Tea Time Transitions: Embracing Authenticity and Transformation

When life handed me lemons, I brewed tea. In this episode, Tanya delves into the transformative power of life's hurdles and the path to empowerment. We're not merely discussing my journey here; it's an open invitation to anyone who yearns to prioritize self-care and live with unapologetic authenticity in our tumultuous world.

We toast to the lessons etched in our history and the exciting transformations ahead. This isn't just about my endeavor running a nonprofit or the wisdom gained from podcasting—it's about embracing life as a lifelong learner and agent of change. It's about fostering resilience, allowing pivotal dreams to guide us towards forgiveness, and ultimately, stepping into a chapter drenched in self-love. So, refill your cups as we celebrate the beauty of transformation and the authenticity that comes when we step into our true selves.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and wet student. Join me in the Tea Tasting Room where we spill the tea and find and balance and promote a positive living while doing it all. Hey friend. Hey friend, how are you doing? What's going on? What's going on? Everything blessed, everything cool, everything Ivy. Hey friend, welcome back to another episode of Tea with Tanya.

Speaker 1: 0:36

I am happy to be back here in the Tea Tasting Room with you. I hope you have done something within the last week or the last few days that's affirming to you, that's going to uplift your spirit, that's going to make you feel good about yourself. I know, you know, we're living in a crazy world right now, so I always encourage you to do something for yourself. Do more for yourself, okay, but I am happy to be back here in the Tea Tasting Room. It was a pleasure. I am excited to record this episode, I think. Let me just put this disclaimer out right now. If you happen to hear my voice crack while recording this episode, that's not like. Your gut is very emotional. So I'm trying to suppress the emotions that I have while recording this episode. But if it comes out, then you know what it is, what it is. That's what we do here in the Tea Tasting Room. We're going to keep it honest, we're going to keep it raw. It's going to be ourself, okay. So to this episode I am inviting you, you know, into I want to say, the depths of my soul, but I don't think we're going that deep. But I want to explore the transformative power of life's challenges and the path forward towards empowerment and authenticity. Now, I just said that word without stuttering, so I'm going to say it again because I'm proud of myself as we explore the transformative power of life's challenges and the path forward towards empowerment and authenticity.

Speaker 1: 1:56

But before we continue into today's episode, I want to share the affirmation that I've been repeating to myself within the last few days and just when I'm thinking and reflecting on my life where I was, let's say, five, six, maybe eight years ago, to where I am now, I think that I'm going to there's going to be one of the affirmations that I repeat daily, and probably multiple times a day, because there's a meditation that I do every morning. I forgot the name of it, I think it's called the Insight Timer app and on that app. I've been listening to that particular affirmation, or that particular doing that particular meditation, because it's been speaking to me and I've been doing this for almost literally six months, which is heart-ironic, and it's all about respecting yourself. We're living in strange times. We often find ourselves so busy that we forget to even nurture our being. So this meditation that I do in the morning is called respect yourself, and it's all about learning to respect yourself, all of ourselves. So when we begin to respect ourselves, the way we perceive ourselves and the world changes. Our confidence is going to rise and everything is going to become more and more clear. So I'll put the link to this particular meditation. It's very short, it's not a long one, but it's just so powerful to me because, again, we are navigating this crazy world and we are going through some sort of change or some sort of transformation, that one we may not understand or, if you're like me, you will probably fighting against that transformation because it's not what you wanted or want to accept in this present moment, but nevertheless it's a must.

Speaker 1: 3:28

So, as we get into the episodes, I'm going to share the affirmation and that's going to be. I am making a new decision for my future, despite the decisions I made in my past. So I'm going to say it again I am making a new decision for my future, despite the decisions I made in my past. So if you've been following me on this podcast for a while, then you probably know how I gave birth to this podcast. So now, if you are new here or you just jumped in the middle of this podcast show where you know you probably didn't get to hear that episode, I'm just going to give you a brief scenario, a brief synopsis of how T-with Tanya came about. So I, most of you, should know you should have heard from the intro that I am a public health professional and I work in maternal, child and reproductive health.

