Latest / Tribe and Tribulations With Julia Makowsky / More Than a Rebrand: The Courage to Evolve

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More Than a Rebrand: The Courage to Evolve · Tribe and Tribulations With Julia Makowsky

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If you have light to spread, you spread light.
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And if you have Olive to teach, you teach Olive.
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I might not be following everything that I was taught 100%,
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but this is my version of Kirov,
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showing people that you don't have to fit in the box
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in order to love who you are.
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We also need to learn that at the end of the day,
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it's really about connection.
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I don't know that it was always taught that way
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when we were younger,
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but can we go back to a place of real connection
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in a way that feels meaningful to us?
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Welcome back to Tribe and Tribulations.
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We are very excited today because we have a special guest who I have been looking forward
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to interviewing and connecting with for a very long time, Miss Adina Moss, the chef's
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wife, as you guys probably know her from Instagram.
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You might know her from her gorgeous, curated, perfect tablescapes, but I know her as somebody
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deep, kind, and wise beyond her years.
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So I'm really looking forward to connecting and sharing with you guys.
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Welcome, Adina.
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Hi.
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That was a really nice introduction.
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Hello.
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You deserve way more than that, but we're trying to make it into a small amount of time.
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Thank you.
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Okay.
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So everyone knows you from Instagram as this gorgeous, food stylist, curated, beautiful person.
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But what is something we don't know about you?
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Want to tell us a little bit about yourself?
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it's so interesting because I think about this a lot like how we show up on social
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and I think that people see these different sides and versions of us but I don't share enough that
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you see the whole scope um I think that my space is like very curated so I think you see like a
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certain version um I know I don't like show up with like everything on there I'm trying to think
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some things that like that you wouldn't know about me okay why don't you start with where you grew up
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I was just gonna say I'm one of nine whoa one of nine that's that's significant I think I think we
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should lead with that I'm a twin that no one which is interesting I had no idea no one knows this and
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it's so defining to who I was when I was younger that like I was known as the twin like it wasn't
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even and I think I only later in life did I kind of like go off on my own but yeah sister or brother
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sister a sister yes um I am born and raised in Sydney Australia which is a beautiful country
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um a very laid-back kind of easygoing lifestyle which I loved I think it's why like I love Miami
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meals it's like a very similar like culture um I lived 12 years in New York wow where I
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yeah which I think really um expanded me and kind of broke this bubble that I grew up in like I
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really like came to New York and like expanded in so many different ways um also food and all of
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that like really grew a lot in that space and I moved to Miami like three years ago do you find
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that becoming somebody in New York,
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becoming this food influencer
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and person of stature, I would say, online,
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do you think that it's different coming down to Miami?
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Do you think your aesthetic has changed?
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That's interesting.
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I don't think I've changed so much.
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I would say aesthetically
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and how I show up on social
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probably would be very similar
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because my aesthetic is the same.
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I think what would be different would be the energy behind it, which I think that people would feel.
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I think in New York, there was very much a hustle and a fast-paced energy that I had.
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And I think now you probably would feel more of like a softness in my work,
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more of like a flow that kind of feels more like organic and natural.
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I see that.
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I think I've slowed down a lot.
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And I think that's probably what the shift from New York to Miami did for me.
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And it's a shift in many different areas of my life.
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Geographically, that was just one of them.
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And that probably plays out in many different ways in my work.
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I want to talk a little bit about your upbringing.
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You mentioned Sydney and you mentioned like a laid back personality and lifestyle.
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I grew up in L.A. and we also grew up like very chill.
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I would say the things that mattered were very different than when I moved to New York.
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I find that when you're in the bubble, you almost feel like you can't breathe.
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It's like a little claustrophobic.
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In New York.
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Yeah.
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And I think this idea of you saying like I slowed down being down here probably connects so much to your childhood.
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Do you feel like you're back in a place where you can enjoy your time with your children and create a space for yourself that feels more authentically you?
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Yeah, I definitely think so.
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I think that the fast-paced part of New York, I love it so much because I don't think I would be who I am today if not for it.
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And I can see the benefit of that and how it forced me to grow.
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Truly, like, I don't think I'd be where I am if not for that.
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I think there comes a time in our life when we find new versions of ourselves.
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And I do think that it, like, kind of happened in conjunction with other things in my life.
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Also, like, coming into, like, your 30s.
