys are awesome! And I agree, teenage years, especially the ones spent in high school suck compared to everything after it. I ‘m only the same age as Gala but I can truly say that with conviction (even including the time I spent really sick after school).
Gala, I really enjoyed this podcast. You have a soothing voice and what you say about self belief is very true.
I especially like it when your podcasts don’t sound like you’re just reading from something you meticulously wrote out.
Keep up the amazing website and all your online gala stuff!
Thank You! This was a wonderful podcast, If only I had listened to it a few years earlier. I just got a great idea, you should do a post about what you were like at age 15. If you were awkward and not amazing, great, because you are such a great person now, and have no idea how much influence you have over your readers, you do enter our psyche as a successful role model, so if you too were once a not so amazng real human being, it would make us all feel like everyone can eventually become a success. And if you were fabulous even back then, well it will give us hope that at any age we can be a sucess.
That was a really positive and great podcast with lots of practical advice. I am 25 and needed a reminder of that kind of stuff at the moment! I have been seriously trying to change my attitude and it is hard work! But it does seriously work. Just like Simon said, a mantra works wonders.
You guys make a fab team! xx
oh my goodness. Who knew a couple as perfect as you two existed? You’re both incredibly intellegent and kind and having amazingly relaxing voices!
I really enjoyed this!!
I just managed to get some time to listen to this & I absolutely loved it & enjoyed it muchly, as I do all things that involve monkeys :p & splendiferous advisings. xx
Awww….great….in fact excellent podcast from you and your Boyfriend…..do this more often please it’s so good to listen too.
Great advice,i hope it helps the person in question.
Good advice in general too as even when we grow up we can still self loathe and feel negative…....train the monkey people…..i’m going to start training my monkey a bit better too as it has been wondering off lately :)
hahahah. GALA!
you made me laugh aloud with your “DID YOU HEAR ABOUT MAVIS?!”
i love you two together. great advice, as well.
Hey Gala, I played the podcast to my friend Bex and she enjoyed listening :) AND she went to high school with you!! She was a year below you, but remembers you. Just wanted to share! xx
She says you are so right about the school stuff you mention in the podcast too…I think she enjoyed school as much as you.. ;)
My gosh, I just got around to listening to this podcast, and get Simon to do some!
Love the analagies he came up with! You definitively need to see if he’s willing to do some!
(Hah, so many monkey stories.)
And if the girl is reading this, 15-16 is the toughest point, but after that, it does get better. You just need to plough through it.