Speaker 1: 4:15

Anyway, I graduated from Georgia State University with my bachelor's of science and public health in 2020. And when I'm saying graduated, I'm like putting up a course, because, as we know, 2020 was the year where all of our lives change completely all of us. And I didn't get the opportunity to hear my name and walk across the stage and hear in Tanya Ambrose, madna Kumlade. But you know, I wanted to hear that. But of course, we had a virtual graduation and didn't give me the same feeling that I wanted. But, at the same time, I remember feeling grateful and looking back at my past, from having to pivot in my life, from going to school deciding I want to become a nurse, going to nursing school, failing out of nursing school by 0.5 points because I'm going to always put that in my story, I don't give a damn and having to pivot, deciding what I'm going to do and then found public health Right. So I've had to pivot multiple times in this year, like I'm only 33 and I probably don't live two, three lives at this point in time. But, with that being said, I graduated in 2020.

Speaker 1: 5:16

And if you, if you hear me listen to this podcast, you always hear me talk about the power of social media and how it can be used for good, and it's not always negative, as I, while I was in school getting my public health degree, I started getting I won't say following, because I don't have a lot of followers on Instagram but I started building a community or a network of like-minded individuals, of individuals who are also on their public health journey, whether that was at the bachelor's level or the master's level. And I remember one of my public health sisters, as I call her her name is Christina. She reached out to me because a group of individuals they were high school students who were working towards it's called the Semi Initiative and they were high school students advocating for equity in health care and education, and they were hosting this seminar where they were looking for individuals who were in the public health field or the medical field to give a speech to the high school students who were preparing to go to college. And she thought of me and I always going to have to give Christina a shout out, for I think it's Christina, christina, I see, there I go, it's Christine. I have to give her a shout out every time for even thinking of me, thinking that would be a good fit to speak to these group of high school students, these very ambitious group of high school students, and they were based out of Florida.

Speaker 1: 6:39

Anyway, long story short. I had to because I have never done anything public speaking outside of reading in church or, at the time, presenting in class about whatever project we had to do, but it's always with a group member, if that makes sense. So I had to do my own research here, create my speech, create my PowerPoint, and centered my presentation on something that was public health related and I cannot remember what that topic was, but that's besides the point. But since doing that, again being nervous to speak because, one, I have an accent. Two, I speak fast and three, sometimes I start I want to speak really, really fast. So all that nerves from having the accent, do I code switch? Because, like one thing about me, again, I'm going to say true to who I am. You might hear a little twang in here, but that's okay, I'm antican and antican and I am speaking English, but I had to. I remember telling myself okay, tanya, you need to speak slowly, because one people may not understand what you're saying, but when I'm nervous, child, please, I speak faster than you're saying but can run. Okay, but nevertheless, I did that speech and after that, the feedback that I got from the students they had amazing questions. It was just a great interactive session that I had and that gave me the public speaking bug.

Speaker 1: 7:47

Now I've been out here in making content since 2016. You know, I had my blog. I've been out here consistently blogging and these different things, and I told myself you know what? I need to practice being in front of the camera because I don't want to be honest. We all have other insecurities. I often joke instead of I don't have video face yet. You know I'm not there with my confidence, but that's besides the point. That's no more really, but I'm working on that too. But I just remember having that bug to be in front of the camera to just spill the tea when it came to health care or anything public health related.

Speaker 1: 8:21

To bring more awareness to public health, especially when we enter the pandemic, and that's when the public health profession became or came on the front line, like we were always here. I'll tell you that much. We are always here, but we were, you know, in the background playing. We weren't getting the recognition at the time, but it took the COVID-19 pandemic for individuals to really realize the feel of what the feel of public health is and what it means to be a public health professional. So I decided I was going to go on Instagram and do an Instagram live featuring my friends on Instagram, those who are doctors, public health professionals, what lawyers, influencers, whatever you were.