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I have three kids.
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So have I moved into a slower pace thing?
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Yes.
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I don't think I would say that it was just Miami.
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I think that it's like an internal journey that I've just kind of come across on my own,
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which I'm sure we'll go into.
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But I would say that it's both things.
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Definitely the climate allows me to do that.
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It's interesting because I feel like I'm also, I just turned 35 in July.
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Oh God, I'm turning 36.
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Okay, I'm turning 36 in July.
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That's close.
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And I also find that like my brain has slowed down, but my body has moved faster where I feel like that is a transition to being more at peace with yourself and understanding who you are.
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But also the goals and drive has totally increased.
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Isn't that interesting that we have the capacity to we I think we so many of us associate like hustle with drive and the hustle energy.
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and the like reaching and the like almost like forcing and grasping energy right to that's what
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we think hustle is and I think that once we shift into these deeper versions of ourselves and also
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I think once we shift more into like feminine energy we kind of can recognize that our drive
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can increase while our hustle doesn't the energy hustle doesn't have to yeah I think and I noticed
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that so much.
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And actually, I would say that is a really beneficial thing for creativity.
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Because if you could slow down, right, without that graspy energy and that masculine hustle,
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but your drive is still there, your work is going to be reflected on that.
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Like,
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it's so much more flow.
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And I can I relate to that so much, because that's definitely what's
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happened to me.
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Yeah, I think that there's also like a self confidence aspect where you go,
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okay, I actually know who I am or I see the person 10 years from now that I want to be.
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And how do I get there without making myself crazy?
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I think like in your 20s,
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there's a sense of like, okay, I need to prove to everybody around me who I want to be and who I am.
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And I think now I'm at the place where I just want to be.
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I want to enjoy the time I'm in.
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and get to my goals while like anticipating some stressors, right?
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But also enjoying the ride.
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And I think we forget about that in our 20s because we're so used to getting there.
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I think in our 20s, we're also so unsure who we are and how we want to show up.
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Like we don't even have the answer to that yet.
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And I think like that like hustle, the like moving very fast is like we're trying to figure that out.
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And I think you kind of settle into who you really are later on once you figure that part out.
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And I think that there's a piece that comes with that.
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So it's interesting you bring that up because we grew up in the religious Jewish world, right?
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And in our 20s, we're married.
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We are having children.
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And we're sort of, I wouldn't say forced because I gladly walked into a relationship at 20 years old and got married to my person.
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But I think like not knowing who we are till we're in our 30s or whatever, and yet we are expected to make these like big grown up decisions so young.
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It's really challenging.
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I don't think that it's so simple.
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And I think our Jewish identity plays a huge role in how we see ourselves.
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Do you find that how you were raised or who you are as a Jewish person contributes to who you are now?
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Oh, for sure.
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It's like the blueprint.
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It's like where it starts.
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I think that and I think it's interesting firstly it's an interesting question in general because
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we did grow up more religious and I don't know that we're like living that kind of lifestyle
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right now but I would say that it gave us a sense of belonging and identity before we figured out
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who we were and I do think that that's actually it's so interesting I look at my kids and I'm like
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I think that's a gift to give people like that people can have a sense of belonging
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and who they are before they fully figure themselves out.
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And I think also, like, being the grandchild of a Holocaust survivor,
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like, is also very much, like, plays into that.
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Talk to me a little bit about that because as a Holocaust survivor,
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your identity, I know that, like, my husband's family all went through the Holocaust.
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And it was interesting because he's like, I lived it.
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every day, even though I didn't live through it because his grandfather actually was sent to
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Siberia and that, and that makes a huge impact on how he was raised.
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And was that impactful to how
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you were raised?
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I very much, it's like, and I think most grandchildren Holocaust survivors would
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identify with this.
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It's like, again, it's like the pillar and blueprint of how you're like
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bought up it's like you know you know they've gone through something big my grandfather was
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in Auschwitz he came to Australia like completely alone and I knew it as a child what he had gone
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through and the story but I don't think it was until later on in life that I realized how much
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I borrowed from that story I call it like borrowed strength but I think that
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when I go through struggles in my own life, I literally could turn around.
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I mean,
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I do it on the daily and I'm like, and I've gone through in the last few years, like
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some dark places.
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And I, you tell yourself, like, if they've gone through that, I can go through
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this.
