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The Next Generation of Grit and Wisdom with Charlotte Laskos · Tits, Wit, & Grit

• speaker-1: am super excited to introduce one of my favorite people in the entire world, my special little girl who's not so little anymore, my 17 year old daughter Charlotte, who is the love of my life and has been ⁓ riding this journey with me for quite some time. she is a senior in high school, graduating in just about six weeks and off to university in the fall. and ⁓ has got some great knowledge and tips and tricks that she's excited to share with us in this time. So thank you little one for being here. So fun. All right, well, Charlotte, I'll start off. Your first question is just kind of give us a little bit of a background, like, you know, your story of who you are and where you've been and what you'd like to become. Just give us a little bit of info about yourself. Charlotte Laskos: So fun. Wow. Okay, yeah, so obviously that's my mom. She raised me. She's a single mother. And that's been our life, is just the two of us for up until about two, three years ago, which is crazy to think about. I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. I lived most of my life there up until we moved to Georgia about three years ago. I have a... Sara Frasca: Tits Wit and Grit is a podcast created to hold honest, intelligent conversations with women who lead, build, and navigate demanding professional lives. This podcast was born from a belief that women benefit from spaces where experience is honored, perspective is shared openly, and leadership can be discussed in both depth and candor, and maybe even a little laughter. Each episode brings forth voices that will offer insight Charlotte Laskos: younger brother who also lives in Arizona with my dad. ⁓ I have a lot of cool hobbies. I did volleyball for, I don't even know how many years. I think I started playing when I was in third grade, which is crazy to think about. think it's been over 10 years. I do a lot of musical theater, behind the scenes stuff. When we moved to Georgia, I joined a class called technical theater. speaker-2: a ⁓ Charlotte Laskos: Which is super cool, and you get to basically run like the behind the scenes of all the different productions and shows. So you get to learn how to do set and costumes and lights and sound and props and all of that stuff, which is something that is always really interested in me. And so that has really opened the door to so many amazing opportunities and amazing things. And that's how I kind of figured out what I wanted to do with my life, which is be a music producer or at least be in the music industry. Sara Frasca: drawn from their experience, and we will all speak honestly about leadership, resilience, ambition, and personal evolution. So let's get started. Tits, wit, and grit. Charlotte Laskos: I've always had a love and passion for music, even when I was way, way little. ⁓ I think I've always just, that's something that's been a part of me and who I am. ⁓ And so I'm going to go to Belmont University in a few months, which is crazy to think about, to study music business. So I'm super excited. speaker-1: Okay, so Charlotte, do this thing on a podcast where we talk about shit. ⁓ And we talk about ⁓ shit, no shit, good shit. And it's all in the conversation of people to share experiences. So tell us about an ⁓ shit moment that you've had in your life. Meaning ⁓ shit, I didn't know that or ⁓ shit that really happened or ⁓ shit I got into Belmont. Whatever. Charlotte Laskos: I don't know, I would say... My ⁓ shit moment was probably back in Arizona. As I said, I had played volleyball for many years. It was a big part of my life. I did club volleyball since I was 10, I think, and I did school volleyball and that was our life. Really. It was every weekend we were at a tournament or we had a game or something. And I was always, I was always very underestimated because of my size. You obviously can't tell right now, but me and my mother are very short. I'm five foot. and it was always just like, well, you're not tall. Like why are you, why are you playing volleyball? It's a very, ⁓ like tall dominated sport, if that makes sense. Like if you're a hitter, you're always around six foot. Like it's always just been like that unless you're a back row player. ⁓ I was always a Libro, which is, ⁓ defense. So everything that's back row related and you don't ever go front row. So that was always my job. Or I also played center, which was you also don't have to be tall to do that either. ⁓ But even still, a very tall dominated sport. A lot of the really good clubs and players and everyone were never my height. And I had been with this club for forever. It used to be my old school coach who opened a club and I had played there for years. And I wanted to try something new. It was a newer club and they had been more established ones and Arizona was known for having really good volleyball. And so I wanted to try a different club that had a little bit more prestige, a little bit more just like out there. They had a name, they were I think like the number two club in Arizona. It's Arizona Sky is the name. And my friend had played there, well two of my friends have played there actually. ⁓ And I was like, I'm just gonna try out and see. But the problem with the tryouts is when you try out for one, it's on like the same day and time as the other. So if you don't make one, you don't really make a team, which is hard. ⁓ so I committed and I was like, I'm going to go do it. I'm going to try out and I tried out and I thought I did really good. I even had compliments from coaches and I had been going to