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Stronger With Sophie - Sophie's Story · Stronger With Sophie

• 0:05
  Speaker A: Hey, everyone, and welcome to the first episode of the podcast, Stronger with Sophie. In this podcast, we're going to be talking about young people who have endured obstacles and have overcome them and have basically taken away lessons from them. I'm hoping that in this podcast that we can take these lessons and learn from them. And I'm really excited to do this with my dad, Jimmy Fasigi.
• 0:26
  Speaker B: I'm super excited because this is the first time that I have had 15 minutes of uninterrupted time with my 17 year old daughter in a long time. So super duper pumped about that. So, Sophie, tell us what actually inspired you to do this podcast?
• 0:44
  Speaker A: Well, it's actually really funny because I have my own come Back Stronger story, and it all starts in Dallas, Texas. And. And I was at this cheer competition and.
• 0:54
  Speaker B: Which was not really funny. The cheer competition.
• 0:56
  Speaker A: That's not funny.
• 0:57
  Speaker B: Was not. What happened to you is not funny at all. But yes, definitely not.
• 1:01
  Speaker A: But, you know, I was at this cheer competition and it's NCA in Dallas, and I was on the way to warmups, and basically I. I hear these loud noises. They were very faint, but you could tell that they were loud because of how far they were. And my entire team just starts kind of running out of the building. And it's really weird because I'm just like, I've never gone through something like this before. And so.
• 1:29
  Speaker B: So wait, let's set the stage here. So you're at a cheer competition, you're practicing with your team?
• 1:35
  Speaker A: Well, no, we're at warm ups. And so we're not like, we're not really doing anything right now, but it's just the, the energy is kind of high and we're all together and.
• 1:45
  Speaker B: And then you. And then you heard some loud noises.
• 1:48
  Speaker A: Yeah, I hear some loud noises and everybody just kind of starts running towards the exit.
• 1:52
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 1:52
  Speaker A: Which is, you know, it's. It's really weird because I've never really had to go through something like this before. So I was kind of confused during the moment and my teammates were really confused as well. And so I just kind of start running with everybody.
• 2:06
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 2:06
  Speaker A: Because, I mean, what else am I supposed to do?
• 2:08
  Speaker B: So, I mean, how many people are here?
• 2:10
  Speaker A: There's thousands.
• 2:11
  Speaker B: Thousands of people.
• 2:12
  Speaker A: And I'm in this warmup room with a bunch of teams, and so we're all in uniform. We're all, you know, hairspray and makeup on, and it's, you know, it's. Everybody's kind of anticipating their performance that they're supposed to have in, you know, either a few minutes, ranging from a few minutes to an hour from that.
• 2:31
  Speaker B: So why. Why is everybody running? Why is everybody running?
• 2:34
  Speaker A: Well, we didn't know at the time, but there was an alleged shooter. And so once I ended up figuring out what was, you know, going on and everybody was freaking out about that, made it so much more scary. And I just. It was, you know, it was kind of hard.
• 2:52
  Speaker B: So were people saying, like, active shooter?
• 2:55
  Speaker A: Yeah, people were yelling people. And it's. It's hard because you're hearing a bunch of different things from everybody, and you never know what to believe, because some people were just saying that it was a shooter. Some people said that they didn't hear anything, and they have no clue what's going on.
• 3:08
  Speaker B: Right.
• 3:08
  Speaker A: And some people are, you know, saying that somebody just got into a fight, and it's. It's all just kind of like, you never know who to believe, and so you kind of just run.
• 3:19
  Speaker B: So what. So what did you do? You ran?
• 3:20
  Speaker A: I ran and I ran straight for the exit, and me and my teammates were together, and I kind of ended up getting separated from them. I ended up getting separated from them because there were so many people crowded around the exit that I just, you know, I. There. There was really no other option. And I end up encountering this girl that I used to work with because I'm a cheer coach, and her name's Piper, and I end up seeing her, and she's with this one girl who I have no clue what her name is, but, you know, she. She was taking care of Piper, which I'm forever grateful for, because it's just this random girl on this random cheer team, and she's, you know, she's hugging Piper. I mean, Piper's scared to death.
• 4:02
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 4:02
  Speaker A: And. And so I see her, and I grab her, and I start running.
• 4:06
  Speaker B: You grab Piper?
• 4:07
  Speaker A: Yeah, I grabbed Piper and I start running with her.
• 4:09
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 4:10
  Speaker A: Because I just, you know, I couldn't leave her alone.
• 4:12
  Speaker B: Right, Sure.
• 4:13
  Speaker A: I mean, she's one of the girls that I've worked with for so long and that I love.