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And it's interesting.
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I think it's a Jewish concept in general, like this idea of resilience
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and borrowed strength.
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And I think Granted Holocaust survivors feel that very deeply.
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I also think that like if he went through what he went through and achieved what he achieved
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so then oh my god I can do it also and it kind of gives you this like leverage and things to
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platform off that like anything is possible I think it's an amazing quality and gift to grow
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up with and I feel that like deeply it's so cool that you said that because I think about the Jewish
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perspective and Judaism as a whole.
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We are a people.
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We're not only a religion.
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And I think
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that Jewish identity plays a huge role in most people's lives that identify as Jewish.
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And
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would you say that your Jewish identity bleeds into your creative identity?
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For sure.
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I mean, if you follow me, firstly, like, I get a little comfy.
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I beautiful, like,
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my whole thing and I and I and I will say like I started out on social like as a food and lifestyle
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stylist I was literally like plating my husband's dinner taking photos of it and then I got kind of
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Jewish magazines reached out and I was like writing recipes and it was very much like a food
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and like trying to make things pretty page okay and then like as I as I things kind of shifted
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in my own life and I went on my own journey and then also October 7th happened which was a very
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big thing and obviously I think a lot of people kind of stepped into the Jewishness in different
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ways for me it was more like I I need to step into this like with so much pride and love
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and that started coming out of my page and what what kind of transpired was like it was never
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just about a beautiful table or beautiful plate it's like how can I connect to my Jewishness and
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traditions through this.
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And I think people started to feel that.
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Like, I think people
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need to be given permission to step into these things in the way that feels connected and
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meaningful for them.
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Instead of like these black and white, habitual dogmatic parts that we don't
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always relate to, is there something in your life that you can choose and make your own?
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And I think around kitchen and food and gathering and – like that's what is so meaningful to me.
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And like – okay.
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It's also – it's funny because, you know, as Jews, table and food and family are so important.
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So you are really just highlighting all of – you're beautifying the Jewish tradition.
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That's really what you're doing through your tablescapes, through – you're creating an environment that's aesthetically gorgeous.
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But also that's inviting to those around you.
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And that really represents what Judaism is as a whole.
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And I also think that like we need reminders of that.
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I think that sometimes it can be overwhelming.
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I think moms can struggle with like making Shabbat beautiful after a really long stressful weekend or week, sorry, or work.
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And we all have so much struggle and chaos in our own life.
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And how do we tap into the energy of what Shabbat is without the stresses of maybe the things that we were brought up with, right?
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The like rushing before candle, all this stuff, right?
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Like can we tap into the energy of what that is and really go back to the core of like why it was gifted to us in the first place?
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God wanted us to let go, disconnect.
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And by the way, like the biggest gift today because like how amazing is it?
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And we may not keep it in all the ways that we were brought up with and all the like little rules.
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But can you tap into the energy of what that is?
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And I think that's the most important.
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And I think if people can like see that and if I can share that and they can connect to that, that's a beautiful thing.
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I think that it hits the nail on the head because I think about the way that I grew up.
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And I'll be honest with you.
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I'm not an aesthetic girly at all.
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Like I'm a plastic.
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Like I know.
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Don't judge me.
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Okay?
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Hey, there are judgment here.
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I'm sorry.
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There are judgment.
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I'm sorry.
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I am working and I don't – when I come into Shabbos, like I'm not going to lie.
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I sometimes when it's just us, I want to be in pajamas and hang out with my kids and eat challah and do everything.
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Those are my favorite by the way.
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Like pajama Friday nights are my favorite.
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And I think that a lot of people feel this pressure like to make these lavish yontifs and lavish Shabboses.
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But really the ultimate gift is making a Shabbos that works for you or making a holiday that brings warmth in.
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And I think you've actually managed to balance both where I love your recipes, I have to say.
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First of all, they're gorgeous, so I eat with my eyes first.
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But also it's not these overcomplicated things.
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There's not 800 ingredients.
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It's clean.
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It's simple but delicious.
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And I think that that's really what Shabbos is.
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It's clean.
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It's simple.
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It's delicious.
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It's reconnection.
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Yeah.
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And really, you've created that on your page.
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One of the things that you did mention, though, is your upbringing.
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Were you always brought up like modern Orthodox?
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How did you grow up?
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No, I'm Chabad, born and bred.