clinics beforehand and each coach had kind of told me, Hey, you're going to make this team. Hey, you're going to make this team. It was never, I don't think you're good enough. It was never, I don't think that you're not going to make it. And most of the teams they had told me were like the second top one or like the third top one. ⁓ which for that club is amazing. ⁓ and then when I tried out, I got cut. And that really broke me. I had never really been cut from anything in my life before, honestly. My mom always made sure I was the top priority. never felt like I... And I don't have siblings. I'm an only child. So I never felt that I had to prove myself, really, in any way. ⁓ Not like in that way, but like in... I never had siblings, so I never had that much competition in my life. I was always the number one in my mom's life. She did everything for me. ⁓ So I never felt like I had to work and earn it other than in volleyball. And then when I didn't make it, that was like, ⁓ maybe I'm not as good as I thought. there was something that I was like, maybe I just, I can't do it. I'm not as good as I thought. It was hard. It was really hard. And I even had people come up to me ⁓ after and they were like, you were way better than that one girl. She was just taller. And I think that really hurt me too. Cause it was like, I can't do anything about that. ⁓ And I had worked and I had trained really hard for it and I didn't get it. But ⁓ I think so that was probably my ocean moment. But my mom always taught me that ⁓ there's always a reason for everything. And obviously, knowing now it's like, well, I didn't make it because we had to move to Belmont later or move to Belmont. ⁓ my gosh, moved to Georgia later that year. ⁓ And I wouldn't have been able to if I had made that team. There would have been no way that I would have left Arizona. So looking back, it was like. There was a reason, there was a good reason behind it and I'm glad I didn't because there would have been no way but at the time that really hurt. speaker-1: Yeah, well thank you for sharing that, Charlotte. I have one follow-up question then. So when that ⁓ shit moment happened, how did you cope with that? Because that's pretty devastating at your age and kind of something you've worked for. How did you do it? Charlotte Laskos: In the moment I was really sad. I went home and my mom, being the best, she was just like, cried out, we're gonna get ice cream, we're gonna watch, I think we watched like really sad movie and we both just sat there and we sobbed. I think it was, I think we watched the, I think it's called The Pursuit of Happiness is what we watched. It's with Will Smith and ⁓ Mirren, what's her name? Mirren something. I don't remember. But we watched that and we both just sat there and we cried and we ate ice cream and pizza for dinner. And you know, you always go to bed feeling a little bit better by yourself after you have a good cry and a good meal or whatever. Yeah, definitely. I, the other club that I had always tried out for and my coach there who had run the club and who I kind of said had mentored me a lot throughout my volleyball years, I reached out back to him and we were like, hey, we wanted to try something new. We want to try something different. It didn't work out. speaker-1: Yeah. Charlotte Laskos: Is there a way that they would still have a spot for me back at my old club? And they did, it was on the lowest team, but I had a spot. And I told myself, I was like, I'm just gonna work and I'm gonna train and I'm gonna get better. this is, it proved to me that I wasn't where I needed to be at that time. And I really took it as like a, okay, there's still ways for me to improve. There's still ways for me be better. I can't do anything about my height, but I know that there's something I could do better with my serve with. my setting with whatever. ⁓ And so I took that year and I ended up on this really great, it was just like a small team. I think it was like the lowest one. We didn't have any of like the perks of like the big teams that I had been on before. But I really took that as an opportunity and I made a lot of really good friends and it was just kind of fun. I ended up having a lot more fun than I think I would have had on like a more competitive team. And then later that year, I think it was like a few months in and me and my mom had decided to move. So I really didn't even get to spend a whole season with them, I, yeah, it was a lot of fun and I'm glad to have had that experience. speaker-1: ⁓ So the next kind of in our series of ship stories is no ships. So this one is like not gonna take it no more, right? Like no ships to give any stories that come to mind when you think about that kind of energy. Charlotte Laskos: I don't know. That's hard. I feel like there isn't really a specific moment. I feel like, ⁓ I kind of do this thing where once I've reached my limit with something, I just kind of like take over and I have this mindset of like, I don't care what anyone says. I'm to do it my way. I'm going to do it the way I want it. And I kind of like take over and I go into like this like beast mode or whatever you want to call it. I think I learned that from my mother. ⁓ You just get so fed up with something or someone or that you just kind of reach this point where you go and you do your own thing. I think that that's something that I've done with a lot of things in my life. think with volleyball where I've just, again, like with my tried experiments, I realized that I have nothing left to lose. Like I'm gonna prove it and I'm gonna work hard and I'm gonna put my head down and I'm gonna do it. I think I've done that with a lot