Speaker 1: 8:56

You were a guest on Tea with Tanya, but so Tea with Tanya was this is the first name as it relates to any sort of business I've had that I didn't think a million years on or I didn't even doubt the name because one I'm from Antigua Alibati Like tea is just going to be tea's life. You know, of course we have some Caribbean people in the whole island today coffee too but tea is life. You have a pit in your finger, you drink some tea. You have a headache, you drink some tea. You're not feeling well, you drink some tea, and you know. You just drink some tea the first thing in the morning so that you don't have any gas or headache. You can go about your day in peace, right. So in my mind I was like, okay, let me share some public health tea. So I'm going to call it Tea with Tanya.

Speaker 1: 9:36

First I did not even hesitate on that name and at that time it was about just spilling the tea on public health and I had different guests on, and that's what birthed the Tea with Tanya podcast. That confidence that I gained just from going live every Monday night I never forgot. I think it was every Monday night. I started every other Monday and then everyone kept saying you need to go every week. You need to go every week, and I think I changed it from a Monday to a Tuesday. Hence the reason why the podcast to this day now is even released on a Tuesday, and I remember people in the comments in the live would often say, oh, this should be a podcast. I'm like you know that's essentially what's the end goal, because one at the time I didn't think I wasn't confident enough to even be in front of a camera on YouTube, to even have a YouTube channel, and I had two friends who were starting their YouTube. That good for them. You know I'm going to support them, and they were also on the Tea with Tanya live Instagram live series. But nevertheless, that was my journey into podcasting and that's where the Tea with Tanya podcast comes in to play Now, fast forward, because the goal again at the Tea with Tanya was to promote positive living.

Speaker 1: 10:41

Of course I was always in one of the course, but to have conversations about public health. And as I started the podcast, I was more myself health or wellness journey. But then I fell off and then the podcast got a new name, still Tea with Tanya, but it is now called Tea with Tanya conversations about maternal health, self development, health and wellness. Well, you're going to hear it first, but I don't know if I'm going to tell you yet. Let me, you know, let me get into the episode and then we're going to talk about it. The answer what I'm saying. But life, life, life as we know it, let me, I'm going to skip that little play for hang on here, so you just hold on to the end of the episode and you're going to hear what I'm talking about, because we're getting a little upgrade in the tea tasting, okay.

Speaker 1: 11:21

But life as we know it comes with a lot of joy, sorrow, triumph and tribulation, and it's usually a journey that, to me, is marked by moments of growth and evolution. And, to be honest, friend, lately I have found myself reflecting a lot, like a lot, a lot. I'm also very effective person, but I found myself reflecting a lot on the intricate patterns within my own life. I'm recognizing, like the, the, the threads of change that have just woven their way through the fabric of my existence at this point in time. You guys already know, you know that I am a founder of a nonprofit organization called squad life cares. I'm the host of this podcast, I'm a birth and post-bottom doler, I'm a study fact rotation counselor. You know I work full time and I'm also a grad student and sometimes, to be honest, I can get very, very lost in my identity, just being founder podcast host. They start in the third and then sometimes you know you may end up losing who you are.

Speaker 1: 12:23

But I want to talk about navigating my life and even you. Navigating life, you know, when it comes to finding that balance between work, school, running an unprofit and hosting this podcast. And that journey has been has not been without any challenges and of course we've had. We have some triumphs as well. But as I continue to go, as I continue to learn more, because one thing about me I consider myself a forever student, and that means a student when I'm actually in school, because I think I'm going to be in school at this point for the rest of my life, because I just love to learn, but also a student of life, a student of, you know, when it comes to to change. So, with all this doing all these different things and trying to find a balance to do it all, you know I had to really sit and confront my limitations. I had to redefine my priorities and I had to really truly just embrace the natural fluidity of life and the and how much it changes.

Speaker 1: 13:17

I often say that for me, I've come across many stumbling blocks. I've fallen many times. I've gotten up and I've fallen again and what I can say is that I am a very, very, very resilient person. Like one of my mantra in this here, life is perseverance is key. Cause one thing about me I'm a persevere. You can knock me down 15 times, I'm going to get up 20. But I will say you know I am I. I've learned to turn my stumbling blocks into stepping stones.

