The Average African Kid Podcast

Ask Jordyn (Part 7): Rediscovering the Inner Creative in You

Let's find out how to rediscover the inner creative in you.

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[00:00:00] Tuoyo Eresanara: Oh, yeah. Wow. That's, that's a nice, so I'm hearing the arts in this whole thing.

[00:00:06] So tell us a bit about that, about your journey and what you do. 

[00:00:13] Jordyn Ruiz: Well, I think in a lot of ways, I'm just at the beginning. But let's take a few step backwards. I've always been artistic person. I'm very, I'm, left-handed, I'm very right brained. I loved, I love to engage in the music and the arts. I all through my life I've been, I sort of had.

[00:00:28] Creative tendencies, you know, in this is a story I like to tell to my friends a lot is that when I was in elementary school, about fourth grade I was always known as the girl who draws. And so people would like ask you to draw their favorite superhero or you know, whatever it may be that they liked.

[00:00:44] And I, I would do it for them my friends of course, but it got to a time. And I guess I just like, it was sort of an unconscious sort of response is like, if you pay me in these little, like paper bucks in elementary school, that we went to go get like [00:01:00] toys of the treasure box, I would be like, okay, give me five of those paper bucks and I'll draw you iron man.

[00:01:07] I was already like in this sort of entrepreneurial mindset as a child, it's hilarious slimmed back on, but it got to a point where my teacher told me, Jordyn you can't be the only one getting all the toys of the treasure box. And I was like, I am girl bossy.

[00:01:26] You know, through like all like my schools, like all those years in school, I would, you know, be doing like art little art projects for people and for myself. And then you know, as college sort of rolled around, I silenced that I told myself, you know, I was also told by other people, like, it's just a hobby.

[00:01:47] Like you, you can't really, you can't make money off of it. You can't sustain yourself. And so I had to put on, you know, my sort of like stoic face and realize, okay, I need to choose something else. And I've always [00:02:00] been like, interested in like science. It's always been intriguing to me. I live a learning.

[00:02:05] Like, I truly love the natural pursuit of knowledge. And so I realized, okay, maybe I can, like, I can dive into the other parts of myself and find some, some meaning in and do that. Right. And so I went full throttle into Pre-Med. And completely, I don't think I drew maybe once or twice in all those four years of college.

[00:02:25] And I I've sort of found myself when I was studying for the entrance exam for medical school, the end cap I wanted in the back of my mind, I was like, okay, I'm gonna finish this chapter so I can maybe do a sketch or something because I was, I missed it and like my body and my heart and my soul, like it missed engaging in that creative process.

[00:02:46] And once I started realizing this like, wow, I'm actually looking for something else. I had to kind of come to terms with the reality of like, this is a part of me. And it's not healthy to kind of run away from things [00:03:00] that, you know, you love. And so I, once I faced that big sort of like transition in my life that I wasn't ready to pursue medicine right now, maybe I will in the future, maybe I won't.

[00:03:13] But right now my heart is telling me like, to engage in his creative endeavor. And so now I, I think in a lot of ways, I'm at the beginning of starting this business for myself. I take commissions right now. I do different paintings for people and I'm working on an online store or website for myself with my own original artwork.

[00:03:35] And so it's been a, it's been a journey back to myself that has been filled with a lot of ups and downs, but I feel the most connected. And it almost in like a spiritual way, I feel like, you know, I think God places, certain qualities, talents skills into people in the opportunity to manifest them and create them to become, you know, to honor [00:04:00] him in a lot of ways.

[00:04:01] I think, I think he does because in a lot of ways I didn't choose art. It kind of chose me and just found myself. You know, most aligned when I am in the creative mode, like dad always in calls it Wu way, which is like the sort of effortless action, which is like the flow state. When you're in the flow state.

[00:04:21] You're not thinking of time, you're just engaging and it's hours pass, and you're not really attending to time. And I think that's the most authentic way to be. And when I'm in that sort of drawing art painting mode, that's when I feel the most alive, I remember moments, you know, through the pandemic I would take, I took on a few commissions because I had some extra time and I knew it'd be good for me to kind of engage with that.