of like... my technical theater stuff. think with a lot of shows I've gotten really fed up with the way someone has decided to do something or the way that something isn't being done and I kind of just like take control and go and I do that and I get it done. And so I think, I don't know if there's really a specific moment, but I guess it's more of like a mindset where I just, I don't give a shit and I just do what I need to do and I get it done. And I think that's a big part of who I am and how I was raised and that's just who I am as a person once I get fed up with something. You can't tell me otherwise, it's just gonna get done and I don't really care. speaker-1: You might be a little strong-willed, I'm guessing. Charlotte Laskos: Maybe a little bit. don't know. I don't know where I could have gotten that. speaker-1: I plead the fifth. So kind of rounding it out little person is, you know, the good shit. So we had oh shit, no shit, like the good shit. Do you have a moment where you're just like, yeah, this is, this is some good stuff. This is some good shit. Charlotte Laskos: Right. Sara Frasca: That's it for today's episode of Tits, Wit and Grit, where bold women, big ideas, and a little bit of fearless attitude collide. Charlotte Laskos: I don't know. feel like anytime where I'm like surrounded by music, which is something that I feel like I That's something that's so deeply ingrained in me ever since I was little is just music in general like every time that we go and we visited Nashville when we visited Belmont I was like this is like this is where I'm meant to be like this is this is good shit like this is like when we're at Downtown in Nashville and we're listening to live music and we're just hanging out having a good time Oh, I mean visited the campus for the first time. I was like this is home, like this is where I'm meant to be. Or like anytime where I was playing volleyball and we're up and we're winning and it's a good game, I'm like, yeah, this is good shit. Or anytime that I have like a performance and I've worked really hard on it, like we just had our, my senior musical that I worked on, I was the assistant stage manager for, which was a really big deal. I had worked really hard for it. And when it was done, what actually, Tracy Laskos: If today's conversation sparked something for you, share it with someone who needs it and make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss what's coming next. Charlotte Laskos: So it actually got canceled after two days because of the snow here. had a major snowstorm and we were supposed to have four shows. ⁓ and we ended up going down to two shows and we didn't know that it was our last show until the morning of. And that was, that was hard because I had, had worked really, really hard on, on the set, on the props, on the costumes. ⁓ our show was Sweeney Todd and that's not a very like popular musical show, but a big part of the show are, ⁓ these pies. and they have like really ugly gross pies and then they like get better as the show kind of goes on and it's a big part of the plot. And I had spent, I think I calculated it and it was like 90 hours or something crazy on these pies because we had handmade them, we had paper mache'd them. And I, me and my team of like three or four people had spent I think 70 plus hours making these pies to find out that the show was canceled. And that was really hard but. That last show we oversold and we have probably like 500 plus seating in our auditorium. We had to add extra chairs. We had to do all of the stuff. It was filmed. It was all of the stuff. ⁓ And it was it was our best show and it was our best performance. And I don't think that was probably most proud of a show I've ever been was when we pulled it off super last minute and it got canceled and everyone came to support. And that was that was a really, really cool moment to see. ⁓ Laura Raether: Remember, show up with confidence, trust your wit, and never underestimate the of grit. Charlotte Laskos: Another one too that I got to work on, was super cool, was we just did recently, it was our spring show, and I'm in a class called dramatic writing. And I'm also in the advanced drama class as like a technical person. And I got the opportunity to write my own scene and then produce it in the advanced drama class who performed it on. So I wrote my own scene and then I got to direct and help produce and I was the assistant director of that overall show as well. So that was super, super cool. And it was about Laura Raether: See you next time. Charlotte Laskos: my life and me personally and it was about me going to college and having a conversation with my father and that was really cool to like direct it and like kind of put that whole thing together. So I think those are probably some of my top like oh shit moments or not oh shit good shit. speaker-1: Okay Charlotte, since we're kind of, I'm calling ourselves female leaders, what do you think of some of the female leaders today that you have exposure to? Whether it's in school, work, whatever it might be. Charlotte Laskos: Ooh, I don't know. Well, okay, well, not that I don't know. I feel like a lot of our, I ⁓ would use the word famous, but I guess like popular famous leaders are somehow in some way, like corrupted. So I don't really like to look up to them a lot. I kind of like to look up to our small leads. Like my mom is a female leader in my opinion. ⁓ My teacher, who is my director, who ⁓ has given me so many opportunities at school. is a female leader. ⁓ think mothers are female leaders. think anyone who has had a dream and has chased it and has got somewhere from it is a leader. I feel like those big