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Oh, actually, that tracks so much because I always say like people.
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I'm Chabad.
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Like once you're Chabad, that's it.
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And I think it's so funny because I find that my parents are Balchula.
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Okay.
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And they actually got religious through Chabad.
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We're not Lubavitch, but they got religious through Chabad and like through many journeys.
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But one of the many journeys that they did was through like Chabad Lubavitch.
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And I think it's so interesting because you see a lot of people online who are Lubavitch.
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There's a lot of creativity and a lot of connection.
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And I'm wondering if that there's an emphasis on – I know there's an emphasis on shlichas.
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Is this your version of shlichas?
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Like is this people online?
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That's so interesting.
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I hope my mom's listening right now because –
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Yeah, by the way.
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Mom, I wear a jeep.
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But yeah, I'm so – no.
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By the way, f**k about parents.
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Like that's the ultimate.
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So I think –
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By the way, hello, you're on shlichas now.
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But I think – listen, your friends with Simi.
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Yeah, my soul says that.
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it's a really good question it's interesting actually like is there a thread um well i think
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listen i think the answer to that would be twofold i think if i would pick like two pillars of khabar
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and i didn't even know that there was a more there was a larger demographic of khabar girls
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on instagram and being creative but that's that's really nice to hear that like that's great
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I do think it I guess it would make sense because if I think about it um you know two principles of
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Chabad one is that they are like unconditionally accepting like unconditionally you can be of all
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walks of life and we welcome you with open arms and that's a ethos and like principle that kind
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of is across the board with all of us and the very definition of that is that we make space for so
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many different kinds of people and when you grow up with that then I think that you are given
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permission to make so much space for yourself and how you show up and I think that it allows you to
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show up very authentically and very real I want to preface this by saying I grew up in a Chabad
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home in Sydney Australia I don't know that everyone has this experience across the board in Chabad
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but I definitely would say that I would I think that I think Sim would probably share that she
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had similar there's a very um real level of acceptance of like showing up as you are and
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i think that's beautiful and that allows for a lot of creativity i think the second part of
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khabar principles and ethos besides the unconditional love is that the rabbi taught
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if you know aleph teach aleph so he created leaders within our right i mean that's what
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the quote is is leaders going out and teaching but we were told that like if you have light to spread
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you spread light and if you have olive to teach you teach olive so the very definition of that
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is that you can be a micro influence on wherever you are and i think that if you can be that kind
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of example like in your own communities in your own families and whatever then those two elements
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of quote would i guess by default lead to girls leaning into the creativity showing up as they are
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and feeling like they have something to share.
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I think I'm getting emotional listening to you say this
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because I always thought I was going to go into Kirov.
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Obviously, I'm not in Kirov.
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We're doing a great job.
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You're in Shlichas and I'm in Kirov
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and we're doing a really fabulous job.
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But I actually think we are.
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I actually think that Judaism isn't just,
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yes, there's halacha and I appreciate halacha.
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I do.
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But I might not be there yet.
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I might not be following everything that I was taught 100%.
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But I think it's a spectrum and I think that this is my version of Kirov is showing us – showing people that you don't have to fit in the box in order to love who you are, in order to love your Yiddishkeit.
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I think that and I also think that we also need to learn that like at the end of the day, it's really about connection.
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and if you put everything else aside and lean into that piece first and if you can do things
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from play i think everything about judaism should be intentional should be intentional connection
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and i don't know that it was always taught that way when we were younger and that's okay
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but can we go back to it from a place of real connection in a way that feels meaningful to us
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you know i didn't like davening wasn't a thing for me like i didn't care for it not a thing
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after October 7th I remember watching this clip of this boy who was on his way to Nova
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and he was singing my Danny I'm sure it went viral so I'm sure people know what song it was
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if he wasn't my Danny it was actually the prayer after about God thank you for returning my soul
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to me and it hit me in such a deep way and I started that's when I started to do my Danny
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and I realized that I was doing these gratitude journals for years already I'd been doing all
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this intentional work but we were literally given a blueprint of like waking up in the morning and
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right away being like thank you God and I think for me when I took that back on with so much more
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intentionality and connection and the real meaningfulness of what it really was and
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represent what it represents I don't miss it like I don't the actual action of it is so beautiful
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for me yes it's i'm i wake up i meditate i dive in like it all's pass and putt with together and
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i think that's like kind of what people are like shifting more towards like how can we take things
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on ourselves and do things in a way that feels more intentional that's perfect because the truth
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is is that we are all just looking to connect to relationships one another god and i think that
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sometimes you have to strip things down in order to rebuild yeah and i think that that's exactly
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what you did with tequila right i only say mishmat it's my it's my one thing and i know that sounds
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like so like random no it's actually i'm on day 21 right now okay you got this time doing it but
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like you got this let's go i say it in english i'm an english reader because i do my english it's
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really wonderful.