[00:04:50] And so there were moments, I felt like the most alive. I was like, I could die right now painting. Right. And with the sun setting right next to me, God smiling on my [00:05:00] shoulder. I felt so good. So it's good to be kind of aware with like what certain things you're doing and how it feels within your body. If you're feeling anxiety about doing something, it's your body's way of telling you, Hey, let's be cautious.

[00:05:15] Let's think before we engage. And, you know, I was in a constant state of stress, like pursuing things, just to validate my existence when it came to academics. And once I stopped and let go of that, I feel like I, I just like, and floating, and I'm just so much more at peace. And, you know, I wish that for everyone, and it doesn't mean like you shouldn't pursue like, you know, certain academic like roles or anything like that.

[00:05:46] It's just like to be aware of yourself and to be aware of what feels good for you and not stress yourself out or put yourself through so much, if it's for the validation of other people or external things. [00:06:00] That is the most, I think terrible thing you can do for your soul. And so for me now, I recognize this within myself, I'm much more wiser and I can , go forward and design a future for myself that is catered to the sort of life I want to live.

[00:06:17] And that is one that is like rooted in authenticity, rooted in what is most important to me. And that's being me. And that is, you know, sort of using maybe the gifts or talents God placed in me to, you know, help other people art does a beautiful thing for others. It brings, a connection. It's, we're always surrounded by something artistic and you know, the feeling I get from creating something for someone and saying it moved them to tears or it, you know, it just brought so much happiness.

[00:06:53] You know, I was chasing that same feeling in different ways, but that weren't authentic to me. And so I'm finally in [00:07:00] alignment with that and it's, it's so freeing. And so I encourage anyone who's, you know, maybe creative and they don't think it matters. Like, trust me, it does. Even if 10 people see it, that's, it doesn't matter about the numbers.

[00:07:15] It's just as much for other people as it is for you. And so here I am, I am trying my best to integrate this part of myself. For sure. Maybe I'm gonna, you know, have a different career down the line. And my I'm incorporating art as also part of me. It's not just silence anymore. It's fundamental to who I 

[00:07:39] am.

[00:07:41] Tuoyo Eresanara: Wow. And come to think of it. Like, I actually didn't know that you, that you were an artist, like you drew on, you painted like all the time, like we're together physically. What is sort of the pictures I'm like, I was like, she's really good. And then I said, having flashbacks, and I said, it's like, it's like the [00:08:00] puzzle started piecing together.

[00:08:01] I remember like you gave someone, gave an art piece out. Was it your Omar that gave that art piece out then one of our meetings? I think so. And then I remember the, the window wars when we painted and I'm like, oh, okay. This is kind of making more sense right now. This is making more sense 

[00:08:27] Jordyn Ruiz: because I just wasn't engaging with that part of myself for all those things.

[00:08:34] We did win. Yes. Such 

[00:08:38] something if we could further post it up. Yeah, 

[00:08:43] yeah. I'll have to look for it, but that was 

 

Ask Jordyn (Part 6): Master of Science in Business

Every wondered what an MBA would be like? What about an MSB? Let's get more info right now. 

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[00:00:00] Tuoyo Eresanara: So let's talk about the MBA just casually mentioned that , honestly, for me, if ever there was any program that you think about when you mentioned the word masters MBA, an MPH probably MPH is the second one that comes to my mind, the public's health, but the MBA is you.

[00:00:23] The first thing that comes to my mind, I'm like, Hey, so tell us the insights. How is an MBA? Really? What, what did you get from it? 

[00:00:33] Jordyn Ruiz: Yes. So my program is called an MSB program. It was masters of science in business for non business majors. M S B. And so I coming with a, like a science background I didn't have any idea about this business concepts.