leaders that you think of when you think like female leader, feel like like Kamala Harris. I feel like people that are like that, that they just, I don't know. I feel like anyone big in the media has something to hide. And I feel like that's not, I mean, not that they're not a leader, but I feel like there's so many other smaller leaders that I would look up to more. than one big leader. Not saying that I don't look up to people like Taylor Swift or whoever, because I definitely do, don't get me wrong. Because I definitely do and they have, not that they're bad people, not that they're anything other than just people. I think everyone has something. But I feel like that's what I would define as a leader is someone who is driven, who is... Yeah. speaker-1: That's great. Yeah, I like your answer. I think it's genuine and real. And there's wisdom, you know, despite that. Are you young enough to have it? Absolutely. Like what you see on media isn't always what you get, right? Yeah. So what did you think about our Tits, Wit and Grit podcast when your mom told you about it? Charlotte Laskos: Absolutely. Well, I thought the name was definitely accurate. I liked it. That was the first thing. That's hilarious. That's 100 % what it needs to be. I was really proud of her because she always wanted to do public speaking. always wanted to do teach and talk to other people. She's always been a teacher. And I thought this was a really cool way for her to be able to do that with people that she admired and she appreciated. And especially in a way that was about female empowerment and feminism. and all that represents. thought that was super cool. thought that was super fun. And I'm always proud of her. Every time that she gets something cool that she gets to go after and do in her job, I just think that that's amazing. And I'm always proud of her. speaker-1: That's great. That's great. Okay, talk a little bit about, you know, the tits part of this, which is being a woman, being a female. What does that mean to you? What are the things you love about that? What are the things that are the challenges? Charlotte Laskos: Yeah, ooh, I love talking about feminism. My favorite ⁓ subject in school is history, and I think the history of feminism and how femininity is where it is today is just so interesting. I could talk about it for hours. ⁓ think that's just, it's just so, ⁓ if you know about it, you know about it. And I think that that's so interesting, and when you get people who can kind of, discuss and talk about it, I think that that's where the most interesting conversations come from. And I don't think a lot of people do know about it. I feel like it's like, oh yeah, feminism had happened. There was this thing, and we love women, but I feel like people who dive deeper into the subject will realize that there's so much more to it. And I think feminism is so beautiful, and I think females are so amazing in what they can do. I mean, I think that there's a reason why they call it like mother nature. are mothers. We are givers. are. Yeah, we are givers. I think we are so empowered and I don't think people realize how powerful we are. And I think that that's something that women try to ⁓ like show every day. And I think every day it's kind of just like, yeah, that's women. But I feel like there's so much more to that. And I feel like ⁓ The oppression that women still face today that they face for years is so so interesting and not That sounds bad. But like I feel like that's just so they will like Men will never understand what we get to go through. And even now they're like women they have rights but like they don't realize they're like every day like We have to figure out ways to go about things that like men don't even think twice about like the way I think mom had told me recently though like the way that they were using ⁓ that they hadn't tested like pads for certain like bad like like iron like stuff that shouldn't be down there that is down there like I think like that's crazy to me that that's only now starting to be like really looked into. If men had periods I'm telling you that that would be solved. I'm telling you they would have nothing they would they would take Advil or they would find a way and it would be solved. ⁓ But women it's just like ⁓ yeah I've heard so many like people talk about how bad they're their cycles are and I feel like if men had the same thing, they would be getting days off of work for it. And I think that's just I there's a lot of stuff that's just like that where it's just like, men would just never never have to experience what we get to experience. And I think like, that's that's so crazy to me. That's so crazy to me because we are the givers of life. We are nurturers. We are we are protectors. We are like every story that you've ever heard is start with a female giving something. ⁓ Not that men don't give. Men give a lot. We need a society to have them, unfortunately. ⁓ But, I mean, every time it's just been, it's just, yeah, I just think that that's so interesting. And I think women are awesome. And I think that we couldn't do anything without them. I feel like there would be, if the world didn't have women, we would all be dead. Men, there is no way men, masculinity is all about speaker-1: Warren speaker-3: And. Charlotte Laskos: power. And I feel like femininity is all about the balance. It's all about not not not war. Not that females aren't powerful enough, but it's the balance between both of them. And I feel like it just it's not regulated if it's not with us, you know, like it's it starts with women and will always end with women. Like I the last person on earth is not gonna be a