Twenty & Trying

From separating your private and public selves on social media to deprogramming our conditioned thoughts on this non-existent timeline, we chat with Emily Blair Marcus, founder and CEO of Emily Blair Media, about social media and what it's like to be such a boss at a young age.

A lot has happened since we last sat down to record an episode.

It is safe to safe we now find themselves in their mid-twenties working "big girl" jobs and in the thick of "adulting." So enjoy this catch-up episode and let us know your thoughts on "sad fishing."

As 2021 comes to a close, Charlotte and Peyton reflect on this past year, the goals they made and met, the guests they had and what they hope 2022 looks like. 

It's cuffing season, so you know what that means- we're all on the apps. 

But what does that look like for men versus women? We sat down with the guys from We Should Talk More, a podcast hosted by two lifelong friends with not much in common who are getting to know each other a bit more and getting a little closer.  

What do they say... "drunk talk speak sober mind?" Actually, it's "A drunk mind speaks a sober heart." 

Enjoy this fun episode of Twenty&Trying where we answer questions from our audience, while drinking of course.

Char and Pey’s mini-episodes are back!

This week we take a snippet from an upcoming (and boozy) episode & cover the topics of celebrity crushes and the 2021 Met Gala.

We had so much fun covering which celebrities we think are the cutest, as well as joining the many non-fashion experts in judging who served looks at this year’s Gala. We hope you enjoy this mini-episode and make sure to stay tuned for its full-length sister episode coming next week!

After 9 years of friendship Charlotte and Edmond answer the never-ending question, "Can men and women be friends?". 

Enjoy this very informal episode of Twenty&Trying of Charlotte and Edmond reminiscing about high school and trying to figure out why it is they've been able to stay as close as they have during the better half of a decade. 

We’ve all either had awkward experiences while buying a pregnancy test or know someone who has- in fact, studies show 70% of women report awkward experiences.

This week, we are speaking with Jamie Norwood, one of the co-founders behind Stix, a female-founded, no-judgment health brand that sells women’s health products including pregnancy tests, fertility trackers, UTI and yeast infection tests, all backed by doctors and OBGYN-approved.

The women behind Stix want the individuals who use their products to feel confident with their decisions about their bodies. In this episode, we talk about Stix mission to uplift and empower its customers, the stigma associated with elements of women’s health, and Jamie gives us some insight into what it’s like creating this female-founded brand in a male-dominated sphere, because yes most companies behind pregnancy tests are owned by men.

Needing to find a lawyer would usually have us like...."what, like it's hard?" But we can't all be Elle Woods and finding a lawyer with the right services in your twenties can be more difficult than we think!

This week we are talking with lawyer Addison Hosner, who runs the Hosner Legal Group in Florida. Addison speaks with us about the legal aspects behind a divorce, child support, speeding tickets, and real estate. He is extremely knowledgeable about legal troubles within all of these areas and how twenty-somethings can navigate them.

Words have power, and Jonathan Borge knows how to use his stories to help shift the cultural narrative and impact the lives of others. 

Jonathan, the current Senior Entertainment Editor at Elite Daily has spent his post-college time holding staff positions at Marie Claire, InStyle, and OprahMag.com as Senior Editor. His writing has been published in Glamour, Refinery29, HuffPost, PAPER, and more. 

In this week's episode, we speak to Jonathan about finding your voice, not comparing your career path to others, who would be his dream interview, and of course his advice for other twenty-somethings.

We are spreading some happiness this week. 

Every week, we work to share successes and struggles associated with our twenties, but this week for our last episode of Pride Month, we want to share Ezekiel Briane's story. 

In this week's episode, we discuss his transition and what medical professionals didn’t tell him, the influx of anti-trans bills and how we can be better accomplices instead of passive allies.

June is here and so is PRIDE Month 🌈

In this episode of Twenty & Trying, we sit down with Victor Martinez and Samantha Olson, the Editor-in-Chief, and Deputy Editor behind SHIFTER Magazine, an Orlando-based publication and all-inclusive visual magazine that highlights LGBTQIA+ voices. 