Speaker 1: 13:49

And when I think back about where I am, where I was in 2015, when I essentially failed a nursing school and my world came to an end, I was depressed, I was sad that it was the worst thing ever, and I just remember, you know, thinking about again. This is just one stop in in my on my way to my destination. I'm not going to let this stop me from accomplishing the goals that I set up for myself. But with that challenge, I had to pivot, and I had to pivot real hard. I didn't know again 20, back in 2015, how I was at 25, thinking I was going child, please, I wish I was, but no, I was only 25. So when I think back to where 25 year old Tanya was and to where 33 year old Tanya is right now it's. It seems like they're two different lives. It really does feel like they're two different lives for me, because the Tanya back then and the Tanya now is like the decisions that I made then is what now has me living at the level that I am now at 33.

Speaker 1: 14:53

You know, sometimes it's so easy for us to have regrets or think about the decisions that we made in the past and if you're like me, I would I was living in regret for a very, very long time. I did not regret how, like a dark cloud over me, it was stressing me, it was weighing me down. And then, to be honest, my grandmother, she died, almost seven years now, I think, and every day, literally every single day, I think about her because, anyway, so my grandmother, she's been dead, she's been dead for seven years now and she, she was very instrumental in raising me and my sisters and you know I guess she saw that you know her grandchild was living with this weight on her shoulder because, you know, she didn't think she was living up to, maybe, her parents' expectations or the expectations of the world. And, honestly, she came to me one day in my dream, one night in my dream, and this may sound eerie, but she came to me one night in my dream Having a conversation. She came, she came and dream as clear as day and she was talking to me and I just remember vividly what else she is, that she told me that she's already to forgive some people. She's gonna to forgive them and to let go of what the hurt that they've brought into my life. And then I think I kind of toy guys this story when she told me go drink the ganglion tea and everything. But that that time, when she came to me in a dream and she just said the words let go, like I was on my knees praying and she just came and she put her arms around me. She said Tanya, just let go, and I promise you this.

Speaker 1: 16:10

This literally happened in 2022. So I'm talking about having to pivot my life from 2015 and in 2022, because I've seen how I'm dreams many times and what now? But in 2022, when I went to another transitional period of my life, my grandmother came to me that dream and told me that I need to forgive myself and it's to forgive people who hurt me, and I needed to let go so I can flourish and believe me, friend, from since 20, the life that I've been living since 2022, to now again that that. This is that transformation. Also that good from where I was there, working on overcoming people, pleasing or working and trusting myself, more trust in my intuition, more it's been. It's been since then. So, you know, listen to your intuition, guys.

Speaker 1: 16:52

But Amidst the chaos and even the storm that I've endured in this short life that I've lived so far, you know I, I was able to, and I continue to discover a sense of purpose, you know, and that purpose in recent times, over the last two years, that was rooted in self-love. It's rooted in health and wellness. You know, it's really a journey of transformation. It's a journey to us becoming my most authentic version of myself.

Speaker 1: 17:21

So, if you listen to this episode and you may be going through Whatever trials and tribulations, or if you were like me when you became their people, please, well, if you were like me, where you've had people take your love for granted, or you have people take your Friendship for granted, or you have people just take you as a person for granted, you know, take some time to do some self-reflection because, honestly, I kind of sit here and tell you what works for me, it's gonna work for you. You know I mean, but take some time to really reflect and think about the chaos, the storm, think about the stumbling blocks that you face. They end up, even if you're a mom who may have children who are being bullied in school, if you are mom who may have a child as and autism spectrum. So you know you're having to navigate this world as a mom. You're having to do it both part arm, or you're having to deal with individuals not knowing how to potentially or accept your child or children for being as unique as they are. You know, think about the ways in which you can just reflect and during that reflection, that deep reflection, you should come up on the other side with a sense of purpose. Like I said, for me, that was my dream. With my grandmother, I started my, my non-profit, in 2020, but even then, I still had my doubts, I still have my reservations, but now I am ready to Essentially walk into my purpose, that I'm living my purpose right now and, like I said, that is rooted in self-love, health and wellness and it's a journey of transformation. It's a journey to where it's becoming your most authentic Foreversion of yourself, and then there's a matter of the heart that could be healing from a heartbreak and that's, let me tell you, that's a process. You know that's a sacred journey of again self-discovery and self reclaiming yourself. You know it's. It's about honoring the wounds of our past while bravely stepping into the light when you don't. For me, you know, again, we talk about heartbreak that could be from an intimate relationship, it could be from friendship, whatever it is, whatever heartbreak could be from Grieving the loss of a family member.