man. tell you that. The last person on earth is not. speaker-1: Thank Charlotte Laskos: If it ever gets done, do it. There's no way. There's no way. speaker-1: Well, on that vein, Charlotte, let's talk about grit. ⁓ I have a feeling you have a little bit of grit inside of you and you've seen it in action, but talk about grit and kind of what it means to you. Charlotte Laskos: I feel like when I hear the word grit, I always feel like I have like this image of like someone being like down in the dirt. feel like it's like I picture someone with like mud on their face, someone that's come up and has been through been through the ringer to get where they are. Someone that's built themselves from the ground up, someone who has gotten not necessarily gotten dirty in a bad way, but gotten dirty and kind of got their hands like dirty in order to get where they are. but I feel like grit is just determination. It's ⁓ resilience. It's pushing past boundaries that normal people wouldn't really push past. It's going the extra mile for something that maybe doesn't need the extra mile. ⁓ I think grit is... Yeah, it's resilience. It's just pushing past what people would just walk by and be like, that's normal. feel like, yeah. speaker-1: That's good. That's really good. Well, I'm getting a chance to live with you. I know that you have a lot of wit, but when you hear that, what kind of bubbles up for you? Charlotte Laskos: Wait, I feel like I think about like me. I think about like the way that I would talk to my friends on a daily basis, the sarcasm that's used in our daily world, the way that like humor is such a big part of like the foundation of what we are as like a society now. I feel like you'll have comedy shows, you'll have like SNL where they do comedy skits every day. feel like. Laughter is that one of the best medicines in the world? ⁓ That's free. I Feel like it's just a way to brighten anyone's day It brings a smile to people's faces and I feel like wit has more of like a negative connotation than like laughter does and like same with sarcasm I feel like a wit and sarcasm kind of go hand in hand and I feel like that has more of like a negative connotation to it but I feel like it even though it has a negative connotation to it leads to something that has a very positive effect, is laughter, which is love. It's thinking the same thing as someone and then laughing about it later or like having like an inside joke with someone and every time it happens, you bring it up and it's the funniest thing in the world. feel like wit is a way of bonding with people and growing and creating relationships. ⁓ And I feel like the word itself doesn't do that justice, if that makes sense. I feel like when you say the word laughter, everyone thinks of like, ⁓ laughter, love. community, feel like wit is more like sarcasm, like, oh, she's witty, oh, maybe, like she has a level of intelligence that other people don't have, because a lot of wit and sarcasm comes from having more, like knowledge than someone else. In order to make a really like sophisticated witty joke or have a lot of sarcasm about something, you need a knowledge, you need knowledge about a lot of different areas and different things. And I think that's something that a lot of people don't talk about, because I feel like A lot of people when they make jokes, it's just really like surface level or they use a lot of like swear words or language. And I feel like you don't necessarily need that to have to have that. feel like a lot of people use swear words as like a crutch to get a point across when I feel like if maybe you had more education or you chose to use more different vocabulary that you would have a different like way of saying things in a way that was maybe less aggressive because I feel like those words always come across as aggressive or rude or Impersonal I feel like there's always a different way to say things without using those words. Obviously there's a time and place for those words I mean, there's definitely times where you need to get your point across and you just gotta you just gotta say it but I feel like when it comes to wits and laughter and sarcasm, it's a matter of ⁓ and it's a matter of communicating and it's a way that we bond as people. speaker-1: Mm-hmm. So are you born with it or is it something that you learn over time Charlotte? Or both? Charlotte Laskos: I don't know, I think you got answered. I think that's a you question. Because I feel like, I don't remember if I was born with it. I feel like I definitely grew into it. But I don't know, I was a kid who probably thought I was pretty woody. I have no idea. speaker-1: When we were talking about it the other day, the three of us, Charlotte, I remember saying that, you know, I don't think I'm very witty. I said, I have a dorky sense of humor. Can you confirm, deny that? Charlotte Laskos: I can confirm. can confirm. I don't want to you guys a good one or she'll throw it out there and I'll be like, that was good, mom. But for the most part, it's just your, yeah, it's a level of like, dork humor. And I think we also too have a lot of like innuendos that we will kind of say that's really funny to us. But if you're not, like even Lee, even her fiance will be like, what the heck are you talking about? And he always says that we have some like hidden language that he can't understand because when we lock, speaker-3: Every now Charlotte Laskos: When we're in sync, it's just, you can't really enter in the whatever the heck we're doing. It's just we're locked in and it's like a bubble. It's like a cocoon around us and you can't really enter. can't penetrate into it. It's just kind of happening. ⁓ speaker-1: