[00:00:00] Welcome to The Leah Ideology Podcast, where you get to hear all the conversations that take place inside my head. I'll share all the private thoughts that occupy the space inside my mind through letters I write to those around me. I'm your host, Leah Wagner. I'm so glad you're here.
[00:00:30] Welcome to The Leah Ideology Podcast. I am so happy that you have found yourself here. If you just happened to stumble across the podcast, that's amazing. If you, like, intentionally sought out the title of this podcast and came to hang out with us, that's so cool. Can you hear me smiling? You know how you can just hear when someone's smiling?
[00:00:53] I am, like, an overthinker too in extreme so it's very possible that I thought to myself after the first episode was put out, “You are gonna probably have to move away to some town where nobody knows you so you can just die of embarrassment because you putting yourself out there like this and thinking that people are gonna actually listen to you? God, Leah,
[00:01:10] you're so cute, you know, like, you are so cute.” But here you are listening again, tuning in for another episode, and that just fills me up - that just makes me really happy and very grateful. The other reason that I'm happy and really grateful and, like, smiling at my microphone is because this episode is gonna be one of my favorites.
[00:01:29] This episode is going to be probably one of the most impactful and one of the most foundational episodes to this podcast, it is very literally the entire reason why I have started a podcast. So, as my social media presence has grown a little bit over the past couple of years, I'm on TikTok, I'm on Facebook, I'm on Instagram -
[00:01:53] the one thing that I've really kind of done on social media, I guess, is I don't do dances. Oh God, you're never gonna see me do a TikTok dance on TikTok. I'm almost 40. So I will not, I shall not dance on TikTok. I just kind of talk about everyday shit, right, like I just kind of talk about what's going on in my life,
[00:02:11] what I think about it, and then I move on. It's kind of a cathartic thing, like I just put it out there, it's like a bless-and-release thing. And what I found when I start to share what's actually going on in my real life, the people of social media start to tell me what's going on in their real lives. And I found myself, as I was replying to all these people, coming up with a certain phrase
[00:02:37] that I would say to these people, that I would say to you, when you would reach out to me and talk to me about the things, the intimate details that are going on in your lives. And I realized that even though I was saying this very simple, this very basic sentence, I didn't think that people were capturing what I was really, really saying
[00:02:57] when I said this phrase, when I say this phrase, I mean so much more than the four words that are in the phrase itself, and I've wanted a chance to express this, I've wanted a chance to share it with the world. So I wanted to make sure that this is a very early part of the podcast, because it is so important.
[00:03:22] This message gets out there to you. From me. So the letter this week is a letter to you, my sweet podcast listener, who is taking the time out of their day to listen to this recording. This is what I wish for you. This is what I wish for everybody right now because I think the world needs it. And I think the world needs a little bit more of this instead of everything else.
[00:03:52] And so with that, I am going to share this letter with you this week and it is to you, my podcast listener.
[00:04:09] Here we go: Dear podcast listener, hi, loves. Are you ready? This is gonna be a good letter. I need to be very clear, I think catchphrases are cheesy. I don't know why I feel so strongly about it. Maybe it's because I'm not a big movie buff and when I think catchphrases, I think movies. We never really watched movies as kids,
[00:04:36] I actually didn't see “A Christmas Story'' until I was in my twenties and by that time I actually kind of agreed with Ralphie's parents that he would, in fact, shoot his eye out. But I looked at that more of, like, a statement of fact rather than a catchphrase. Hey, just for fun. Do you wanna try and guess the number one movie catchphrase on a random website
[00:04:59] I found when I Googled movie catchphrases, do you guys wanna try and guess the number one? What do you think it is? I'll give you a hint. It's not yo way Adrian from Rocky, because obviously that is number 80, right? So what do you think? Number one, any guesses? Okay. So anyway, catch phrases are cheesy. I don't want one.
[00:05:23] I think they're dumb. Got it. So with that in mind, you guys, let me tell you the story about how I got my catch phrase. Okay. When I joined TikTok in 2020, I wanted a place where I could say anything I wanted and no one would know who I was. I wanted the privacy, but I also wanted the new connections. I wanted to be by myself, but not around people who would, like, judge me for it.
[00:05:54] Sure. I'm on Facebook and Instagram, but like, so is my mom and her friends and people I know from church and that one girl from high school who is still gorgeous. So obviously I still hate her. But I don't wanna talk about my real life stuff in front of these people who I wanted to talk to complete strangers, because somehow that was way less intimidating.
[00:06:20] I talked about my thoughts and my feelings about parenthood and how while I absolutely love my son, I also don't like him. The majority of the time being a mom, to me, feels impossibly hard and so I tried to talk about it to try to cope. I talked about getting back into the dating scene and what that was like.
