Dear Gorgeous Podcast

We're excited to celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage month with this sweet interview with Evelyn Cho. Evelyn is studying patisserie and boulangerie in South Korea. G and Akina learn about how this born and raised Guam girl has taken her pandemic hobby to the next level and how she’s connecting even more to her Korean roots. Through their discussion of language angst, they're surprised by Evelyn's sweet definition of what home truly means.

To make the end of Women’s History month, G and Akina asked their Instagram friends what they thought about the Women’s Day theme, ”Breaking the Bias.” Together they explore different themes and read the answers they received. 

Buenas guys! Gilayna and Akina are back (later than they planned hehe sorry 😬) with a recap of their most recent “leaps” in life. Listen in as they discuss reevaluating dreams, having kids and the annoying act of growing up, even at their age.

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We reconnect with OG Gorgeous Guest Synthia Ung, who now resides in New York. There's lots to discuss including the most recent acts of violence posted online from the streets of a place all three of us used to safely roam and call home: San Francisco. Also, listen in for details of our letter campaign! 

We are back and cant wait to introduce more gorgeous guests to you. Here's a quick 10-minute update on what's been going on and what we plan on discussing in full-length episodes soon. Grab your favorite drink and catch up with us! 

Get ready for some #islandgirlmagic!  

 In this episode, we got the chance to sit with the beautiful ladies of Maga'håga Rising – Chloe Babauta and Franceska De Oro.  Maga'håga Rising is a small women-owned company based out of Guam and California with the mission to empower, uplift, and future the magic in all of us island women.   

Tune in as Chloe and Franceska share the humble beginnings of their friendship turned partnership and the foundation of what has now become an empowering movement – #thefutureisfamalaoan

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you gorgeous mamas! On this episode, Gilayna sits with her mom, Aayna, for some heart to heart.  Listen in as they talk about their unique relationship and explore topics including growth, forgiveness and acceptance.

We chatted with the founder of Better in Doses, Roxanne Roncal and explored all things that make her platform “psychedelically delicious.”

While the mass may believe the topic to be taboo, we agree that psychedelic culture is slowly becoming more mainstream, and it’s influence should be openly talked about. In this episode, hear more about what inspired Roncal’s platform and it’s purest existence. We even explore topics such as love, art, spirituality, synchronicities and our personal favorite, connectedness.

They're back!   The girls check-in with one another for the first time (officially) since the first few positive cases of corona virus were confirmed on Guåhan. As new changes are on the horizon with new systems to support the state of emergency, the girls chat about how this will affect their livelihood and say– their dating life?

Our next gorgeous guest is Siobhon McManus: teacher, writer, activist and so much more.  Siobhon opens up about the journey that led her to her role in the anticipated opening of Career Tech High Academy Charter School, a new public charter school located in the heart of Agat, Guam, and her recent acceptance into the NDN  Changemakers Fellowship with NDN Collective.  Join us as we discuss family, the cultural nuances of self-care, education and the importance of teaching our youth what there is to love about their homes.

After several attempts at recording a G&A session, Gilayna and Akina finally sat down in the comfort of G’s blue fiat and circled back to this important question – do we love what we do or is what we're doing dictated by society/culture/friends?   

In this episode, the girls explore this simple yet powerful reflection and how, if done right, it magnetically attracts specific people, communities, and opportunities into their lives.   So tell us, are you doing what you love?

We’re back!   Kicking off season 2 with a G&A session on #medialiteracy! During our break, we had the chance to reflect on our awesome run last season and wanted to bring on journalist and a dear friend of ours, Anumita Kaur, to talk about our responsibilities as both consumers and content creators.   

We consume content and and share information daily. How conscious are we in doing so?   

The last episode of Season 1 is officially here!

Dear Gorgeous officially launched seven months ago, and in this last G&A session the girls reflect on the journey thus far. They also answer questions sent in by their listeners and share what’s to come in February 2020.  Check it out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and/or Anchor

Our last gorgeous guest for #seasonone is Gillian Goh. Gilly moved from her home country of Singapore to Bali in 2018 and is one of the founding team members of Empire Fit Club Bali. Prior to her current role, Gilly was working in corporate and was a part of the Under Armour Southeast Asia digital marketing team. Fitness, especially Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts has been a huge part of her life in the last couple of years, and regardless of starting what she would consider “late” in the sport, Gilly placed 3rd at the 2016 International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championship in her white belt division, and has won gold at multiple Southeast Asian local and regional competitions. She opens about what it means to find strength in vulnerability, and how losing a loved one to suicide has shaped her outlook in life.