So Charlotte, what do you think ⁓ taking today and kind of your generation, what do you think are some of the biggest challenges women face today? Charlotte Laskos: Cool. speaker-3: Um... I think... Charlotte Laskos: I think anything to do with social media, think AI, all of the phones, social media itself, I think anything that's technological is... ⁓ I don't wanna say our biggest doubtful because I think that that's something that we are more knowledgeable about any of the other generations of self because that's what we grew up with. I mean, one else grew up with the amount of technology and what we have that's offered to us today. us, we grew up with phones and TV and television and we don't know any better. I feel like a lot of the older generations are like, I remember these old times where we used to use a payphone or I don't even know. See, I don't even know. That's the end like I got brodery. speaker-1: Yes, we did use a PayPal. Charlotte Laskos: Exactly, like I couldn't tell you about that and that's just not something that I am knowledgeable about unlike you guys are I think we're really I think we are so used to having an overabundance of resources and materials even like the way that like We have so much of everything Like every time you go to the grocery store. There's and we have an abundance of apples. There's an abundance of fruit vegetables all of this stuff. We've never lived in I don't want to say poverty because that feels wrong. And I mean, some people still do. But I feel like a lot of it's always kind of given to us. I feel like there's an abundance of stuff and we've never I don't want to say never. I feel like I'm very generalizing it and I don't want to. But I feel like it's we've never really had to like work for anything. Like I feel like a lot of people had to live in war times and we are in a war time now. But I don't feel as though that it's like we're not taking an effect on us. I feel like it would be. It's like, yes, it's prevalent in our lives, but is it really affecting our daily life? Not really. I mean, and yes, it is like inflation, like all of this stuff. Yes. But in my head, I'm like, I don't even think about that on a daily basis. Wow. I feel like a lot of the older generation, like when it was world wars and all of that stuff, it's like, that was a very constant threat. But I feel like the other part of that too is we are very aware and we are so against it. I've seen so many of my friends are LGBTQ so many are against ICE. I have so many friends that have gone and protested. have I know so many people that have spoken up for what they believe in and I think that that is something that not that the older older generation hasn't done but I feel like it's so like every anytime I would talk to anyone it's just so like yeah no screw ICE they're awful. I think there's not a lot of conversation around it where it's like ⁓ well I kind of agree with this I feel like I've never had to really talk to any of my friends, at least personally about that. ⁓ But I also feel like that's a big part of social media is that we can share our thoughts and opinions and we can talk about all of that stuff pretty openly with anyone. Like if I wanted to call up a friend from Arizona and talk about it, like I could just go to their Instagram. I feel like that's a big part of like sharing and connecting and reaching out, which is something that, again, the older generation just didn't have as much access to. And again, that's also our biggest downfall is like, anyone can really say anything and they're not Instagram's not taking down. Like they're not going to take down. ⁓ we love ice posts. Like that's not as much as wrong as that is. Like they're not going to take that down. It's not censored in any way. And I think that's a big part of it. And AI too. Like I think AI has gotten to the point where you can like, it can mimic anyone. So like if I had an AI right now, I could probably say that. I said something that I definitely didn't say and people would believe it because it looks real. And like, that's only the start. Like, there's so much more coming and that's really scary to think about. ⁓ And that like, at any moment there could be like a bot that's basically you saying anything or doing anything. ⁓ And I think, but I think again, we have the most knowledge about that. Like every time my mom or Lee has a question about like their phone, they'll come to me. anything that there's like a technical, like I always work the TV at home. That's just the way it is. Like. ⁓ speaker-1: it. Busted! Charlotte Laskos: One of our greatest strengths is that like we have more knowledge about that than Yeah speaker-1: So I think we're going to send your mom into the back room or if we were at the theater we'd put her in the green room for a few minutes and we'll have a little private chat with you and then we'll bring her back. What do you think? Charlotte Laskos: You're trying to get me in trouble. speaker-1: You're on to me! You're on to me! Okay! Mom! Yes? You to go into the green room. Okay! I'll to you when it's time to return. Okay, sounds good. Bye! Bye! Charlotte Laskos: I'll Right. speaker-1: All right. Woo! Out of her, my goodness. Just teasing. All right, Charlotte. Give us the, no, I'm just kidding. We won't ask you any too hard of questions, but we are legitimately curious. What are the things that your mom has brought that as a woman, as a female, you will now take into the future? Charlotte Laskos: Finally Whoa, so much. ⁓ gosh. I mean, we always joke that like I am her mini me anytime that someone sees us, they're always like, that's your twin. That's your sister. Like I am the living