Speaker 1: 19:09

Sometimes I think in society we we think we need to Get over something as fast as we do. That's not true. Sometimes I just think that we need to just really and truly sit in our feelings. Like for me, from a beside I'll be sad, like I know I have the tools and the coping mechanisms to Get out of my form. But I think sometimes, when you're dealing with a heartbreak, no matter what, what the cause of the heartbreak is, just take some time to sit and feel your feelings. Sometimes we often like to say or everything happened for a reason, and right now, quite frankly, sometimes I don't even think there's a reason why things happen. Sometimes you want an explanation, like myself, but sometimes we just aren't given an explanation. We're not just giving a reason as to why Something happened in our lives. So definitely, you just want to sit in that feeling, feel it.

Speaker 1: 19:54

And for me, I always say you know, push through or try to get over something. You know, sit in that feeling and work through your feeling, work through your hurt, work through your grief so that you can get to your next step, so you can turn those Sumbling blocks into stepping stones. And I'm running my mouth saying all these different things, but for me, I'm on a journey of I've been on a journey over the last two years of my of self love. You know, health and wellness if you listen to the podcast over the last year, you know I've been on my health and wellness journey, being very Intentional about that. But again, through being in therapy, of course, I am Learning the coping mechanisms. I'm learning how to, I'm relearning how to love myself. I'm relearning how to Understand myself. It's the one thing I realized the other day that I do not completely understand myself. So it's very hard for me or it's sure it's unfair for me to expect someone else To to understand me when I myself don't even understand me. You know, I mean. So it's. We're ever evolving. So we definitely have to and Sure that we are sitting in whatever feelings we're feeling, that we're also working and pushing through, or push working through that grief that we may feel until we come up on the other side. And again, that's no Time frame, is not gonna take a month, a week, a year. Sometimes you know again, grief grief is Greed can belong, right. There's no time for you to grieve. My grandmother died seven years ago. Another day I am still grieving her death. So definitely there's no rush, doesn't matter how your heart may feel, how you may feel. Just again, think about where you want to be. Again, nothing in this life happens before it's time. Perseverance is going to be key, which brings me that's one of the shit I brought, which brings me to a pivotal moment in the evolution of this podcast. But the next time you listen to this podcast, or two episodes from now, you're going to see a change with Tea with Tanya. Right now it's Tea with Tanya. It's conversations about maternal health, self-development, health and wellness.

Speaker 1: 21:49

And after many thoughts and just dreams, because one thing about me if something comes to me in a dream, it has to happen. I have to work hard to make it happen. I am just that girl. I have a dream and I feel that dream in my soul. Whatever was happening in that dream, I have to have to go out and make it happen, my nonprofit. That was a thought at one point and then it became a dream where I saw where it was going to be 10 years from now. At the time when I had the dream and we're in year three, almost approaching year four of having scrub life cares and I'm not even touching. I'm at the tip of that iceberg when it comes to what I had, what I saw in that dream. So, definitely, if something comes in my dream, it's going to happen.

Speaker 1: 22:28

So one day I was reflecting and I actually had a conversation with someone in my Instagram DMs and she's in back home and we're talking about Tea with Tanya. She was telling me she had something that was called I think it was Tea with Tami or Tami Tea something, but either way. When she said that, I was like, oh, you know, I had that in a dream, but I kept holding on to the acronym that I had because I'm like you know, at this point it wasn't time. But anyway, friend, I had this dream and, like I said, the podcast is called Tea with Tanya, conversations about Maternal Health, self-development, maternal Health and Wellness.