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I use the like women's sitter because first of all, the meaning is very powerful.
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And second of all, I've been doing it since I lost my first baby.
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And I think that for me,
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it's a reminder every day that I look at my four kids and I say it every day since
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for like 13 years.
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Yeah, I miss here and there.
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But I do think that there is this
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real connection behind it.
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And I don't connect to a lot of things, but this I connect to.
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It's
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a reminder that something bigger than me has given me something tangible, something beautiful,
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something that I can actually physically hold on to.
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And I think that finding that for each
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individual person is so important.
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So it doesn't matter what part of Judaism or what part of
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Torah you connect to, just find something.
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Yeah.
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Because it's so grounding.
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We do all these things.
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You're saying like gratitude journals and manifestation and all of this stuff.
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And you're right.
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We have a blueprint right in front of us.
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It's right there.
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It's right there, yeah.
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And the beauty of like being Jewish is you can mix and match all the things together.
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I manifest as well as David.
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Oh, totally.
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Yeah, all of it.
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It's funny.
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I did an interview with the kosher astrologist and it was really interesting because if you don't believe in – davening and manifestation are very similar, right?
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So you got to like understand that everything intertwines.
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Yeah.
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You talk a little bit online about the beauty in tradition and raising your children in this environment.
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Do you think when you look at your kids, how do you want them to look at you?
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How would they define you?
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That's interesting.
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you know we're in a movie theater once
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we were watching that film David
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oh yes
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cutest show
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it's their version of like the prince of Egypt
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yeah it's gorgeous
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it's about King David
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and there was a
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part of the film where
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Shaul
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like tells David okay you can go out to
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fight Goliath let's find out if
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the God of the Jews are really with us
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And my son, Zach, screams out, Mommy, Hashem is always with us, like in this theater.
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And I was just like, yes, my job here is done.
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I think for me, what's the ultimate is that it's real, genuine connection to God, to Hashem, to the divine, all of that.
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And then everything comes off of that.
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If you are living on a day-to-day with, like, a knowing that God is there, he's with you all the time, there's unconditional love, and then you have a faith and traditions that, like, kind of help support that, then that's a part of religion that I want to beautify.
26:55
I love that.
26:55
Yeah.
26:57
You call yourself the chef's wife online, right?
27:01
Yes.
27:02
And I think a lot of people feel defined by our rules in life, therapist or mother, wife.
27:11
Have you ever felt like maybe it's time to step away from being like the chef's wife and being just a Dina?
27:20
Yeah, interesting question coming now because we are moving towards like a rebrand.
27:24
Oh, that's so exciting.
27:26
It's going to be really exciting.
27:28
It'll be happening the next couple of months.
27:31
I think that, you know, I created that identity when I was newly married, 24 years old.
27:40
And I think at that age and that stage of our life, we're not so sure of who we are.
27:47
And it feels so much safer to kind of go under somebody else's umbrella and to connect ourselves with somebody else and be defined by somebody else.
27:57
And that's such an easy way out.
27:59
And that's such a like protective space to be in.
28:03
Like I didn't have to show up fully as my own.
28:05
I was attached to somebody else.
28:07
And all the questions of like are we even enough to stand on our own, right, at that age.
28:12
And I think that becoming a mother and a wife, there are a lot of roles over there that we lose ourselves in.
28:20
In a beautiful way, I think that motherhood by very definition, there is no separation between you and somebody else.
28:27
Right.
28:27
Right.
28:28
And there is obviously when you first step into that, there is a kind of loss of your own identity.
28:35
And then as you progress in that role as a wife and a mother, I think you start kind of learning new things about yourself.
28:43
And I think you get to a stage also happens in your 30s.
28:46
And sometimes it can be triggered by certain events that your life has gone through.
28:50
You're an adult.
28:51
You're experiencing things like you're experiencing struggle and you're experiencing adulthood.