[00:00:50] I maybe knew daily little from friends that were business majors, but I was not versed in, you know, the basics really. And [00:01:00] so I saw this as opportunity to sort of, widen my horizons a bit. And I love like knowing, kind of like a Jack of all trades sort of thing. I like to identify with that sometimes.

[00:01:10] And because I think it's, it's, it's important to sort of dip your feet in different fields. And I know a little bit about other other topics. And so I saw this as a great opportunity to get to a field that was, you know, kind of at the heart of almost everything. For, if we think about it, our whole life, we're engaging with some sort of business

[00:01:33] you know, whether it be your entertainment, going to see a movie they're marketing to you, they're trying to cause some sort of like emotional sort of connection. They're repealing you in some way. And so that's all business strategy. And so I basically knew that the direction I was going in medicine at the time, healthcare is also business.

[00:01:53] I wanted to be able to kind of understand it from that perspective. But as time was changing and I was [00:02:00] changing, I realized I can apply this almost virtually anywhere. If I want to go into, you know, accounting I'll need this. If I want to go into finance, I'll need this. I want to go into art, which is where I am now.

[00:02:11] I'll need this art as a business. As, as well as I'm like the creator of things, I'm also the marketer. I am you know, a one person team right now. It's important. I think for people who are interested in kind of running their own show one day and whatever it is, like entrepreneurship or whatever like a niche you're in, you're going to need some business strategies and some sort of skill set to optimize your business.

[00:02:41] Even if you're, if the business is you, it's hard. Sometimes for me to differentiate my art versus my business, it's sort of in one. And so I, I've been looking at this through, I think last semester, at least last two semesters from the artistic point of view and stuff, I've been really trying to like pull out the [00:03:00] components I need for, for that.

[00:03:01] But in general, the MSB, our MBA program, I think that it'll be beneficial to anyone no matter what field you're going into So, yeah, I, I, I think highly of it, I had a great experience. It was a small cohort and it was online. So we did our best to stay connected. But I learned so much from, from many different topics.

[00:03:23] So it ranged from leadership to how to negotiate effectively because that's a, that's a big thing in our everyday life, even to strategic business strategy, how to go about , your marketing sales, like how to, how to appeal to people in certain ways depending on your product and differentiating that product to get like competitive advantage in, in a certain, certain niche.

[00:03:44] So these are all like principles that businesses use and people use and can even improve. And so yeah, I, I think it was, it was a good journey to go on. And now that it's ended, I, I need to apply it. And so that's the exciting part. 

 

Ask Jordyn (Part 5): The Butterfly Effect

Have You hear of the butterfly effect. Well, today, we will take a deep dive into it. Let's get to it.===

[00:00:00] Tuoyo Eresanara: like, and of course there's also something the flip side of enjoy every moment you see, I was, I got lost in this piece for a while. It's called the butterfly effect. Have you ever heard of that?

[00:00:11] Jordyn Ruiz: Yes. Yeah.

[00:00:12] Tuoyo Eresanara: So I got lost in the negative aspect of that butterfly effect, but for those who are not familiar with it, the butterfly effect is that the flopping of a butterfly wings somewhere. Led to like wind pressures that ended up generating a tornado or hurricane that ended up causing major destructions or changes in people's communities.

[00:00:32] So it's the idea that the smallest things you do have such a huge impact. And that thing really crippled me a lot because then I stopped living. in the now. I was like, oh my God, what if I mess up? I make the wrong choice. Everything is going to be ruined. The world is going to be ruined. And I spiraled and I, yeah, I was scared of making decisions.

[00:00:54] I was scared of making mistakes and it took me a while to get out of that, but to learn to live right now and [00:01:00] just enjoy every morning, trust the Lord and live for today. 

[00:01:03] Jordyn Ruiz: And I think also the idea of like, knowing that what you do matters is such a important as important concept. Because if you think about it, we're all connected.