In this episode, we talk a lot about effective allyship. One modality of this is amplifying voices directly affected by the situation, which is why we pass the mic to Sam and Victor to chat about inclusivity, representation, not giving up on dreams, pronouns, and PRIDE month.

Today’s guest is Brittany Berger, author of the book 25 and Self-ish and fellow UCF alumna. 

In this episode, we speak with Brittany about her definition of “self dash ish” and how it can help us in our mid to late twenties, how to learn to live our life authentically while we are young, and how to push through a quarter-life crisis.

It's a June mini-episode! In this episode, our resident game master Peyton asks this or that questions and Charlotte can't give a simple answer. 

"How to Build a Goddamn Empire?" Ali has the answers. 

In this week's episode, we are reframing what "adulting" truly is with a clinical social worker, Alyssa Hickey. She works in South Florida and is trained in DBT specializes in depression, anxiety, mood disorders, suicidality, and more

While this episode may sound a bit different (since Peyton was super sick) Char and Alyssa discuss “dating” around to find the right therapist, mental health for twenty-somethings which is often coupled with the false narrative sold by rom-coms, viewing therapy as a journey and how our twenties are for finding a place to land.

This week on the podcast, we are continuing our conversation about mental health with Amanda Huggins an anxiety and empowerment coach.

Amanda personally struggled with her own anxiety during her twenties but now has a blend of spiritual, scientific, practical, and accessible approaches to help her clients move past their own anxiety. Amanda offers workshops & digital courses for clients, and is now reaching people across the world with her social media community with more than 350,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

In this episode, we talk about what led her to the path of being an Anxiety Coach, breaking the mold on traditional society post-grad expectations, and even asked her questions polled from our listeners.

We have our first returning guest! You may remember Paulina from our Internation Women's Month, well she's back to talk about mental health awareness. 

During this week's episode, we chat with Paulina to discuss the negative stigma associated with mental health, how we can all work to end this negative connotation, the dangers of toxic positivity, and how we can all be better advocates and friends to those who may be struggling with their own mental health. 

Twenty & Trying is finally diving into the wellness world! 

Living fearlessly is easy in theory, but how do we put it into practice? Alexa Curtis knows the answer and has been for years. 

This week’s guest is Alexa Curtis, a speaker, podcaster, social media influencer, and entrepreneur. After starting her own blog at only 12 years old, Alexa has worked in media for the past 11 years and became a radio show host for Radio Disney called "Fearless Every Day"! She is also the creator of the Be Fearless Summit, a program for college-aged students looking to get out of their comfort zone to land their dream job. 

We chat about the world of media and the hazards of social media in our twenties, the excitement of learning new things and how hard work contributed to her success. 

How do you find that "special sauce" about yourself, the one thing that separates you from others in your business? TaylorLou Dixon has the answer. 

This week’s guest is Taylor Lou Dixon, a lifestyle design coach and business mentor. We spoke with Taylor Lou about her multiple businesses, how she helps people find their “it factor,” working with fempreneurs, the stress our generation puts on money to measure success, and what the phrase twenty and trying means to her. Hint, you don’t have to have it all figured!

Get to know your hosts a little better with this episode.

Charlotte and Peyton answer rapid-fire questions and discuss dream jobs, weird quirks, who would play them if their life was a movie, and the weirdest food they ever ate. Plus, they answer what “Twenty&Trying” means to them.

But... we also want to hear from you. Throughout the month of April, we are asking our listeners to share what Twenty&Trying means to you on your social media, by using the #twentyandtrying. Then we will compile our favorites to read during the last episode of the month and ask our audience to vote. The winner will get a special treat.

This episode has it all: life advice, business advice, sex advice, even manifestation tips.  

For our last episode of International Women's Month, we sit down with Karly Polkosnik, host of the Hey Bitchest podcast. We chat about making conversations about sex and female pleasure less taboo, body inclusivity, the non-linear paths for those in their twenties, and we even snuck in some free manifestation tips. 

Have you ever laughed so hard you cried? I did when I first saw Madeline's TikTok videos. 