embodiment of like a smaller version of her. ⁓ And I mean, again, how I was raised, that's how I grew up. Single daughter to single mother, like that's just the nature of how it is. ⁓ But I I wouldn't take any of it for granted. I'm so grateful for it. I don't think I would be who I am today without it. I think it's made me who I am. I think she is, she's the biggest role model in my life, period. Anything and everything I do, I look up to her. ugh, gosh, yeah. She's just, she's my rock, she's my everything. Yeah, I think the biggest life lessons that she has probably taught me speaker-2: Go. Charlotte Laskos: is that everything happens for a reason. And again, I think going back to that Arizona sky story, that's always what she said. Whenever I got sad about it or I was upset about it, and even after it happened, she just said, this happened for a reason. knowing now, I'm like, well, of course the reason was Georgia. Everything always works out the way it's supposed to, is what she always says. And she still tells me that to this day. Every time something doesn't go my way, it's supposed to happen for a reason. It's there for... And I think that's just something that she's always said that that's really stuck with me. I think another thing is always it's about who you know, not what you know. She's always, especially in my profession and when I want to go into the music industry, it's never about like how much you know of something. Obviously you still be knowledgeable, obviously still know about things, but if you have a connection, that can take you so much further than any piece of information that you will ever know. Cause I mean, you can always learn, but you know, always get to meet people every day. And so I think that that's always something that's like really resonated with me is making sure that I am always communicating. think communication is a big part of that and always making sure that I'm taking every opportunity I can and talking to everyone that I can and ⁓ about knowing people and about like, just it's all about who you know. I mean, you can, yeah, I think that's just such a big part of ⁓ my future. career and life in college and just like being open to everything and everyone and taking everything in and talking to everyone about anything and everything. Because even your professor might have the biggest life changing opportunity in the world and you would never know it if you never reached out. ⁓ So I think that's speaker-1: For sure. Great advice. Yep. So Charlotte, what's the one piece of advice you'd give to your mom? Charlotte Laskos: Oof. that she doesn't have to be so strong all the time. think, and she's told me as a single mother, it's just so, ⁓ you take over everything and everything is on you. ⁓ I like to help, but I can't with everything. Like I'm not the one paying the rent. I'm not the one who has to go to work every day. ⁓ I'm not the one who's needing to provide in any sort of manner. And I think she has lived so much for life trying to be strong for both of us that she doesn't need to do that anymore. ⁓ Well, she does. like, and she, I think she's done a really, I think moving here has really helped her. She's met Lee and she's really opened up in her life. And ⁓ I'm so proud of her. speaker-1: Hehehe Charlotte Laskos: Yeah. speaker-1: That's awesome. It really is. Yeah. Okay. And then I have one more question. What's the goodbye going to be like when she drops you off at Belmont? Charlotte Laskos: ⁓ God, just tears. Just tears on tears. he's, she, like they, and her have joked. I know that they're going to move two doors down for me in like a year. I'm never ever getting rid of her. She's already planned. She knows when family weekend is. I know that she's coming out. I know that she'll be there for everything. ⁓ it's not a goodbye. It's just a see you later. speaker-2: Yeah. speaker-1: Yep, for sure. That's That's sweet. Gosh. Charlotte Laskos: Yeah. ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ okay. speaker-1: Well, we'll welcome her back in, Charlotte, on that note. Send her a quick message. All right, come on back. So you guys will have to listen to this when it hits the airwaves. Yeah, that's really cute. All right, so she'll come on back. ⁓ I think we'll move into rapid fire here. Hey, there she is. Charlotte Laskos: Let's just. Tom. Hey, you're up. speaker-1: Okay, so Charlotte, you survived. did. Charlotte, these are rapid fire questions. ⁓ Okay. we ask all of our guests this, some we've altered. ⁓ favorite book that you're reading or have read? Charlotte Laskos: Ooh, I think I used to be a really big reader. And then as I kind of grew up, kind of grew out of it a little bit. I really enjoy like podcasts now, but I'm not as big of a reader. But I think my favorite book that I read was when I was little. And it was the series and it was called the land of stories. And me and my best friend read it it was our favorite book of all time. And it had, think like 10 books in the series and I had read every single one of them. And each one are like pretty big. I think they're like 400 pages. But I think that's the only like book series I've ever read all the way through like I started reading Harry Potter But I've never really finished it. I've read a lot of books, but I think that book that book series is my favorite book Of course, obviously this one. I listen to, it's called Britney Broski, it's the Broski Report. I listen to her, she drops episodes every Tuesday and I love her. I think she's awesome. is, ⁓ she's a woman in every sense of the word. She talks about her favorite music of the week. She talks about her favorite books, what she's into, what she's