[00:01:14] And so if you're showing up at your best. You're doing yourself, a service, and you are doing others, a service too. And so I also used to think like, you know, about that sort of spiraling, like if I wasn't showing up my best, I was affecting so many other things that, you know, you need to sort of surrender to that and like, know that life is happening as it's supposed to happen.

[00:01:38] If we're not putting forceful with our forceful will on things and just showing up and even the best way possible, that's how you should be living your life. No constraints on yourself, but in a way that identifies with the parts of you that are unique, allow them to manifest themselves and live every moment as fully as you can.

[00:01:59] I [00:02:00] think these sort of like simplistic, maybe even cliche sort of ideas, the cliche for a reason there's truth in it. And so I totally agree with you. 

[00:02:10] Tuoyo Eresanara: Yes. Yeah. Wow. That's going really. That's really, really cool. Really, really cool.

 

Ask Jordyn (Part 4): Enjoy Every Moment

Hello Everyone.

We will be continuing with the Ask Jordyn Series. Hope you all are getting some value from it.

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[00:00:00] Tuoyo Eresanara: Very true. And I remember getting to the realization that this whole start on this whole medical pathway in America, it gets kind of stressful and it gets kind of, I mean, to some level, when you look back at it almost toxic, you could say, because you're always looking forward to like, like so many times I realized, wait, did I really enjoy my today?

[00:00:28] I was really looking at tomorrow. I was like, yeah, I am in. Yeah. And got to get there. I got to get there. I gotta get there. 

[00:00:36] Jordyn Ruiz: And you're never truly present 

[00:00:38] Tuoyo Eresanara: you're never truly present. Like, I mean, I missed, I missed so many events. I mean, I was studying fair enough, but I missed so many small moments because I was too focused on the future I wasn't ever there.

[00:00:53] And that realization about your identity at a point, my identity was found in and I was like, oh, I'm going to be a [00:01:00] doctor. Yeah, that's my identity. But when I got that realization that Bro, your identity has no found in medicine, your identity is found in Christ. And I said, realizing that, who am I?

[00:01:10] First of all, I'm a child of God. Like it just really, it really changed the outlook for me. Like I was one of those guys too, like, I'm sure you can relate that an A minus was unacceptable. Yeah. The wall was falling. Like I almost fainted when I saw my first B plus I'm like, no, my 4.0 is gone. It's ruined. So when I say making that change, as long as I find my identity in what I do, and like, I'm not, my identity is not in podcasting is not in content creation.

[00:01:44] It's not in future medicine. It's not in anything else which found in Christ once I understood that and am still learning that then things start falling in place because then you can then have a ground zero to move from. 

[00:01:58] Jordyn Ruiz: Totally agree. And it's, [00:02:00] it's no fault of anyone's to operate in that mindset. You know, I feel like we're conditioned to a certain point to, you know, to be always in, in striving for the future and striving for that.

[00:02:12] What's what's next, when it's no fault of our own. Yeah. We're never truly satisfied. And that's a sort of egoic sort of mindset and it's never satisfied. 

[00:02:25] Tuoyo Eresanara: Idea. I just thought about something from what you just said, a shirt, maybe. So instead of like, what's next, but we x out the next and what's now 

[00:02:38] Jordyn Ruiz: wait, I love that.

[00:02:39] I, that is something I could design. I could do that tonight. 

[00:02:43] Tuoyo Eresanara: Let's do it. Let's do it. We were making it a shirt. Let's go 

[00:02:48] Jordyn Ruiz: because that's such like a very like important principle in so many philosophies, like stoicism, Taoism the importance of being present, because arguably it [00:03:00] is the only thing we actually have.

[00:03:02] Like the past is not real anymore. It's gone. The future does not actually exist because we're actively creating it in the now and so the practice of like mindfulness and like being present is the most powerful tool. And I found it so alleviating and the moments I was very, I was going through a lot of anxiety and sort of depression was to practice mindfulness.

[00:03:24] And I did that through many ways. Like yoga is a big, is what helped me so much because as even uniting sort of my mind and my body and we're all interconnected. So that was very helpful. But being present, I think is the most powerful tool we can have and like mindfulness especially like for people who, you know, struggle with the, like, like enjoying their moment right now.

