Latest / Frankie and Johnny: The Conversations We Never Had / Divorce, Community, and What Our Kids Are Really Going Through

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Divorce, Community, and What Our Kids Are Really Going Through · Frankie and Johnny: The Conversations We Never Had

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_02: This is Frankie.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_02: And this is Johnny.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: And welcome to episode two of Conversations We Never Had.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_02: And well, thank you for joining us.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think we're gonna we we finally got it right this time, and we're gonna start today's really about Johnny's show.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I know as parents we we have a lot of questions and we think we know our our kids, and and there's a good chance that I know I'm gonna be learning a lot right now in some of these questions.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: How much do we really really know our kids?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: So Johnny, uh what's it like to be you, to be a teenager?
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh honestly, I think as a teenager you have uh to be honest, much more freedom than you do when you get older.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: You have a lot more responsibilities when you get older.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: So as a teenager, you know, you could have fun time, you have to balance your time with your family, your friends.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that comes hard.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I just I think I've had a great time being a teenager.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've made a lot of like new relationships with people, friends, um, stronger bonds and connections.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: And what do you think as as adults that you wish that we would understand about some of the things that you're going through?
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you mentioned some of the like good stuff, but like, you know, as parents, there's a lot that we don't know.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: And there's a lot of stuff that you that you go through.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: I I you know, I want you to share so that you can help us understand because we look at the world through our eyes as parents, and it's hard for us to realize some of the things that you've gone through or that you go you guys go through.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: Guys, girls.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so um as kids, me being a kid, I've always honestly um actually let me not say always, most of the time You're not a kid, buddy.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_02: I mean you know, you're a senior now, all right?
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: As a teenager, um, I've I've opened up, I mean, a good amount to like my parents and stuff, but if you're one of those kids out there that's not really opening up, that you're keeping your feelings inside, and maybe you don't want to share with like your your parents or someone that's like very really close to you because you don't want them to share it to anybody else.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um I would suggest finding somebody to just share your feelings to or talk to, maybe like a friend or something, because it's really good to just get those emotions out.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I've gone through a good amount of stuff in my life, and I've had like the person that I share with the most is probably my sister.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she's had to go through a lot with me too.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I mean, if you're going through like something rough, I would say to definitely open up and share.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: And can you can you expand on that a little bit as far as uh you know some real stuff that maybe other people can can kind of relate to, and especially, you know, as you know, like there's there's a lot of stuff maybe with social media and and explain a little bit what you mean by by a lot of stuff and and some some other things that people can may have challenges with, some of your friends.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, um, I mean social media is definitely uh it's uh I think it's a waste of time to be honest with to a lot of people.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously, some people like scrolling and stuff.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: You heard that.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's on camera.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's on camera.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: We got it here.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Some people like scrolling and stuff, and like that's fine.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: You could get entertained and stuff, but you have to again you have to balance your time and you have to find specific time blocks in your day to do what you have to get done, and then maybe at night you could scroll for a little bit and go to sleep, or like other kids out there that maybe their parents maybe divorced.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my parents are divorced.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think you all guys, um, most of you guys know that.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, as uh I mean they were divorced when I was four, so I didn't really experience the divorce, to be honest.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't remember a lot, but yeah, if you're going through, I mean, if you have siblings, I think that that's like the strongest bond you could you could uh create with your sibling uh after a divorce, it makes you become especially if you're very young, it makes you become independent as a person.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um and yeah, if you have it, if you don't have a sibling, I mean find somebody that you could just talk to.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it doesn't have to be one parent because then the other might like you might not want to share with the other, or you vice versa.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: But if it's a friend or a cousin or someone, I mean I you have to you have to open up to express your feelings.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: You can't keep them stuck inside because that's gonna live with you uh forever.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot you said there, and I wanna I wanna keep on there.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, about 50% of of families are are divorced, and and I know you you said like there's a lot of people here who who are gonna see this uh whether in the next week or or maybe a few months from now that really don't know some of your story.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_02: So how is that I'm afraid to ask this, but like these are real conversations that we we all need to have.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: But how has the divorce, as you mentioned, like how did that affect you and for parents out there who are maybe going through a divorce and who and and I'm I'm getting emotional a little bit, not so much about the divorce, but about the impact it's had on my children and the fears I've had.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: What can you share to some parents who maybe going through that are in it now, and how the things that you experience and maybe how to help parents and even kids and teens that are are going through it can be better prepared and and can do better, that we can do better.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So as a kid, I'm gonna start off with as a kid how you know you could uh I guess go with it.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um there's good and bad, so I mean I've got good stuff that's come out of divorce, which is like I said, being independent.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um kind of like me and my sister would have to like do stuff on our own and um be responsible, take clothes to the houses, let's say, um, and bad things as a kid.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean it's obviously mentally, uh a lot of things like you know, you you'll think about it and you'll be like, oh, like it's not that big of a deal, but it really is, it really affects you with who you are.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, as as if you confront the situation and maybe like this kind of gonna transition to like as a parent, if your parents get along, it might not be as bad if they don't.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: As a kid, you have to confront the situation, and it's of course uncomfortable too, but as a kid, all you want if your parents are divorced is at least to get along.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, as parents, if you guys like uh hate each other, or one person hates one or the other one hates the other.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even like to like to use the word uh hate a lot, but some situations they do.