28:55
and I think that those things can push us into places of really searching for who we are
29:03
and in that journey we kind of unpack these layers of ourself and you get quiet and you find that
29:11
who you really are and how you want to show up in the world who is that version in and of yourself
29:17
not connected to someone else not connected to your children not connected to anything else
29:22
Who are you?
29:23
And I think a lot of women in their 30s can probably relate to this, that that journey into self, there's a kind of stepping into that version in a very like solid kind of grounded way.
29:37
And I think that in that space, we get to show up fully as ourselves.
29:41
And once you've gone through that, I think it's really empowering to find the things inside of us that we actually are proud of.
29:50
Yes.
29:50
And that we're like, that's it.
29:53
We're ready to go on our own.
29:54
But until you find that, until you find what those pieces are, it's easier to kind of connect with other people to like to find that for us.
30:03
A hundred percent.
30:04
So.
30:04
I used to say I used to use my kids as my shield because I've sort of rebranded myself a thousand times because I've had to move from L.A. to New York to Brooklyn to the five towns to wherever.
30:18
And before I had children, there was no one to hide behind.
30:21
Yeah.
30:22
And then you have kids and it's much easier to make friends and connect to people when, oh, we have kids the same age or we have or your husbands work in the same industry or whatever the case may be.
30:35
But when you have to stand on your own and rebrand as yourself, that's really hard.
30:42
It forces us to ask the really hard questions like, who are you?
30:46
Like, what are you showing up as?
30:47
Who do you want to be?
30:48
So what does Adina's rebrand look like?
30:52
Um, so it's going to, it's going to kind of be like happening soon, but very quickly we are moving into a more lifestyle wellness space.
30:59
Love that.
31:00
Um, of course there's always going to be beautiful food and there was always going to be beautiful tablescapes, but a lot of it is going to be reflective obviously of where I'm at.
31:08
Um, the, you know, intentional living and, you know, just being more intentional about connection and tradition and faith and what that looks like in our day to day lives.
31:18
was it hard to step into that idea of like okay maybe it's time for me to align my new self with
31:27
my old self or my old self with my new self I think any time we're going into those spaces
31:33
it's going to be scary and I think that if it's not scary then you're probably not doing it right
31:39
so I'm gonna say it's fucking scary step in anyway agreed agreed your content feels like
31:45
very intentional.
31:47
And it's branded, right?
31:48
So when you're talking about wellness, okay,
31:52
what does real wellness look like to you?
31:55
Not the one that's curated.
31:57
The one that's like,
31:58
you mentioned davening and I always see you working out and things like, what is
32:02
Adina's form of wellness?
32:05
Good question.
32:06
I think so.
32:08
Okay.
32:08
Straight off the bat,
32:09
my number one thing that changed my life was my mornings.
32:13
I wake up before sunrise.
32:15
I wake up at like yeah 5 30 I'm usually watching sunrays and I meditate I go to bed very early
32:23
don't call me off to 9 p.m but um I meditate well for two years I meditated journaled prayed
32:32
every single day like gratitude journal I've been doing for like already four years but
32:37
um it was a way to kind of choose how I wanted to show up before the world decided for me
32:44
and I think that I was going through such a deep struggle in my life then that if I wanted to
32:51
I had to like choose how I wanted to be as a mom how I wanted my days to look and I think it like
32:56
was very necessary for me um but it's interesting you asked about the curated piece I think that
33:05
generally speaking
33:06
I'm a romantic I romanticize my life in every way and I I post pictures of davening and journaling
33:15
and all of that and people message me like I'm really struggling with my davening gratitude
33:19
journal like can you help me and I don't talk about this I don't really share inboxes on my
33:24
stories maybe I should but my number one thing is to people is create an environment that you
33:30
want to step into.
33:31
Create an environment that like feels welcoming.
33:35
So it's part and parcel.
33:37
It's the same thing for me.
33:38
Having a beautiful space, lighting a candle, putting on music
33:42
is like how I step into that space.
33:44
It's like what energy do I want to go in on?
33:46
And if you create that for yourself, you'll have an easier way of stepping into those spaces.
33:52
So what is beauty?
33:53
It's not here for us to consume or for us to like be overachievers about.