[00:03:49] And like always looking for the future, we need to realize like, that is not promise. We're not promised another day. And so you're saying like, gratitude. [00:04:00] 

[00:04:01] Tuoyo Eresanara: Yeah. And, and that, like, that has been my slogan for so many years. Enjoy every moment. Let me tell you how much that has been in 2016. We went on a family cruise.

[00:04:11] We were on the M S M S L. What's the name again? Wow. The cruise from The Bahamas went to Jamaica. What else did we go? We went to Mexico. We started from Miami and on that cruise, we had this shirt making session. So on the, on the ship, we have this events. So we designed our shirts and the shirt I made was a guy holding a Magnum ice cream, .

[00:04:41] And the tagline was enjoy every moment at the bottom. Because I started to learn that that moment, every moment counts, 

 

Ask Jordyn (Part 3) -Where is Your Identity Found

Welcome back. We will be continuing with the Ask Jordyn series today. Enjoy 

[00:00:00] Jordyn Ruiz: Those thoughts. In your mind behind all that is this sort of non-thinking presence. And, you know, we see it a lot in like ancient, ancient texts. And that, like once you realize this, it's sort of like a way to transcend and, you know, be free of certain sufferings and like attachments to the world, for example, I'm Christian.

[00:00:22] And so I believe in Jesus and Jesus often talks about the kingdom of heaven, right? And it's this realm beyond our understanding and it's that it's that dimension and, you know, for made in the image of God it's within us. And so I came to these conclusions, like I am a child of God that lives in me in my value and where I'm going to put my identity now is not going to be an external things.

[00:00:46] It's going to be in the God. I know that lives with me. And that I am a microcosm of. And so it was a complete restructuring of who I was and that process took [00:01:00] time. It took tears, it took sleepless nights. It took me, you know, me really like a lot of journaling conversations with other people who I trusted to realize that what I was putting so much value in was not important.

[00:01:17] Really, what was important is how my relationship was with God. And in terms of the relationship with myself and the people in my life that were in my inner circle. And anything else is just like maybe some cherries on the, on a Sunday. But ultimately the pandemic allowed me to get to this point. I don't think if this had didn't happen and I didn't have this experience, I would still be the anxiety ridden ego.

[00:01:46] Minded person going through my life, trying to get some sort of unsatiable position or something in life to satisfy myself, which would be ultimately futile. And so like, I'm actually very [00:02:00] thankful even though this process was very gruesome and it was very hard psychologically, I'm actually very thankful for it because now I'm 23 and I can operate now in it's such a better mindset than I was like, I can't imagine if I had this experience later in life.

[00:02:17] And then I would, you know, have all these years just like gone, in some ways, like I woke up, like I woke up to what I know that was more fundamentally important in this life. And so I think that's a major component for me that I can attribute, you know, years from now I can look back and be like, that was a turning point.

[00:02:35] That was. Actually like the most important thing I could adapt for myself was to give myself time to be alone, not just for, you know, health reasons. It was important to isolate quarantine. I took that very seriously. But also as an individual, I recognize this novel opportunity, a very unique one to sort of look at yourself with your traumas, look at [00:03:00] what you need to, you know, in any internal dialogue you need to fix up now is the time.

[00:03:05] And so it changed thing. You're never the same person like who I was even just a few seconds ago. Like you're different fundamentally as you go through time. But I think definitely a big 180 and just how I viewed the world is so different. There's a quote by Heraclitus I really like it's no man ever steps in same river twice

[00:03:25] or it's not the same river and he's not the same map. So you go through life and you're constantly changing and might as well recognize that and, and change in a trajectory that you can be proud of. 

[00:03:38] Tuoyo Eresanara: Hmm. Wow. That is very beautiful. 

 

 

Ask Jordyn (Part 2): Why I Quit Medical School

Hello everyone, today we are continuing the series with Jordyn on her post COVID reflections. Let's get right into today's episode. 