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the parents do hate each other.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh they I mean it if it's I've always said this.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh if you if one of the parents hates each other more, it's because you're hating that person more than you love your kids.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I just want that to sit in with you guys because if you really loved your kids, uh you wouldn't make such a I guess uh struggle through their life or an impact in their life in a bad way.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I mean if you don't like them just have the uncomfortable conversation uh like you don't have to ha have a great relationship with them, but at least in front of the kids, just be civil.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, that's my answer to that question.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for that, son, and extremely mature answer.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: Now you said a lot a lot of great points.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: Why what is it that happens inside of of of the kids that are going through that?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: Like parents, I want you to hear what it is that uh the kids are actually going through.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: Like put yourself, your feelings, your your your emotions, you know, whatever she did or whatever he did, whatever they did aside, and hear what our children are going through, the struggles that they go through.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_02: Like what are those balances?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: And and I want you to answer, and I just want to I want to point out something incredible that you you did, and most people may have missed it.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: Here, here's a situation where for every kid is one of the most challenging moments of their life.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: But here he was, my son.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: I I gotta tell you, man, like that, I'm so proud uh of what you saw.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: You were looking.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_02: Did you see how he caught the good?
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: Like you were looking at, well, there was some good out of it because it helped me become independent.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_02: Adults, we can learn a lot from this young man who I'm honored to be called his dad, of how to look at life.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_02: Because there's always good, no matter how bad the situation looks, there's always good if you focus on it.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: And if you look for the bad, you'll always find it.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: So share with us exactly, please, like more so we can help better understand what is that like in those bads.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_02: What is the feelings that that that you had that you and your sister, like obviously you you shared, you mentioned my daughter Nori, that tight bond that you had.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_02: Help us understand the experience in in more color and more depth to understand.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, um, as a kid, again, like when the divorce happened, I was I was small, I was four years old.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um it affected me when I got older.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um just like I'm gonna give you an example.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be uh I've been playing basketball since I was four, too.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think that's why I love it so much, because when my parents got divorced, that was like my my second home, just playing basketball.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um but as a kid, like seeing my parents like separated of uh in the stands or after the game, me having to say hi to one and then hi to the other, it's just uncomfortable as a kid.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they like it's like they can't even just stand next to each other.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying just my parents, I'm saying like in general, if your parents are like that.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't think it's it's right if you don't agree.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean that's on you, but I just I that was uncomfortable as a kid to to me seeing having to say hi to one, hi to the other, or you know, like having this tension between the games, oh who do I look at, like cheering me on and stuff.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: So that's an example.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Wow, okay.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: As a kid, there's like just like this tension between both parents, and it's um it's uncomfortable, like I said, yeah.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_02: And what do you think can what do you think would need to happen if if you knew uh in order to ease that tension for those people who are out there, they're listening, they're going through those struggles, they don't know what to do, they're in your shoes or the shoes that you used to be as as as a little boy.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_02: And uh what do you think can bridge the gap in order for people because there's a lot of emotions, like uh you know, every every couple that gets this is the reality.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: Like every relationship ends, whether through death or through a breakup, but it ends.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_02: It just uh when people break up, it doesn't end the way that people uh expected it or imagined it to end.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: And because of that there's pain.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: What can you say that would help that you feel that for young people would would have brought you peace, would have brought you and your sister peace.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like what would that look like?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: And the reason I'm asking you is for parents, kids that are out there that are listening, that you can have these the goal is to have these conversations because we're figuring this out together, and like this is all like real, this isn't like scripted.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_02: So there's a lot of emotions here, but the goal here is always to bring value to you so you can bring this at home, and maybe you're not going through these struggles, but maybe there's fights and challenges that you're having with your partner in front of your kids.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: So uh tell us what do you think that would look like if if you're if it for kids out there whose parents are sitting on opposite ends of the sidelines and the kid has to look one way or look the other, or yeah, I mean, Zach sounds like you sound almost like you felt paralyzed.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, no, I wouldn't say paralyzed.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't I was uh I didn't really feel as stuck, it was just um more like uncomfortable.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I mean, as parents, like I said, like to answer your question, um I just think you guys like like I said, you don't have to have a great relationship.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, but at least just for the kids, um just be able to like talk with one another, not put them in the middle, you know.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you're going on vacation or something, the kids shouldn't have to tell the other parent.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: You could just text them, send a quick message, or at a basketball game, you don't have to sit right next to each other, but sit close by so the kids looking in the same area, um, or whatever game it is, doesn't have to be basketball, baseball, football, whatever it is.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um at games, say hi to each other, have both families together if there's a big family event.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, maybe not holidays and stuff, but I'm talking about like graduations for the kids, weddings, um, if you're religious, communion, or any of that stuff.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, have both families there because it really does um hurt those kids out there that their parents are divorced and they can't send a message to each other or it has to all go through you, and you're just like the messenger and yeah.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: It feels like that's a lot of a lot of pressure.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so staying kind of a uh a line, thank you for sharing so so openly, son, like so deeply uh about your experience.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_02: And uh I'm I'm sure that that was a bit of a challenge for you.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_02: What is you mentioned what you wish that we understood when it came to like divorce?
