Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Tea with Br.
I'm trying to live my life I just need space to grow I'm just trying to make it right these people won't let me go I'm just trying to live my life I just need space to grow I'm just trying to make it right these people won't let me go Let me grow, let me go, Let me grow, let me go they should know, they should know they should know, they should know I'm just trying to live my life I just need space to grow I'm just trying to make it right.
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Welcome to the Tea With Bri. I'm your host, Bri. Thanks for listening. The Tea With Bri podcast is focused on deep, honest and vulnerable conversation.
Welcome back to another episode of Breeze Tea, which is my version of the Thursday episode, but it's a solo episode where I share personal updates, answer questions. Speaking of, you can send your questions to the tea with Bri, mail.com offer advice and more. Hi. Hello. Happy New Year. It's still January when I record this, so Happy New Year.
I have not sat down at the mic since August, maybe September. Life has been lifing. Okay, we, we queens, we, as you all know, started a new job.
So a new job.
Went to Chicago, went through a breakup.
What else? I have traveled, I have done. A lot of. A lot of things have occurred. The politics have been driving me crazy. I've been trying to spend time offline.
But yeah, so there's just been a lot that's been going on. And so I'm just sitting down to update because this year I'm gonna get better about podcasting again because I miss it. I miss human connection, I miss stories. I miss talking about all the things. So this is episode one of the New year. As you know, I don't do seasons because I like the running number. So this is like we're getting almost to 200 episodes, everybody. So we out there.
I've also decided to become more of a content creator, so you'll see more of me online if you follow me at Brianna Jenkins.
But yeah, let me just go down the list, give you some updates and tell you what's been going on. So let's jump in. Since we last recorded, I mentioned I started a new job. I am now the director of development, communications, or fundraising and marketing at a charter high school here in Connecticut.
We are Environmental Social Justice High School. We have a farm. We have an anchor, an acre of farmland where we make about 20, 10,000 pounds of fresh produce every year. We have a Lot of livestock, chickens, ducks, goats, a goat and a sheep.
And then we also do community and children's programs where we have kids come to after school programs. We do sort of an extension of like homeschooling. So people who have the kids in homeschool or want to take them out of school one day a week and come to us for like environmental education and they're outside all day. So, yes, I, I'm really excited to be there. I did not grow up going here when I was younger, but a lot of my friends did.
And so it's been nice being back and at a job that I like, really love. And so here's hoping if you would like to learn more, I'll link it in the show notes. As a, as the fundraiser, I'm going to ask if I want to make a donation, please do that or make a donation to an organization that you love today in my honor.
But yeah, so I'm just really loving that job. I have two people who report to me. The staff there is mostly people of color. A lot of the directors are women and women of color. So it's just been like a perfect place to be.
I was in two, well, in a wedding and had another friend's wedding.
One of my best friends got married in California. I was in her traditional Nigerian wedding, had the best time, shout out to Nettie and John. And then my college best friend Rebecca and her husband Colin got married. So I had their weddings in September. So that was also a really busy time for me. And then I went to Chicago at the end of September, early October, visited my best friend John and his husband Matt. They have both been on the podcast before. You may recognize their names, but we're not there. I was out there for like a week and had the best time. Like everyone's like, if you like New York, you love Chicago. And I was like, I will see. Loved Chicago. We'll definitely be going back.
Applied for a couple of jobs there.
Did not get the job I wanted was an abortion access organization because the universe said it's not time, which is fine.
But yeah, went and loved it and we'll definitely be back. Trying to plan if I'm going to go back in May or later in the summer. I was looking at March, but it'll still be way too cold. So no, thank you. Instead of going back to Austin. So surprise everybody. I'm going to Austin, not moving back, just going to visit in March for I think after my birthday. So going to go and just see everybody again. So if You're a friend who lives in Austin. This is me telling you that I'm going to be there.
Going through a breakup, which is very personal, as you all know. I try not to share a lot of personal things, which is so funny with this podcast. But like, relationship wise, I keep my relationships like very close to the vest. But this person and I recently broke up, which is devastating.
Very amicable breakup.
In true queer fashion, I'm going to try to stay, remain friends.
I love them very much.
It just, you know, time journeys, things just don't work out sometimes. So we wish them well. They'll probably listen to this episode.
So hi, I love you. I hope you're doing well.
And yeah, just, just all the things. So there's that.