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 [00:00:00] Tuoyo Eresanara: Oh, wow. That is, that is really nice.

[00:00:02] That's really nice. Wow. That's a, that's a mouthful. A bachelors in. Pre-medical concentration minors in chemistry and biology. Yes. Oh yeah. Wow. Okay. Okay. For those out there as possible. So, okay. So now let's get into this, the pandemic, I mean the whole world was on a stop. Like the whole world was on pause, like a really long pause.

[00:00:35] So how did this whole thing affect you? Like how was the pandemic for you basically? 

[00:00:43] Jordyn Ruiz: Wow. There's a lot to unpack there. I think I want to start off with time. Time was a big thing that was very illusory to me at the time. And I think there was some sort of distortion going on. It feel, it felt like it went by really fast, also really.

[00:00:59] [00:01:00] At the same time, because there's just so much going on and it bombarded by so many narratives, a lot of dialogue being thrown at me and my own internal dialogue going crazy. It was, it was really hard, like to premise my experience, at least through this pandemic, it, it was horrible in many ways, but it was also beautiful in many ways.

[00:01:21] I think as a collective, like we all went through our own respective experiences and I think undertone of it, it was, it was really hard for everyone. And so for me personally, I went through, I think, an entire journey, like hero falls, it rises, maybe falls again and rises again. I had many peaks and valleys and I think now, and twist the end of 2021, I'm on the up end of a lot of the low points.

[00:01:51] Of the pandemic. And so as a person, I think I entered the pandemic one way and as I'm coming out of [00:02:00] it, I'm a, I'm a different person. You know, I feel like it's a 180, like my heart posture has changed in a good way. So first off it taught me the pendant. It taught me about the fragility of life, how it is so short, how it can be taken away from you in an instant.

[00:02:19] I never put much thought into, you know, my own death too much, but it now was in my face is like, this could affect you too. And I think being young were kind of, you know, I don't want to say, like, we don't think about it, but it's not like the most prominent thing in my mind. Because it's a, even though we should maybe meditate on a little bit more because it's a blessing to be able to get to older age But I definitely was able to reflect a lot on my life and what, you know, I wanted it to look like, especially in the solitude and my own sort of time by myself, I was able to kind of redefine what I wanted for [00:03:00] myself and especially thinking about how short it is.

[00:03:02] How do I want to maximize that time? And so, along with that, I, I basically went through a crisis as well. I was applying to medical school, right when I graduated from college and studying for the entrance exam, amidst you know, protests and a lot of havoc going on in the world. My mind, it was so hard to focus on.

[00:03:30] This sort of like privilege it is to apply to a professional schooling when the world was just in decay. And for me personally, like I, I found it very difficult to do that and it showed I didn't score very well. I had to be so honest with myself, like, should I even apply still? I ended up doing so. And I didn't get any interviews.

[00:03:51] It was a big rejection in my life and I had to face it and I can not. And looking back, I can't, you know minimize the fact that it was [00:04:00] very hard to receive that news and to face the reality that you failed in many ways. And, but I didn't allow it. I didn't want to allow the wound to make me bitter.

[00:04:11] I wanted to make me wiser. And so I used it to my advantage ultimately, but that only like analytical thought about that situation came after the emotionality of it. I experienced a big sort of like identity crisis because I put so much emphasis. On getting intimate school. I put like my identity in it.

[00:04:31] And when you put your identity in something external, it is bound to fail eventually. And mine happened, I think at a, in a timely way where I was able to address it in a pandemic that allowed me to quarantine with my thoughts, it really parsed through and see, where is the toxicity in this thought pattern?

[00:04:47] Where is this coming from? I had to look at my past and see how I was conditioned to, with certain thoughts to think that I had to be something to be valued. And so I came to conclusions within myself is [00:05:00] that I grew up being in a household that really valued education. And in that in itself is not a negative thing, but hearing it growing up as knowledge is power and repeated, repeated, repeated, I became to internalize it and like have this sort of academic validation that if I could conceptualize the heighest.

