When I ask myself why I haven’t put more content out there yet, or why I haven’t tried to get some of my work published, there are a couple of reasons. Laziness is high on the list. A crippling fear of failure, sure. The possibility that nobody will like it. And then there’s another dark thought that keeps popping up at the most inconvenient of times: ‘What can I possibly have to say that hasn’t been said a million times before?’ So when my friend Isabella first suggested we start a podcast together, I was a bit reluctant for those same reasons.
We did it! We have a podcast!
My friends know that I love a good voice note, and although social etiquette probably dictates that voice notes should have a maximum duration, I have never let that stop me. If you’re my friend, you will have most likely received a 28-minute long rant from me at some point. ‘These sound like a podcast episode’, my friends would often say. Because they genuinely thought starting a podcast would be a good idea or because they were hoping that me being preoccupied with recording episodes would mean they could catch a break from the never-ending throng of voice notes I don’t know, but it sounded like a good idea.
A little over three months ago now, we actually did it and we started our podcast: Millennial Musings. We discuss all things dating, work, friendships, money, and whatever else we (and you!) might be wrecking our millennial brains over. When we launched I think we both expected about five listeners, mainly consisting of our boyfriends. We have been pleasantly surprised. So far we have tried to answer questions such as ‘Does moving abroad ruin your friendships?’, ‘Can you prioritise yourself without guilt?’, ‘Are we the generation of job hopping and impostor syndrome?’ and ‘Can you love your body when it’s everyone’s worst nightmare?’.
It must be said again (and again and again)
So have we, in these episodes, said anything that hasn’t been said before? Probably not, and that’s okay. I would actually go as far as to say it’s perfect.
Writer André Gide said ‘Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.’ Of course I’m not the first person to come up with theories around fatphobia. Of course things we discuss about the corporate world, or about friendships, have been addressed by other people a million times already. And if I ever publish a book, you will probably find at least a hundred very similar books in the same shop. But no matter how many times something has been said or done, it has never been said or done by you.
What I’ve realised is that everyone has something new and different to add. In my case, there are so many topics that, although so many people have already addressed them, they have yet to be addressed by me in a written story or podcast episode. And of course it will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there will always be people who need to hear what you have to say and who come across your work exactly when they need it the most. Moreover, I have realised that most people are constantly looking to consume more of the same thing. If you love watching a specific genre of film or reading books on a specific subject, you most likely don’t just watch that one movie or read that one story and then stop. No, you look for similar things so that you can enjoy those as well.
Something to be proud of
I have found that the podcast is the perfect creative outlet for me. I look forward to recording our episodes and I get so happy every time we receive a message from someone who related to what we discussed. Sharing my writing makes me feel a similar way. Luckily, one project does not have to make room for the other. Quite the opposite, actually. Working on the podcast makes me want to be more productive in other ways as well, so I’ve also been writing for myself a lot more. I’m grateful to Isabella for suggesting the idea and I’m proud of us for actually doing it. We’re sharing a part of ourselves with the world, which is always a bit scary, but it’s also really cool.
So no, we’re probably not sharing revolutionary theories or groundbreaking opinions. We’re not reinventing the wheel or leading the conversation on an important topic. But if you want to hear two millennial women, who are still very much figuring out life, try to answer everyday questions that you have probably been asking yourself as well, then I would say: Come muse with us!
G.