reading, what she's listening to, her thoughts and opinions about. the world as she is someone that's a little bit more kind of out there and definitely more prominent. So she knows a little bit more things like she went and she worked the Grammys and she talked about how she got to work the after party at the Grammys and she talked about her favorite books and she's just like a very real person and she's funny. ⁓ And she is honest and real and raw and I really love that about her. speaker-1: That's great. Maybe someday we'll have her on this podcast. ⁓ Charlotte Laskos: It Definitely. It's meter. speaker-1: Okay, so Charlotte, what's a mantra or phrase that you live by? speaker-3: Ummm... Charlotte Laskos: I know I said it earlier, but I do think that everything happens for a reason. think that's just, my mom has just ingrained in me so much that it's just like, I know whatever will happen to me happens for a reason. Everything that happens to me in my life, everything that will happen to me, it will happen for a reason. And everything is supposed to work out the way that it is supposed to work out. Yeah. speaker-1: Great. think what about go ahead, Laura. I think I need to get that as a tattoo. Charlotte Laskos: Honestly, no, honestly, I want to I've definitely thought about it before I definitely I want yeah speaker-1: You go first, Charlotte. Some days, some days I will, some days I'd be scratching that off because I'm like, ⁓ no, yes. That's funny. OK, what reliably grounds you when things get heavy? Charlotte Laskos: Anyway. Really? Music, music, it's always been music. Every, even since I was little, every time I went through something that hurt me or I just was having a rough day or I was just, every night I listen to music, I decompress. It's my way of going through life. It's the way I express myself every time that like I really need to just like get something out and like listen to music isn't working, I'll write music ⁓ or I'll... just every any any form of the music it's just music yeah speaker-1: you have a favorite musician or band or? Charlotte Laskos: That's so hard. That's so hard. ⁓ My answer to this... speaker-1: Okay, let me ask you this. You could get front row tickets to their concert or their private venue or whatever. Who would it be? Charlotte Laskos: ⁓ I think I this sounds like like ⁓ I Don't even know the but I Taylor Swift, huh, I think not just in the fact she's so popular in the fact that she Not the end that she's popular that she's famous. I think in the way of just her Being a woman. I think the way that I love the way that she writes music I think I really enjoy her music because of her lyrics her lyricism and the way that she tells a story and the through her through her music through her words through an album ⁓ is just I I am so inspired by that. I look up to it a lot whenever I write my own music or whenever I'm thinking about music in general. I think the way in which she writes music and kind of like I said before the words that she uses is so advanced and so different and not your everyday kind of like language that you would use. It's just so poetic and I really really appreciate her. for that and she's just an amazing person and woman. The way that she's been able to establish herself and run her business and go through whatever she's gone through, she's had to like, she's had her albums taken away from her and then she's got them back and she's won them back and the way that she's been able to grow herself and market herself and even like the Ares tour that grossed over millions and millions of dollars and she has given back so much to the community and I just think that she is a really admirable person and I I really love her as an artist, as a person. and so I think it would have to be her. speaker-1: She's my hero too, Charlotte. ⁓ Yeah, she's my hero too, so I like same same everything you said. Charlotte Laskos: Yes. I love it. love it. I literally, if you can't see it, but I have a post of her in my walls, literally just right over there. I think, yeah. That's great. Yeah, she's awesome. I love it. Yes. speaker-1: My calendar is Taylor Swift. So maybe we'll get her on. ⁓ Love it. Think it. Everything will happen for a reason. Love it. Charlotte Laskos: Exactly, exactly! speaker-1: All right, last question. What's your favorite thing to eat or drink? Charlotte Laskos: Ooh, I'm a big foodie. I don't know if you guys know this, I love food. think food is such a way of combining and meeting people and celebrating and another great way to connect. I think, I don't know. I think my favorite meal in general is probably any sort of steak with a good green, like an asparagus or a good Brussels sprout or a potato or something. with like a good like dessert. I think my mom does a really, really good steak and I love her steak. She does a really good ⁓ ribeye. Her ribeyes are amazing and I think even like a good home cooked like steak meal, delicious, delicious. speaker-1: Very nice. That's amazing. Well, we are all three proud of you, but I know there's one of us that just threw the roof proud and you are an extraordinary young woman. ⁓ You know, we are again going to watch you grow at Belmont and be cheering for you and you just keep shining your light to the world. Thank you. Yeah. Charlotte Laskos: ⁓ Thank you. Are you kidding me? Yeah. You don't raise me? There's no way. speaker-1: Thank you for being willing to answer our questions and be on our podcast. Charlotte Laskos: Okay. Bye! Thank you so much for having me. I'm so grateful to be here and help you guys out and get to answer some amazing questions about this awesome woman, my mom. ⁓ So yeah, thank you guys.