In this episode, we chat with Madeline Thatcher, a causal TikTok creator, NBC sitcom lover and overall jack of all trades (she even has her Masters in English lit!).  We talk about her TikTok journey creating videos highlighting women’s empowerment, gender equality, mental health all in a comedic way, her love of books and learned an interesting fact relating to International Women’s month.

This week we are all about finding our ~inner femininity~ and who is helping us do this? This week’s guest, Hilay Farooq, a feminine magnetism expert who also coaches women on how to self-align and use magnetism to attract your innermost desires.

In this episode, we chat with Hilay about finding your purpose in life and how to achieve what you really want out of life - even if it’s not what you think you want. Charlotte and Peyton get to enjoy some free therapy from Hilay, while listening to her soothing voice. Honestly, she should be on the Calm app.

Who doesn't love reading about entertainment? Well, this week we sat down with Paulina Jayne Isaac, an entertainment and pop-culture writer intersecting race and gender into her work. Her writing has been featured in Glamour, The Cut, Bustle and Cosmopolitan. 

In this episode we chat about her career as an entertainment and freelance journalist, empowering other women not just in March but year-round and diversity within the entertainment industry which of course means we brought up this groundbreaking and drama-riddled season of The Bachelor.

At just 21 years old, Toni Breidinger is already breaking records, becoming the first Arab-American woman to compete at NASCAR's Daytona International Speedway. 

In this week's episode of Twenty & Trying, we sat down with Toni to talk about what it means to be so accomplished at such a young age, being a woman in a predominately male-driven sport (pun not intended), and what's next for the young racecar driver. 

We've all had those dating horror stories, so we might as well share them! A few weeks ago, the hosts of Twenty & Trying asked you to submit your dating horror stories in an attempt to destroy their false sense of perfection social media apps have created in today's society. 

TW: Drugs and Substance Abuse 

This podcast does contain talk of drugs and substance abuse. If you or someone you know is currently battling either of these topics, please check out the resources below. 

Just because Valentine's Day passed doesn't mean our monthly romance theme is over. We know you may be feeling lonely but don't text your ex, even if they text you! We all have experience with those dreaded texts, but our guest this week turned it into a song. 

It's February and that means we are continuing our romance and relationship theme. This week we sat down with Taylor Mead, a romance and relationships editor for Swoon at Odyssey, their relationships vertical. 

This week we talk about dating in your twenties, Taylor's experience as a romance editor, the importance of throwing out a "timeline," and we play a fun game to help you plan your Valentine's or Galentine's plans. 

Dating in your twenties is hard, but Heather Hopkins created a solution! Our guest this week is Heather Hopkins, host of The Hookup with Heather Hopkins and the founder and CEO of the Graze app, a dating app where you schedule Video Chat dates. After some crazy LA dating experiences, Heather realized there had to be a better way to figure out if she had chemistry with someone outside of a text message. 

In this week's episode, we talk about dating in your twenties, what it was like for Heather to launch an app during the pandemic, fostering all types of relationships and we even played a fun new game perfect for our February theme. 

Introducing our first theme month! For the next few week's every episode will center around relationships and romance. 

It is time for women to start working together to empower one another, and that is exactly what Julianna Bonarrigo and the hosts of Twenty and Trying talk about in this week's episode. 

At twenty-three, Julianna is a world-traveler, former pageant titleholder and model. But during the pandemic, Julianna decided to get her real estate license creating her own opportunities. In this week's episode, the hosts of Twenty and Trying talk with Julianna about the pros and cons of social media, enjoying the current moment and not rushing through your twenties, and the importance of empowering other women. 

Yep, your read that right. Twenty & Trying is back for an all-new episode, but this time with a brand new addition. Please welcome a new co-host to the mix Peyton Maciejewski! 

In this episode, Peyton and Charlotte dive into what it's like graduating and looking for jobs during the pandemic, and manifest all things 2021! You'll learn how these two became friends and even get a sneak peek at episodes to come. 

Getting outside of your comfort zone is where the magic happens, and Shubha Kaushik is no stranger to taking risks. 