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_02: What other challenges or or struggles or what's it like being a teen today?
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like what are some of the pressures that that you feel and like a senior?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, it's senior year, you know.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: Uh what is it, big man on campus year?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh what is that what does that feel like?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: What is the average senior or maybe even junior, what is the average high school or what pressures are they feeling in everyday life?
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: To be honest, I don't feel any pressure.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm just uh you only live once, so you gotta make the best out of it, honestly.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_02: So that's a very dangerous answer.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_02: No, that's yes, you only live once.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_02: That's a teen.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm gonna like tear it up and go crazy.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: No, that's terrifying as as a dad right now.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: I have an answer.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: I have an answer.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, good.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_02: Because I don't like that one.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah, I have an answer.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, yes.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: You do only live once.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, have fun, make the best out of you know, your high school years, you only go through it four years.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um But as a senior, you know, now I'm gonna start applying applying to colleges and seeing where I get into.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, that's that's pressure on me um to do better in school.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: I I've always had like pretty good grades.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um But as a regular uh student in school in the school aspect, uh just study, work hard, just be the best version of yourself.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like don't sell yourself short.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um but pressure, I mean just maybe getting a bad grade, thinking that I'm gonna I might be scared to ask a question in class.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: Not me, but I'm talking about other kids out there.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think that's the pressure that some kids might be going through.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Going to school, maybe feeling a little bit awkward.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a new school.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, share that.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, so now you're tapping into something.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: Like because you you you move schools, so there's some kids that that they may be going into, let's say, freshman year, what or maybe going into college, or maybe transferring schools, or you know, you you're pretty you've pretty much been like a very outgoing person, but not everyone is like that.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: So ta tap into those feelings of what it's like when you're going in and you're trying to like fit in.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_02: What what does that look like?
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: Because you've had that experience uh uh yourself.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I was in Columbus, uh Christopher Columbus High School, Miami, Florida.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um for two years, freshman, sophomore year, then for basketball.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: I transferred to True North.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's also here in Miami.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um it wasn't a big move, but I had known some kids there, thank God.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if I didn't, I definitely would have uh been a little bit, you know, nervous, of course, because I'm going to a new school.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really have much friends uh that go to that school.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe some of them, some people that are transferring don't have any friends that are going to that school.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: But I known some kids growing up playing basketball that went there.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh in the summer we started practicing, so I got to make new friendships uh throughout the summer.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: But for example, uh I'm gonna mention Aiden Ballato.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to him.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh love that family and love you guys.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um he's been his dad's uh was a college basketball coach.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now he's the athletic director of Miami Dade, Mike Balato.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um Ballato family getting some shout shout-outs here.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: But 40 years a coach.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: So so it was uh a lot of moving around, moving places.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Aiden had to transfer a lot of pla a lot of times uh to different schools and stuff, and he's actually kind of uh piggybacked off of what I've gone through uh because he came to Columbus, uh freshman and sophomore year, and then he went to true north.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: He's with me now in true north uh for his junior and hopefully a senior year, he'll stay there.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm sure it's been tough for him making new friends.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, go to a whole new state and city.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I mean Aiden's not uh a loud person, he's very like calm, cool, collective.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: He's a great person, but sometimes it was it might have been a little bit hard for him to to make friendships.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_02: I don't want to uh cut you off here, but you I just I just caught something.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_02: When you were four, you turned to basketball.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_02: When you went when you transferred schools, you mentioned sports or something, you know, in relation to in your case, basketball.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: When you mention Aiden, you mentioned sports basketball.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: How important is extracurricular activities, sports, for you with sports, for like maybe some some other kids, like in as far as having friends and not having or even dealing with some hardships in life.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: How has that helped you become the young man that you are today?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so um in my case, it's basketball.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: It could be honestly any any club or sport or extracurricular activity.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I feel like you would have made a hell of a safety for football.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: I gotta just say that.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: Dad's gotta chime in.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I mean, I feel like whatever you love, so I love basketball.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna find people that love basketball too, and it just builds a connection because it's two people that love the same thing and have the same kind of likes.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, like if you're let's say into chess or bowling and you go into the club and you find friends there, I mean, if that's your way of finding friends, that's how it is.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I feel like that's an easier route to to get friends.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it is important to be in extracurricular activities, whatever it is, it could be literally Spanish club, math club, it doesn't matter what it is, but it's an easier way to build relationships with uh people.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: The importance of finding, you know, community.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and and and and on that end, going back earlier, you mentioned about like social media and I don't remember the exact words you use, but I I'm gonna say like, oh how it's terrible and and a waste of time.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: And now you now you're mentioning about the importance of community.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: What's happening though, like, is that they're both in in conflict, like because if you're scrolling, you're not even in front of the person that in community.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_02: And then but if you are in community, you're you're away from all the scrolling.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: So how can we help you guys, like the young people?