• 4:17
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 4:17
  Speaker A: And so, yeah, we end up running, you know, a few blocks.
• 4:22
  Speaker B: You literally ran a flu. Were you, like, holding hands or.
• 4:26
  Speaker A: I mean. Well, actually, I'm kind of, like, hovering over her a little bit because, you know, I want to protect her from whatever it could be. Which, I guess, looking back on it now, I never really realized how much, like, I love that girl until I ended up in, like, a scary situation like that with her.
• 4:44
  Speaker B: Right.
• 4:44
  Speaker A: And, you know, it's just. It really made me kind of take a step back and realize, wow, I really care about her.
• 4:52
  Speaker B: So what did. So how did it all turn out? Like, what. What eventually happened?
• 4:56
  Speaker A: Well, I ended up at this hotel, and I think it was the Hyatt.
• 5:01
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 5:01
  Speaker A: And we. We end up banging on the doors and on the windows and there's a bunch of other people, but they were very dispersed. They were. They were very spread out. Nobody was actually with each other. There were just a bunch of people who. The convention center where the competition was, who had came to the hotel and, you know, there were other buildings around that people were trying to, like, bang on doors to. People were basically trying to.
• 5:24
  Speaker B: So you ran to a hotel?
• 5:26
  Speaker A: Yes, I ran to a hotel. It was the first building that I really.
• 5:29
  Speaker B: Right. I got.
• 5:30
  Speaker A: You could have, like.
• 5:31
  Speaker B: And you were trying to get inside somewhere.
• 5:33
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 5:33
  Speaker B: This is fascinating. Cuz I. I've heard this story before, but I have not heard this kind of detail.
• 5:37
  Speaker A: And it's crazy from your perspective because you. You weren't there. You.
• 5:41
  Speaker B: No, I was in. I had been in the hospital for. For something. And. And so I got a call actually from Allie, from your sister. And then. And she said. She said they thought it was an active shooter, but it turned out that it wasn't and everything's going to be okay. So the first thing I ever even heard about it was that, yeah, everybody, it was pandemonium. And. But. But it was fine. So by the time. By the time Ali called me, everything.
• 6:09
  Speaker A: Everything was, you know, relieved that. But while it was happening for me, I had my phone on me, but I didn't call or text anybody. Yeah, I was, you know, or other than 91 1, of course. And there were so many people who were calling 911 that they couldn't get to me. You know, I was on hold for so long and I just. It. That was pretty scary.
• 6:32
  Speaker B: So here's what I want to know.
• 6:34
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 6:34
  Speaker B: As your dad, what did you take away from that? What kind of. What lesson did you learn or lessons did you learn from this whole scenario?
• 6:42
  Speaker A: I mean, yeah, there were. There were definitely, like, a bunch of things that I learned from that whole situation. And part of it was just how much I take, like, everything for granted. I feel like after looking at the whole situation, I feel like I could have, like, you know, died even when I was just living it. And I had no clue what the problem was. I felt like the alleged shooter was following me the whole way because of how scared and, you know, paranoid that people Were.
• 7:12
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 7:12
  Speaker A: And so I felt like, you know, I kind of looked back at, like, the rest of my life, and I'm like, wow, I really took that for granted.
• 7:20
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 7:21
  Speaker A: I didn't, you know, I didn't soak it all in. And, you know, for example, like, being on my phone when I'm with people or when I'm not really, like, the
• 7:30
  Speaker B: most out of your mouth and stuff
• 7:32
  Speaker A: like that, it's just. It made me realize I should do that more because, you know, it could be gone in a second.
• 7:38
  Speaker B: I. I hate that you went through that, but I love that you. I love that you have that takeaway from it.
• 7:45
  Speaker A: Yeah. It definitely opened my eyes for sure.
• 7:48
  Speaker B: Well, so I think. But here's. Here's what I think, and I. I think you've heard this before, but I don't know. But my. My. My personal philosophy of life is that every obstacle, every injury, every setback is basically life's way of guiding us, to teach us the lessons we need to learn to become a higher and better version of ourselves. So in this case, it's like, well, you gain some perspective. That's what happens when we go through challenges. We gain perspective.
• 8:20
  Speaker A: And that's the whole reason I want to do this podcast, because I feel like talking about people who have experienced challenges and, you know, things that just might not be. Be super common, but might be able to, like, compare to something else.
• 8:35
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 8:35
  Speaker A: And, you know, provide a lesson towards something else that might not even be remotely similar, but could have the same, you know, objective in the end.
• 8:44
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 8:45
  Speaker A: Like, I feel like that's. That's important, and that message is really, like, to be delivered.