Our next gorgeous guest is Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero. Lola is the managing editor of the University of Guam Press, an activist for CHamoru self-determination, co-chair of the Independence for Guam Task Force, a writer, a wife and a mother to three adorable boys. In this episode, she shares her secrets behind intention setting, how to find humor even in moments of adversity, and sheds factual knowledge about the decolonization movement on Guåhan.

It's scary talking about what exactly one feels about their body.  The girls talk about emotional eating, side comments about their weight, loving their scars and where their opinions of their bodies actually come from (asian beauty standards included). Listen in as the girls unpack what it truly means to build your own opinion about your body, full acceptance, progress and all. 

Since high school, Nedine Songeni, a proud Chuukese woman living on Guåhan and a mother of two, has noticed a great divide within Pacific Islander communities. Instead of giving into the adversity, Nedine found her calling and passion in building bridges amongst the Chuukese community and other cultures through her work at Humanities Guåhan. Join us in conversation around cultural identity, growing up away from your homeland and the importance of providing better mirrors for our people to see themselves in literature and media.

In this week’s G&A sesh, Gilayna and Akina discuss the differences between feeling envious versus feeling jealous. They talk about how both emotions have made an appearance in and affected their personal lives and explored what they call "ekgo' culture" and it's existence in their communities.  

After airing out their dating grievances in their last episode about “Serial Monogamy," Gilayna and Akina sit down with their friend Tamar Celis who recently got married at the ripe age of 24. The girls in turn explore how early exposure to partnerships influence how they cultivate relationships later in life.  Tamar is a CHamoru woman, evangelical Christian, adjunct professor and what makes her so inspiring is her ability to use her intuition in making large life choices. 

What does it mean to be a serial monogamist?  Well, it’s about to get personal up in here.  In this week’s G&A session, Gilayna recalls her vet history with serial monogamy and the girls rehash their dating lives. Listen as they break down the social constructs of the “single girl” stereotype and why you should never delay your self-growth.

Find out in this Dear Gorgeous episode.

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Miss Beaudy Camacho has had many challenges come her way but she’s never let them stop her. From starting her own business, to getting an education, to winning awards and community outreach, this single mother of two explains why it’s important not to hold on to the feeling of being ‘stuck’ in any current circumstance and why it’s important to ‘keep it moving’. 

She also discussed the CHamoru term ‘na’mase’. Na’mase is the conversational term for ‘na’ma’åse’, a CHamoru term used to express sadness or pity for oneself or another. We discuss the importance of empathy within the CHamoru community and when it’s important to establish boundaries.  

Beaudy founded an event planning business called Fundforte.  Please check out their website https://www.fundforte.com  or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @fundforte. 

Gilayna and Akina conducted a mid-season check-in by bringing in 7 surprise questions to ask each other.  This gave them a chance to reflect on why their partnership has worked, what they need to work on, and share what it takes to have a healthy professional relationship with a friend: to have a belief in the value of one's personal contribution and an overall respect for each other.  

Akina recently launched multi-media travel platform with some friends called Collective Culture. Show them some love by watching their first episode at www.collective-culture.co. 

We got the chance to chat with Manami iijima Martin – professional triathlete, finance whiz, and a prime example of what it means to be a gorgeous resilient woman. In this episode, Manami talks about how she made the decision to go pro after placing 9th WORLDWIDE in her age group during the 2017 Chattanooga Ironman 70.3 triathlon.   

Although Manami is full Japanese, she was raised predominantly on Guam and humbly shares why she won’t be competing in the 2020 Olympics. She opens up about events in her life that had mentally prepared her to partake in this physically challenging career.

How does one unpack their lineage and liberate their minds?

In this week’s G&A session, Gilayna and Akina explore what happened on this particular day exactly 75 years ago, July 21, 1944– the day that marked the end of the Japanese occupation.

Akina shares the stories of her family’s CHamoru and Japanese lineage prior to the occupation, while Gilayna explores how our island’s water resource is at stake unless we do something now.