33:58
is it it's there to inspire you to step into a certain energy I think that we all want to go
34:04
into these spaces that feel good for us so what is it how does that how does it feel good for you
34:09
what does that look like for you and how can you do that to step in oh I love that I love that no
34:16
because the way you just like totally totally described it to a tee where it's it's a lot more
34:23
it's a lot simpler than we make it out to be where set that intention i want this energy to
34:29
be like this create that energy exactly and you never hear it put out like that and i so appreciate
34:38
that it's interesting i think that we live in a world where like beauty is is there and like it's
34:43
it's it's like consumption it's like is beauty here for us to consume and then like level
34:49
ourselves against or is it here to inspire us to level up it's your choice how you want to look at
34:55
it to me i only ever want my space and what i share to inspire you to step in not just to consume it
35:04
i think yeah speaking of over consumption okay we're all sort of guilty of over consuming
35:13
the internet, social media.
35:15
We have this ability at this point to literally be online all day.
35:20
Yeah.
35:22
Do you ever feel this immense pressure to show up even if you don't want to?
35:28
It's interesting.
35:29
I find a lot of influences feel that way.
35:32
I'll tell you, I don't have it a lot,
35:35
but it could be to my detriment.
35:36
And it's probably the reasons are twofold.
35:40
One,
35:41
if I don't feel it I really switch out like I just don't I'm not I don't post I just don't if
35:46
I'm having a rough day you're just not going to see me online and that's maybe it's a detriment of
35:52
my brand and my followers but it's my own like it's it's not a detriment to your brand that's a
35:58
that is that is honoring yourself yeah so I so people like I think when it's false it's not
36:04
going to work anyway the energy behind that's not real so I won't show up if I can't that's one
36:08
Number two, there's two people on Instagram.
36:14
There's people that share their life to make money or share their life, right?
36:20
It's influences.
36:21
And there's people that share their art.
36:22
I've always viewed myself as a second person.
36:25
I don't share my life.
36:26
I share my art.
36:28
And I think that because I'm in that space, I never felt pressure to share everything.
36:35
And I never wanted to share everything.
36:37
and I think that those boundaries helped me stay aligned with myself.
36:42
Another thing is that I don't post in real time.
36:45
I'll take pictures of it.
36:46
I'll post after so it allows me to like be in it when I want to be in it
36:50
and not be in it when I choose.
36:52
And I think those boundaries have helped me.
36:54
That's huge because I don't – I used to share just my life
37:00
and it was an outlet for me.
37:01
It was easy and fun and when it started shifting to everyone
37:06
was trying to sell you something, I got really overwhelmed by it.
37:12
And I got almost angry online.
37:15
It just didn't feel how it once felt.
37:18
It was like this really fun place to be where you got to connect.
37:21
I always think about it like you could connect to anybody in the world online.
37:26
Like any celebrity you want, like any human being.
37:30
And you're on even playing fields.
37:32
And then all of a sudden it became commercials.
37:35
We all – we're all in the Netflix zone where like there is no such thing as commercials and yet we consume 90 percent of our day online and it's all commercials.
37:46
And I feel like what you're describing, this difference between art and selling of yourself is such a huge distinction because when you're creating something meaningful – now that doesn't mean that somebody who's sharing their life isn't creating something meaningful.
38:03
I love that.
38:04
I share my life online.
38:05
There's space for that too.
38:07
But it has to come out in your authentic and honest way rather than just feeling like, okay, I'm selling my soul to Instagram, TikTok, TikTok, wherever your platform is in order to like make a buck.
38:25
and I think that sometimes
38:27
people's
38:31
art is no longer art
38:32
it turns into
38:34
commercialized
38:36
it's like a print
38:37
I think that like your following feel that
38:40
and your community feels that
38:42
and I think that's I guess I've always
38:44
been more cautious of that
38:46
I didn't want to do that
38:47
I think it comes off like art
38:51
for you I really do
38:52
I think that
38:54
you're one of the very few accounts online that balance beauty and understanding of oneself
39:03
and that's like a really nice compliment wow because you come on intentionally you're not
39:11
you're not just like throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks yeah and i think that
39:15
in life we might do that i was gonna say i'm a cancer so i do i'm like here you go boom um
39:22
But it just, it makes sense that you're creating something powerful and it's a catalog of your achievements, which that is a beautiful thing to be able to look back at your growth online, but your growth as a person.
39:42
And you can see that transition online.