Speaker 1: 23:01

And the next couple of weeks you're going to be seeing a transformation on the podcast. I don't know if I'm ready to share that name, but yes, you're going to see a change in the name of the podcast. It's still Tea with Tanya. We're still going to be meeting in the Tea Taste in the room, but I'm going to leave that for your imagination and over the next two weeks you're going to see that roll out. You're going to see what I'm talking about, what I'm cooking, what I'm getting ready to birth again, the rebirth of Tea with Tanya podcast.

Speaker 1: 23:27

But you also may be asking you know, why the change? Because for me, I believe in the power of transformation. I believe in the infinite potential that lies within each and every one of us and that is to rise above the adversity that we may face. That is to embrace our true essence. And as I continue to navigate this life, trying to balance love, trying to balance friendship, trying to balance being a child, a sibling, an older sister, working on growing my nonprofit, working on growing this podcast, as I continue it's like at every I feel like I'm in a not even feet.

Speaker 1: 24:02

I am currently in a transitional, transform, transformational phase of my life right now and the beginning of the year when I rang in that new year in a different country and the feeling that I had in my gut telling me that I need to approach everything in this, everything in this world or in this life, with intention. Sometimes, you know, I'm finding that when I don't listen to my gut, shit hits the fan. I'm just keeping it real. When I don't listen to my intuition, I always end up at a getting burn or something always goes the wrong way. So this is just telling you.

Speaker 1: 24:35

You know what, if you're in a transitional or transformational phase of your life, you definitely want to continue to believe in your infinite potential. Believe in your potential. I don't want anyone to stop you from achieving the things that you want to achieve. It doesn't even matter what it is. You definitely want to tap into your potential. So, as I go, like I said, I'm gonna leave you with a little clip hanger and then you can tell me what you think it's gonna be.

Speaker 1: 24:56

But this podcast, honestly, is not gonna be just about conversations about maternal health, self-development, you know. It's about catalyzing the change. Catalyzing change, it's about empowering growth and it's gonna be about inspiring authenticity, because too many times I've had people question how real I am, you know, because of my kindness, and I'm sick and tired of that, you know, sometimes, because we're not used to people being genuinely kind to us. So I'm gonna make sure I want the feet of this podcast to be about. You know I'm gonna be catalyzing change and empowering growth, you know, inspiring us to all be authentic. You know it's about embarking on a journey of self-discovery together, you and me here in the tea tasting room, and it's about to just, you know, just up, and as we let it sit, up, up, up, it's really just about me tapping into my true self. Not that I wasn't before, but as, again, I'm always evolving, you're always evolving. So as I continue to evolve, I can evolve and then stay the same. You can't evolve and stay the same. So I definitely just wanted to share that with you guys.

Speaker 1: 25:56

Before we wrap this season up, I have one more episode that you guys are gonna absolutely love and it's gonna be ending on a high. Actually, maybe two episodes it's gonna be ending on a high note as we get ready to go into the new season as well. So I want to give you a cheers if you have your tea cup or whatever you want to drink today in the tea tasting room. But here's to us transforming. Here's to transformation, my dear friend. Here's to us embracing the ebbs and flow of life's currents, to honoring the wisdom of our past, because whatever decisions we made in the past is why we are who we are today. It made us stronger, it made us learn about our purpose and it made us also know what we're willing to accept and what we're not willing to accept. So let's just continue to step out in this world, walking in our purpose.

Speaker 1: 26:42

Again, I want to thank you for joining me here in the tea tasting room. Please, please, do something for yourself within this week, because I want to hear what you did for yourself as it relates to self-care within the past week. And remember the affirmation is I am making new decisions for my future despite the decisions I made in the past. Like, your past is not going to define you, your past is going to continue to mold who you are presently and mold who you become in the future as well. Never forget that. I love you for listening and I'll see you in the tea tasting room next week. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you liked this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at teawithtanyapodcast. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Tea Talk newsletter and, of course, rate on Apple Osbodify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.