[00:05:20] Sort of knowledge I could think of. And I, I saw, you know, a physician at the top of that, that hierarchy of being, you know, so well-respected, so well-versed in the field and able to help people. I, it combined a lot of elements that I was looking for to sort of validate who I thought I was. And so when that collapsed, like my whole identity collapsed, I, I went through, had depression.

[00:05:44] I had trouble sleeping. I had a really, I didn't really figure out what, what was going on within myself. And I came to the conclusion that I was putting so much value on a title on a certain point in my life that I [00:06:00] had to get to, which I thought would be me. Like that is the peak. That is Jordan. That is someone well valued, respected in that was so wrong.

[00:06:10] Like you do not need accolades at certain title to be valued. You are still you, regardless of what you attain and what you contribute. Like you just being alive and being this essence of who you are, is impactful as it is. And so I had to really take so many steps back and get back to this sort of basis set of being an individual, being human.

[00:06:40] And, you know, it was very hard. It was sort of like ego dissolution process because I was operating in a sort of egoic lens for so long. And the problem with that is I think a lot of people operate in it, but they don't really realize it they're like unaware because it's an unconscious process.

[00:06:58] The ego is very, like, has [00:07:00] very like narcissistic hues and tones to it. And so and we mistake it for who we are. This sort of self and then there's you. And so I had to really like, understand that differentiation and it's basically like a lot of people call it like a spiritual awakening which is you sort of identify this narrative.

[00:07:20] You made, for yourself, it could be, you know, for me, it was getting that MD, you know, that sort of like narrative, I told myself all my life, or it could be something else, but then within use it's comparable, it's comparative it's. It could be like your intelligence. It could be, you know what you're wearing.

[00:07:37] Like, it it's, it's a different for everyone, but I had identified my sort of like narrative for myself and then deconstruct it, dissolve it and realize that's not me that title, that, that position, that whole, that's not me, the me, or who you are, is a sort of like presence. It's a conscious [00:08:00] presence behind all of that.

 

Ask Jordyn (Part 1)

Welcome to a new interview series. Over the next two weeks, we will be talking with Jordyn Ruiz about some post COVID reflections. Hope you enjoy this one. 

Transcripts are provided here. 

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Tuoyo Eresanara: Hey, Hey, Hey, welcome everybody to the average African kid podcast. This is Tuoyo Eresanara, your host, and today as usual is another beautiful day. And we have a very special episode. A very special guests on here for this one and quite a few episodes. We're going to be splitting this down into chunks where you can get the best out of it.

So with me today, I have one of my best friends. Like I called her one of my CEOs. We worked together in San Antonio and she started some, like, at least two organizations on campus linked with nonprofit organizations. So we're part of the ambassador program together. She is definitely a revolutionary and someone that is the one of the most likable people. Ever, you will ever meet. And someone that inspires me to push myself to be better. So without further ado, let's welcome Jordan Ruiz to the podcast.

Jordyn Ruiz: Hello, everyone.

That was such a sweet introduction. Wow. I'm, I'm moved. Thank you for that. Meeting you is such a blessing. I remember at the season of my life, I was just starting, you know, too, to get into some leadership roles and I needed some guidance and you were definitely someone who was already, operating in a leadership position.

And I kind of look to you, for some tips and tools to put in my toolbox and quickly you became such a good friend. So I thank you for everything you've added to my life, but definitely a godsend sort of connection. I think even to this season of my life like I can still say that. So. Yes. It's been a wonderful journey to this, to this point.

Graduated were both graduated and kind of perspective our own respective and journeys in life. But I'm, I'm so happy to be here. Thank you.

Tuoyo Eresanara: Oh, thank you for coming on to the podcast. And we have been, this is one of those ones that we have been talking about this thing for a while. It has been, oh my goodness.

