I'm listening

There are several things I love in life. Those things include journalism, words, and story telling.

I've been listening to podcasts lately. I didn't have internet or television in my house for the first seven months I lived there (which was up until three weeks ago). To pass time, I'd stick my headphones on and listen to stories.

Here's what I'm listening to.

1. Serial 

Can we talk about how amazing the first series is?

I've listen to it three(ish) times. I never thought I would be interested in a bunch of teenage lives on the other side of the country, but it turns out I am.

Where was Adnan on Jan. 13? What's going on with Jay? Was the Nisha call a butt dial? Was Don really working that afternoon?

I love this podcast. It's great storytelling.

I listened to the final episode at around midnight one night. I couldn't wait to hear the end.

Well, I mean, the "end."

The second season is...well, meh. Mental health issues and the Army aren't really my favorite things, but I'll still listen faithfully every other Thursday.

Plus, I love the intro: A story told week by week. Sort of.

2. Fresh Air

I especially love the Jennifer Lawrence episode. I don't like all the topics, but I've listened to some really interesting ones this week.

The Koch brothers episode was really interesting.

3. Moth Radio Hour

There was a recent podcast about adoption that I really, really liked. I don't like every episode, but every once in a while I'll listen to something and I can't believe how amazing it is.

4. Stuff Mom Never Told You

This used to be my favorite podcast. Again, I don't like all the episodes, but every once in a while, I'll find one that's life-changing.

I appreciate the topics of women and work, the imposter syndrome, and anxiety. It actually took me a few tries to get completely through the anxiety podcast. I was too anxious to listen to it.

5. Missing 

I'm giving this a try right now. I'll give it a chance before I pass judgement.

Podcast quotes

I listen to the Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast on a regular basis.

There was an episode this week called 'The Amateur Wedding Guest.' Writer Jen Doll was a guest on the podcast, and said some pretty cool things about weddings.

I think of it as prom for adults. It’s one of the few times in adult life where we get to repeat these really orchestrated, formalized affairs. We dress up, photos are taken, it’s really important. It happens less regularly than a birthday. And they’re always different. I think when we’re going to these things where love and romance and togetherness and a spirit of bonding, not just with the couple, but with the entire group of people there, we can’t help but feel a heightened emotional state at the same time.
 It’s all very dramatic. It’s like the Oscars, or a movie. We feel vulnerable, because when we see people doing this thing, we think about where we are in life, too. And maybe we don’t measure up. It’s very hard to ever feel like you’ve done it, you’ve got there, you’re great now, there’s nothing more in life you want.
 People getting married feel the same way. Getting married doesn’t suddenly mean you’re there, everything you’ve ever wanted has been achieved. You keep wanting things, you keep achieving. You’re vulnerable as humans because you have desires and emotions and you’re living life, and life is complicated.

This is definitely true. Looking around the room that night, I was pretty proud of what all of us achieved. We finished college, we have jobs, we've moved cities multiple times, we've gone through some pretty tough stuff.

And yet, at the end of the night, we're all still together and we're still celebrating each other's achievements.

That's pretty cool, if you ask me.