"It's not that deep!" Just one of the many important topics the one-and-only Katie Cruz shares during this week's episode. 

Katie, a 25-year-old social media strategist, consultant, and founder of Cruz Creative. After working as a production assistant for Refinery 29, Katie learned she not only had to ask for what she deserves but was ready to make a leap, and she lept this past leap day. Now with Cruz Creative, Katie works with clients such as Bumble, Coach, Hi Anxiety, and my personal favorite, Let's Fucking Date. 

In this episode, we talk about everything ranging from the madness of 2020, the general struggle of people not talking about how challenging our twenties, the importance of having and being a mentor, celebrating the wins and feeling loses, taking the leap during your twenties, and the book that started it all "The Defining Decade." 

Andreia Gibau is more than just the current Miss New York USA! At just 25 years old, Andreia has already been named Phoenix Magazine's 30 under 30 for her volunteer work with More Than Enough, traveled overseas for her volunteer work, is a writer and motivational speaker. We first met six years ago competing for the same pageant, which Andreia deservingly won. When I first started this, I dreamed about having her as a guest, and I'm so glad we finally made it happen!

In this episode we talk about her journey immigrating to the United States when she was just 7 years old, celebrating your differences, coping with imposter syndrome, and the importance of recognizing and sharing your failure because Instagram highlight reels aren't a reality. 

Can we all agree that being in our early twenties isn't easy? Great... now that we are all on the same page let me introduce my guests this week Elle Wilmot the founder of Truly Twenties, Madie Bice the Brand Content Creator, and Oliva Woodhead the Social Media Assistant for Truly Twenties. 

In this episode, we talk about post-university blues versus post-university depression, common pressures twenty-somethings face such as feeling like a failure particularly in your early twenties, the danger of the five-year plan, and trying to get experience without experience. Oh year, we also dive into the dangers of social media when it comes to comparing yourself to others. 

While many love WFH, that just isn't possible for those in the musical theater industry. Emily Scinto, a 26-year-old musical theater performer saw job after job cancel because of the pandemic, but that didn't stop her. A true performer, she pivoted her love to the every-growing app TikTok making musical theater inspired videos. Her account has more than 31K followers and is growing every day. 

In this week's episode, we talk about her profession is being affected by the global pandemic and how TikTok serves as a creative outlet and modality to connect with other performers all around the world. We also dive into societal places pressures and these "milestones" twenty-somethings feel as though they should be hitting when in reality everyone's path is different. 

Did this pandemic push you out of your comfort zone? I know it did for me, and it also pushed this week's guest to create her own natural skincare line and clay mask. Isobel Perl, who is twenty-five and the founder of Perl Cosmetics, lost her job during the pandemic, but she decided to start something she loved, her small business. She also created the ever-growing Instagram community Girls in Business UK featuring womxn in business. What started as a "shameless plug" now connects womxn across the country and helps curate those wonderful and unique pieces from growing small businesses. 

In this week's episode, we talk about the highs and lows of owning a small business and the authenticity needed while growing your social media platform and dive into the importance of following your dreams, regardless of what other people think. 

What is energy healing and how can it help in your daily life? Well, this week's guest knows all about it. Larell Scardelli is a twenty-seven-year-old health writer turned brand strategist, Usui reiki master, and creator of Three Thing Thursday. 

In this week's episode, Larell and I discuss her journey as a wellness writer and the importance of keeping your work and passion closely related. We unpack why the human touch of branding is so important and dive into how self-care isn't necessarily selfish but helps provide the light you need for yourself to help others. 

What is life like as a member of a national touring company? In this week's episode, I sat down with Olivia DeiCicchi. Olivia is currently understudying the roles of Fantine and Cosette in the national tour of Les Miz. But there is much more to her than just being a beyond talented voice and actor. Olivia is currently working on creating a blog called The Safe Space for mental health and positivity.

Olivia and I talk about how she landed her current job in the Les Miz national tour and that it didn't happen overnight, but took perseverance and dedication. We also discuss the importance of honoring your mental health and wellbeing specifically during today's trying times, knowing what is right for you, and never compromising yourself for anybody or any job.