And then I think the biggest thing has been the 2024 election. Nope. 2025 election. What year is it?
The election we just had where a certain person. Yeah, the election was a year ago. It's only been a year. Oh my God. I've just been feeling a lot of that the last couple of weeks.
As I record today, we just had about 3 million pages of the Epstein file released. If I'm not mistaken, Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, two black journalists and two and two other black activists were arrested and released yesterday.
So just watching the US Dismantle into fascism and authoritarianism and watching as ICE continues to kill our neighbors and I don't care if you're a citizen or not, they are killing our neighbors, people who live here and they are just out of control. I was not able to protest yesterday because I have a job, but some of our students did leave and go protest. I did not shop yesterday though, so I did my part. I feel like, and obviously like sharing things online and talking about it there, but I just am so deeply overwhelmed trying to find the mix of staying involved and staying online and staying in the know and then also like trying to take care of myself mentally because as we know, being caught up on the news is a lot.
Still living with family, if you can hear my nephew yelling, that is a thing I think I haven't really talked about recently.
I moved home in 2024 and I've been living with my family ever since, which has been nice. It's been really healing.
But I think that's also a big part of why I haven't moved out yet. It's just because mental health wise, between the breakup and everything happening in the news, I'm just like, I need to be around people. My depression says be alone. So I'm trying to do the opposite.
And this year too, just focused on doing more and like, I wouldn't say coming back to myself. I think I get really busy and life happens and you're in relationships and things just like take precedence.
But this year a really big thing I'm trying to do more, and I'm naming it out loud, is to be more of a content creator, but on the side of like trying to find the small joys and like being more like the comfort sort of level of lifestyle, like travel and talking about politics and like using my platform. And my friend keeps saying I should be a life coach. I'm like, sometimes I'm holding it together. So yeah, this is just a sort of hello, I'm back. You'll be seeing episodes dropping.
This one's going to come out in the morning and then my afternoon one will be an episode that I did with my friend Vic many moons ago. And then I have the honor of being on his podcast and that'll come out in a couple of weeks too.
But yeah, I think this year we're just focusing on.
On joy. Truly on joy. I picked a word for the year. I can't remember what it was now.
Oh, that's on brand my ear. My word for the year is explore. That's what took me.
That feels right. I'm glad I picked that weeks ago and I've been doing that. I think for me, explore will talk about, you know, exploring, getting disc sitting in discomfort. I think I'm really at this weird place with being online of obviously saying something which always ice and Donald Trump and also like being aware of anything that's going on in the world. But then also like you're allowed to have joy and like disconnect and just like be on social media to like scroll and not doom scroll, but like to scroll and like right now my algorithm is like food videos, dog and cow videos, falling in love, all the things.
And so yeah, I'm just really. I want us all to be more connected. So explore. We're going to explore this year. As you know, I end every episode with a question. I'm going to change it for the mini episodes. And that question is what is the best advice I have gotten this week or what's a piece of advice I would give to someone who is struggling?
I'm going to go on with over liable. Nothing is permanent. And I know sometimes when we're going through a lot, it may feel like we're never going to dig ourselves out or we're just going to always be in this little hole or, you know, we're alone. No one's ever gone through what we've gone through. And that's, and that's the depression talking. That is the hard parts talking. And I, I will share in the show notes.
This poet who I love named. I think her name is Jody.
I'm questioning now because I gave up caffeine weeks ago and I think my brain, well, coffee and I think my brain is playing tricks on me. Josie, see, So I gotta look things up. Josie, who recently wrote and performed her poem on her Instagram.
So I will link that in the show notes. And I just think it was like the perfect, it came at the perfect time for me as a person who deals with depression and who has dealt with trigger warning suicidal ideation. I have no intention of harming myself.
But sometimes, you know, the thought is, what would life look like if I wasn't here?
So, yeah, it was just like a really well timed universal step in of that. That poem came across my screen. So I'll link that. But just know that the light, the world is better because you are here. So have a great week and I will talk to you soon. I love you. Bye.
That's it for this week's episode of the Tea with Bri. Be sure to follow the podcast on Instagram at the Tea with Bri. Send me an email at the tea with bri mail.com or visit the website the te with bre podcast.com.
you can find me your host, Brianna Jenkins on Instagram. Brianna Jenkins. Don't forget to rate, review and follow on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. A special thanks to Mama Duke for our theme music and I will catch you next time. Bye, Sam.