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_02: I don't even know if that made any sense.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh how can we help I hate social media.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: I just like he's a scroller too, though.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, yeah, I'm guilty.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_02: I'm guilty.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_02: See, I I almost got defensive there.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: I am too.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a scroller, but it is it's tried to put a a time limit.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: Now, what can we do to get people more involved and and and then though like more involved, more out there, more especially your generation who like you've been born with this device, and you're looking for constant stimulation, constant entertainment on the screen?
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_02: But there's so much loneliness, people feeling alone, and then like all this like trolling that you guys do and making fun of others.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how can we get become better people overall and help those people who are feeling all alone?
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so everybody out there, I mean using social media, there's of course good ways to use it and bad ways to use it.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um good ways in the aspect of maybe looking at something that you could learn, or I mean, obviously, this is not social media really, but texting a friend, it could be on social media.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you could text them, of course, but it doesn't have to be an all-day thing scrolling through entertainment and stuff.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, there's it has to be time blocks within your day.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you're hanging out with your friends and stuff, just put the phone to the side.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you're with your friends, you literally don't need it unless it's of course call your parents or if something happens.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: But it does really like it, it's a waste of time to a lot of people that just spend all day on their phone.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, can you go outside?
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: Can you be more social with people?
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, that's my opinion on that.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so so as you can see, the timer, um, like the goal here is it was 28 minutes.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: That's the average commute to work uh in America is 28 minutes, and the attention span of young people as yourselves is short 28 minutes.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_02: So we're gonna kind of like wrap this up.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_02: There's gonna be a a part two because I don't think we got to really solutions, and and it's really important to get solutions to this epidemic of people.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: Fortunately, you're in sport, you're in sports, you have community, but some of those kids who don't.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I think we all have a role to play here we to be better uh human beings.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: So let's just give a takeaway, a takeaway that you want to leave people with uh uh today, Johnny.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: You go first.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_02: Uh takeaway is the power of human connection.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_02: The power of human connection, we we and community, like which is all the same.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, even my son uh as a young man, you know, he talked about like being present, being there, putting the phone away, and the people who you're around being there.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_02: How many times do you see people at the dinner table at a restaurant?
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_02: Here's a family, here's a couple, and everyone's on their phone, and none of them are enjoying one another.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_02: The most precious commodity we have is the time we have together.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_02: Let's be together.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, my takeaway is um time management.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: Be uh be good with your time, have time blocks, like I've said, um balance your time with family, friends, uh things to do, sports, extracurricular activities, school, have a balance of your time because if you don't everything becomes disorganized, and that's how um relationships go downhill because if you're not giving the time to that person in the relationship, it has to go with what he was saying about about the phone and what I was saying.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if you're not giving that time to the person that you love in a relationship, it could be uh your spouse, your girlfriend, or just a regular relationship with your siblings or friends, then that relationship's gonna go downhill.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Be there, be present, and balance your time.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, okay, so that's gonna wrap it up.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, if you have any questions, please.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_02: Like the goal is to start bringing in questions.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_02: We'll answer the last five minutes, you know, on live on the air if you want to see anonymous tattoo.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, if you want, actually, we gotta put together Frankie and Johnny.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like, um Yeah, we're gonna drop uh, we're gonna uh create an Instagram account for you guys so we can drop some reels in there and you guys could even comment there.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_02: In the meantime, in the meantime, you know, go go to Frankie Empowers.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_02: And if you don't want to share openly, like DM me.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we're I'm gonna pop toss, I toss a lot of value in there and you know things that I've learned along the way.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you for joining us for episode two.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, son.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_02: And like we got a part two.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't know we're gonna have a part two, but absolutely we need you know, we have to do a part two here to find some solutions to those kids who are going through some challenges.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: This is Frankie.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_02: This is Johnny, thank you guys.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: Conversations we never had real, raw, and