We're already in September, but it's at least nine months in the making, right? At least. Yeah, yeah. Probably a year. Probably longer. Yeah. Yeah. So,

Jordyn Ruiz: yeah.

Tuoyo Eresanara: Yeah. So let's talk about what have you been up to this whole pandemic what's been happening?

Jordyn Ruiz: Oh, wow. A lot has happened. I think the most prominent thing I can speak on is school which has been a major component.

All these years, I'm 23 years old. So as you can imagine, I've been through the school system. I, you know, I finished my undergrad in may of 2020, and I started a master's program in August of 2020, and I just finished it about three weeks ago. And so I've been giving myself a grace period just to kind of be still to enjoy life a bit.

Not that I wasn't enjoying it before, but in a way that kind of free of some academic stress and just to kind of, I guess, readjust, reorient myself for, you know, we're always in news stories throughout life. And this story I'm in right now is life after school or what's next for me. And I'm kind of defining that for myself right now.

Tuoyo Eresanara: Yes. So for the audience, for those who don't know, so what did you study for your bachelor's and then your masters.

Jordyn Ruiz: Yes. So I was an ambitious freshman and I went in with a pre-medicine concentration for medical humanities, which is a bachelor's of arts. And I minored in chemistry and biology. So I was a very pre-med-oriented individual.

Very, my schedule was so simple to you would not one, I would not want to burden anyone with what I put on myself. Wow.

Tuoyo Eresanara: Wow. Then, so you said you went on to do a master's program. So what did you, what did it entail?

Jordyn Ruiz: So I was already in my senior year and I anticipated, I was going to take a gap year. I was pursuing medical school at the time, and I wanted to keep myself, you know, busy in that time and have something that would be an asset to me in the future.

And I knew. The world revolves around business models. And I wanted to have a working knowledge of what that consisted of in terms of, you know, how these different models, present marketing schemes to you that influenced you and how you can utilize them for your own, maybe businesses in the future. I had many working ideas to like why I wanted to use this degree.

And it changed over time for me. But initially, as I went in because I wanted to do something and my gap year that was beneficial, and regardless of the end outcome, it was. And so it was an accelerated program. It took about a year. And it was, you know, what kept me really busy, I guess, in the last year during this whole pandemic I had some goal structure, you know schedule to kind of work off of that was very helpful in a time that was.

Riddled with chaos and no real and a lot of confusion. And so I, at least I had some sort of structure. Even though it was online, I had something I was working towards and I think it's very important to have at least a few goals in your life. So, yeah, I just graduated with that. But I think one thing to mention is my bachelor's degree and the trajectory of that is very different than what it is now.

I'm now using this master's degree to my benefit because I want I'm in the process of making my own art business. It's a complete 180 to what I originally thought I was going to do. But here I am. We welcome change. We embrace it. It's the only constant I like to say in life.

Tuoyo Eresanara: Oh, wow. That is, that is really nice.

That's really nice. Wow. That's a mouthful. A bachelor's in the pre-medical concentration, a minor in chemistry and biology. Yes. Oh yeah. Wow. Okay. Okay. For those out there as possible.

 

Seasons 2: #1 The Model Minority

Welcome to the episode. Today we will be discussing the model minority and what it means to the cultural system in the United States of America. We discuss how much the model minority cushion is hurting the American public and what we can do to tweak our views about it over time. 

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Guest Special: A Medical Journey from Ukraine

Welcome back and today we interview a 5th-year medical student in Ukraine. She talks about her life experiences and how culture plays a role in her daily life. Welcome, Ms. Mary Ezinne Ohanu to the podcast. She is a Nigerian who has traveled far and wide and is also a public speaker for the betterment of health care around the world. Join us as we partake in her journey. 

 

Reach our Guest: ohanu_maryangela@icloud.com

Instagram: @lovezizie

 

Best Books So Far in 2021

Happy day to everyone. I have compiled a list of 5 of my favorite books so far in the year 2021. Hope you enjoy this one.

Stick around till the very end.