[00:06:45] And long story short, I would rather walk through a farmyard barefoot and then lick my feet clean than do online dating again. God, what a wild and absolutely lawless land. Praise Jesus, I found James and got out of there. Ugh. But I started to notice that the more I talked about the things going on in my life, this the real stuff in my real life, the more the people of TikTok would share things going on in their real lives.
[00:07:19] It became a back and forth. It became a conversation. And before I knew it, it became a community. I was getting emails and DMS and comments from people sharing intimate details of their lives with me. And I would do my very best to listen as intently and as deeply as I could, I'd be all in. And as I responded to each person, whether in writing or even just in my mind, I always found myself saying this, I am rooting for you.
[00:07:56] I am rooting for you. I am rooting for you.
[00:08:12] Every single time I said it, it didn't feel like enough. I felt like it wasn't summoning the full power of what I felt on my insides. I always felt like I wanted to say more. But when you're replying to hundreds of people, you simply don't have the time to respond as deeply as you'd like to each person.
[00:08:32] So I would always end up saying, “Friend, I'm rooting for you.” Now we're here together sharing this podcast space. And maybe you've joined me here because you followed me over from another form of social media, which I love that BT dubs, y'all are the real MVPs, I see you! Or maybe we never met and you have no idea who I am and what I stand for
[00:08:56] and you're still on the fence about whether to stick around here or not, which…fair. So, I'm gonna plead my case. I'm going to say the words, here is the reason why I use this phrase, this is what I stand for, this is what surges through my veins every time someone is brave enough to be vulnerable with me and share themselves with me.
[00:09:20] This is the warmth I feel for you. When I say that I'm rooting for you, I'm rooting for you means I want for you, whatever it is you are wanting for yourself. It means that I am excitedly listening to what you have to say. I'm thoughtfully paying attention to your words. And I'm not going to impose my own shit on you.
[00:09:51] And to be clear, my own shit includes, but is not limited to, my expectations, my beliefs, my advice, or my opinions, because I know that these things do not matter when you are sharing with me. They're irrelevant because right now I am rooting for you. It means that I trust you to know what you want and need for you.
[00:10:23] I believe that you have exquisite expertise in you, even if you don't feel that way sometimes. And I believe that if you took the time to listen to you, that you would know exactly what you need and what you want. And I believe that that answer, the one that comes from the inside to the outside, that feeling that makes you exhale
[00:10:51] like you finally found that puzzle piece that fits that one tricky spot. I'm telling you that I trust YOU to listen to THAT. That's what I'm rooting for. I'm rooting for you.
[00:11:10] It's my acknowledgement to you that I don't know every single thing that you've seen or thought or heard or felt or touched or experienced, so how can I possibly be in a place to tell you what to do or how to handle yourself? I'm simply rooting for you. It means that I am willing to pause and exist with you, knowing that we'll both be better afterwards.
[00:11:44] It means that I know you might not be where you want to be, and I may not be familiar with where you want to go, but I see you trying to get there. I see you. And so I'm rooting for you. This.
[00:12:11] This is what erupts from my insides when I say this phrase, this is the energy that I intentionally try to bring to the world, this is why I started this podcast. I want to speak this exact phrase into the universe because this is the exact phrase and power that I need as I live my day to day life. I think it's the energy we all need right now,
[00:12:39] isn't it? I know it's tough out there. I'm rooting for you. I know you feel out of control and I know you feel pulled in a million different directions, but just pause for a second
[00:12:57] and hear me say that I am rooting for you. Being human is hard. And even though I can't fix things for you, I can't heal what ales you, I can't take any pain or frustration away. I can acknowledge that I am human too. So I know how hard human-ing is. And so I'm rooting for you. Oh, and how about that number one movie catchphrase of all time, that one, you know, from the random website that I clicked on, when I Googled movie catchphrases, any guesses? Number one is, “Frankly, my dear,
[00:13:46] I don't give a damn,” from the 1939 classic, “Gone With The Wind.” And if anything points us in the direction of our truest and most authentic selves, sweet Scarlet, O'Hara! Let it be this! I cannot wait to see you again here for the next episode. I can't wait to keep spending time with you here. I can't wait to keep sharing my stories and hearing yours.
[00:14:16] I can't wait to be here with you again. And from now, until that time when we do get to meet and beyond, and forever and ever, and ever in a day, friend, I am rooting for you. Love Leah.
[00:14:40] Wait, wait, wait, wait! Before you go! You know what I'm gonna ask, don't you? If you found some value in this podcast, if you feel that others would benefit from taking a listen, please take the time to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts. This is the best way to ensure that these episodes will hopefully find the people who need to hear the most.
[00:15:05] The Leah Ideology Podcast is made with special thanks to my podcast manager, Kay Basconcillo, my son, Isaac, who brings me so much joy and worry that I never run out of things to talk about. And to you, the listener, thank you for coming to spend time with us. And until we meet again, please know, I am rooting for you.