39:45
And I'm so excited for this new rebrand because I do think like we're going to be able to be taken on that journey with you and see where you were and where you're going.
39:54
And I'm I am grateful that I get to watch it.
39:58
And I'm sure so many other people.
40:00
Yeah, I'm excited.
40:01
It's a really going to be a big shift.
40:04
But I think we're ready.
40:05
I'm ready to step in.
40:06
I know you're ready.
40:07
Yeah, I know you're ready.
40:07
You're like the aura is there.
40:09
The energy is there.
40:10
And your intention is there.
40:11
Yeah.
40:12
I'm going to throw some rapid fire questions at you.
40:14
Let's go.
40:15
Okay.
40:15
Let's see if you can handle it.
40:16
Okay.
40:17
Is aesthetic living empowering or just another form of pressure?
40:21
Empowering.
40:22
Okay.
40:22
If taken the right way, if consumed the right way.
40:25
Okay.
40:25
Okay.
40:25
Can someone be deeply religious and fully self-express?
40:29
Yes.
40:30
How so?
40:33
I say that the first person I think of is my father.
40:36
He was a deeply religious, faithful man.
40:39
And I think that Hasidus and all the things that he learns allows him to feel completely self-expressed.
40:46
I love that.
40:47
What's more important, identity or image?
40:50
Identity.
40:53
Do women lose themselves in marriage or do they choose to?
40:58
Oof.
40:59
I know.
41:00
That's a hard one, though.
41:00
I know.
41:03
No, I don't think anyone chooses to.
41:05
I think it's a byproduct of the roles that we fall into and what you do with that is your choice.
41:10
I agree.
41:11
I actually think that you can use it to catapult your growth or you can use it to hide behind.
41:21
A hundred percent.
41:22
And I think it's up to the woman to decide how they are going to find themselves in it.
41:29
And it also can change over time.
41:31
Meaning I always say my husband raised me.
41:34
He is eight years older than I am and I got married as an infant and he helped shape who I am.
41:45
But I stepped into the light and figured out who I wanted to be based on how he hoisted me up.
41:53
But that is very different in every relationship.
41:57
Every relationship can either go one way or the other.
42:00
I think with everything in life, like we're given all these different things and like struggles to kind of go up against and it's our choice in how we want to react to them.
42:07
Do we want to use them to catapult us like to the next stage?
42:11
Yeah.
42:12
I agree.
42:13
It's a Frankel 101.
42:16
Is balance real or is it just good branding?
42:19
Is balance real or is it just good branding?
42:23
No, it's real.
42:25
How do you define balance?
42:27
It's every person to themselves.
42:30
but I find that when I'm aligned and I'm doing things that are aligned,
42:36
I feel balanced and balance also comes out as peace and like that thread of calm that we feel.
42:42
If someone is listening and feels they've outgrown who they used to be,
42:46
but are scared to step into something new, what would you tell them?
42:52
I would tell them to get quiet, to go inward.
42:56
and I'll tell you how I did it.
43:00
I went quiet and went inward and I meditated and I spoke to Hashem
43:05
and I basically said that I know this is scary,
43:10
but I know you're holding my hand and I know you're here
43:12
and take me down the path that is best for my soul.
43:18
And if you keep following that and the little whispers that you kind of find
43:23
And when you go quiet, you'll be able to do the hard things.
43:27
That is beautiful.
43:28
Thank you.
43:31
What does coming into your own actually look like?
43:35
It's really messy.
43:37
And it's really scary.
43:39
And you're going to have to make some really difficult choices.
43:44
And it's not going to feel easy.
43:46
It's going to be really hard.
43:47
But I think that on the other side of that is a version of yourself that you can be really proud of and a version of yourself that you can step into fully.
44:00
That is the perfect place to end, actually.
44:04
because I really feel like you and I have come a long way in regards to our growth.
44:11
And I personally feel that we've stepped into who we want to be.
44:19
And I think every woman and every man should find that and work towards that
44:24
because it's not easy and it's not simple, but it's extraordinarily rewarding.
44:29
It is extraordinarily rewarding, exactly.
44:32
And you won't know it at first.
44:34
it wouldn't feel that way it's really messy like peeling back the layers yeah but it's worth it
44:40
thank you so much for being here i so enjoyed spending time with you
44:44
thank you thank you for having me thank you all for listening and stay tuned for next week