How to Deal When the Shit Gets Real Podcast

The Cornell Seven case has sparked a much bigger conversation than one group chat or one college campus. This week, Jenn and Rietta unpack the allegations surrounding the Cornell Seven and use the case as a jumping-off point to talk about consent, intoxication, accountability, and what happens when the way we understand sexual assault doesn’t always line up neatly with the way the law is written. What does it mean when someone voluntarily becomes intoxicated? Where does personal responsibility end and criminal responsibility begin? And as women, how do we navigate laws that can feel very different from the conversations we’ve been taught to have about consent and safety? This isn’t about deciding the Cornell Seven case ourselves. It’s about looking at the questions the case raises—and realizing just how complicated the answers can become once they leave social media and enter a courtroom.

In this episode of How to Deal When the Shit Gets Real, Jenn and I have an honest conversation about women's bodies, body image, and learning to accept the body you're in—even when your relationship with it hasn't always been easy. Jenn and I grew up having very different experiences with our bodies. Jenn grew up being thicker, while I spent much of my younger life being naturally thin. But despite starting in completely different places, we've both had to navigate insecurities, changing bodies, comparison, and learning what it actually means to feel comfortable in our own skin. We talk about the pressure women face surrounding weight and appearance, how our relationships with our bodies change as we get older, and why reaching a certain size or number on the scale doesn't automatically create confidence. In this episode, we discuss: • Growing up with different body types • How childhood and adolescence shape body image • Being thin versus growing up in a thicker body • The pressure women feel surrounding weight and appearance • Comparing our bodies to other women • How our bodies change throughout our lives • Learning to separate weight from self-worth • The complicated relationship between fitness, health, and appearance • Learning to appreciate the body you have now • What body acceptance actually looks like • Giving ourselves the grace we often give everyone else Our bodies are going to change. They're supposed to. Learning to love yourself isn't about finally reaching the perfect weight, size, or shape—it's about realizing your body was never something you needed to earn the right to feel good about. This conversation is about giving ourselves a little more grace, letting go of impossible expectations, and learning to appreciate the bodies that have carried us through every version of ourselves.

In this episode of How to Deal When the Shit Gets Real, Jenn and I talk about why we care so much about what other people think and what it actually takes to stop allowing their opinions to control our choices. People constantly tell us to stop caring, be ourselves, and ignore the judgment. But no one really explains how to do that. We discuss why the fear of being disliked, misunderstood, or disappointing someone can become so powerful and how it keeps us living according to expectations that may not even belong to us. We also talk about comparison, approval, confidence, and learning to decide whose opinions truly deserve space in your life. Not caring what others think doesn’t mean becoming cold or inconsiderate. It means trusting yourself enough to make choices that are right for you, even when other people don’t understand them. In this episode, we discuss: • Why we care so much about other people’s opinions • The difference between considering feedback and living for approval • Deciding whose opinions actually matter • Why people aren’t thinking about us as much as we believe • Getting comfortable with being misunderstood • Learning to let people be disappointed • The pressure to be liked by everyone • Comparing your life to someone else’s • Questioning whether your goals are truly yours • Building confidence by keeping promises to yourself • Accepting that not everyone will understand your choices • Caring more about what you think of yourself You may never completely stop caring what other people think, and that doesn’t have to be the goal. The goal is to reach a point where your opinion of yourself carries more weight than the opinions of people who aren’t living your life.

In this episode of How to Deal When the Shit Gets Real, Jenn and I talk about closure, what it means to each of us, and whether we actually need it in order to move forward. We're often taught that healing requires one final conversation, an explanation, or an apology. But what happens when that conversation never comes? Or worse, when you finally get the answers you've been waiting for and they don't make you feel any better? We talk about why closure may be overrated, the difference between getting answers and actually healing, and why sometimes the person who hurt you simply isn't capable of giving you what you're looking for. In this episode, we discuss: • What closure means to us • Why we crave answers after being hurt • Waiting for an apology that may never come • Why getting answers doesn't always bring peace • Accepting that you may never know why • How our brains fill in the blanks when we don't have answers • Why closure doesn't mean forgetting • Whether forgiveness is actually necessary to move on • Creating your own closure • Letting go of the need for someone else to understand your pain • Choosing peace instead of continuing to search for answers Sometimes closure isn't getting the explanation you wanted. It's reaching the point where you realize you don't need one anymore. This conversation is about letting go of the idea that someone else has to give you permission to heal and recognizing that sometimes, moving forward is the closure.

In this episode of How to Deal When the Shit Gets Real, Jenn and I have an honest conversation about something so many women struggle with but rarely talk about—friendship as an adult. Making friends isn't as easy as it was when we were younger. Between busy lives, changing priorities, and personal growth, finding people who truly align with you can feel overwhelming. We talk about why some friendships naturally evolve, why others end, and how setting healthy boundaries can sometimes reveal who was never meant to stay. We also dive into the importance of trusting your intuition. Looking back, we've realized that many of the situations that hurt us most happened because we ignored that quiet inner voice. Intuition isn't usually loud or dramatic—it often shows up as a simple feeling or thought telling you, "Don't do that." Learning to listen to it can change everything. In this episode, we discuss: • Why making friends as an adult feels so different • Finding people who genuinely align with you • Maintaining healthy friendships • Setting boundaries without guilt • Why some people take boundaries personally • Learning to trust your intuition • The quiet ways intuition tries to protect us • Why history doesn't obligate you to stay in a friendship • Letting go of relationships that no longer serve you Friendships are meant to add to your life, not drain it. This conversation is a reminder that it's okay to outgrow people, trust your instincts, and make room for relationships that feel safe, reciprocal, and genuine.