• 8:50
  Speaker B: That's why it's all. That's why it's called Stronger with Sophie. Right. It's all about coming back stronger from challenges. And so let me tell you a story about something that happened to me that I think is a good example of. Of the idea of coming back stronger, of. About stronger. Sophie, I had. You remember when our house burned down?
• 9:12
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 9:12
  Speaker B: Yeah. And do you remember when. Now where were you?
• 9:16
  Speaker A: When I was in gymnastics practice.
• 9:18
  Speaker B: You're in gymnastics practice. Okay. So I get a call from Haley, our receptionist, and she says, jimmy, your house is on fire. And I was like. I thought she was being metaphorical. I think it was real. And so anyway, I go and I get the. I drive. Then she's like, no, it's like your house is legit on fire. So I drive there, and I. I'm standing in the yard, and I'm watching our house Go up in flames and up in smoke, and. And your mom's there with Bowden, our little dog Bowden, in her arms, and she's crying, and she's really upset. And so, because I have the philosophy that every challenge that we face is leading us to something better. Right. I'm standing there looking at our house go up in smoke, and I'm saying. I'm saying to myself, something good is going to come of this.
• 10:19
  Speaker A: And something did.
• 10:20
  Speaker B: And so, long story short, something great came of it, right? We now, because that house burned down, we're now living in our dream house. And so that's kind of. That was. That's the kind of the lesson that I. I got from the house burning down. And so I love to hear that you got a similar kind of lesson from that. What happened with. With Piper and what happened with the cheer competition.
• 10:44
  Speaker A: Yeah. And I definitely think it's just obstacles like those that really did inspire me to start this podcast. Bringing it back to your first question.
• 10:53
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 10:53
  Speaker A: I feel like it's just, you know, they're so important to get those messages out there. Well, because, I mean, as a teenager, it's. It's so hard to navigate life and to know how to deal with certain challenges that you might face that maybe, like, adults haven't even encountered in their life before because of how fast everything is changing in the world. And so I'm really happy that we're doing this.
• 11:17
  Speaker B: Yeah. So what I'm thinking is also, like, when you went through the experience with the cheer competition, did a lot of times when we face challenges and we overcome them, it gives us an opportunity to reprioritize our values, like, to really look at life and say, figure out what's really important.
• 11:39
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 11:40
  Speaker B: How did that, like, tell me how that it affected you in that regard.
• 11:44
  Speaker A: I mean, I just. I feel like since then, I've gained a whole new level. Not of maturity, but I've just kind of more attention.
• 11:53
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 11:53
  Speaker A: I feel like I pay more attention now to the people that I'm with. I mean, obviously, I'm not a perfect teenager, and, I mean, I'll set it and scroll on sometimes.
• 12:04
  Speaker B: I'm on my phone. Yeah, you'll be on your meta glasses. Yeah.
• 12:08
  Speaker A: I hate it because I'll try talking to you. You won't hear me because you're like. You're staring off into your meta glasses. But, you know, it's. It's still, like. It's definitely. It created a change.
• 12:22
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 12:22
  Speaker A: You know, even if it was, like, a small difference, since Then it's. It's still. I've noticed, like, my screen time went down, like, the amount that I am out of time I spend with my friends.
• 12:33
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 12:33
  Speaker A: Now compared to how much time that I spent, like, before that whole situation happened, like, it's still so much greater. I mean, you even saw me this summer, like, I was. I was hanging out with my friends the whole time. I would. You know, I would hang out with the twins and.
• 12:48
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 12:49
  Speaker A: Stuff like that. And so it just. It feels like I've kind of just wanted to be in the moment more.
• 12:55
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 12:55
  Speaker A: And stay present, which is definitely the biggest thing that I took away from it.
• 13:01
  Speaker B: So this is how I. This is how I see it, is. Think about, like, a bodybuilder that is trying to build muscle, trying to get stronger. Bodybuilders trying to get stronger. What do they do? They go in the gym and they actually tear those muscles down. Right. So that the muscles can grow back stronger. Right, right. And I think that all the challenges that we face like that, it's a. It's a process. So as you. As we go through life, we're going to face challenges, but every time we overcome those challenges, we get a little bit stronger. A little bit stronger. A little bit stronger. Right. And that's why we got a podcast called Stronger with Sophie.
• 13:41
  Speaker A: What?
• 13:43
  Speaker B: Very nice. Very nice. So I guess you want to close with that.
• 13:49
  Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's a perfect opportunity. So thank you guys so much for being here with us today. Make sure to listen in and tune in on all of our different social media platforms. We're on Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, YouTube. And so, yeah, just make sure to follow along. We can't wait to see y'. All.
• 14:11
  Speaker B: Bye, everybody.
• 14:12
  Speaker A: Bye.