In this episode we spoke about abuse whether it’d be physical and mental and how it slowly tarnished our approach to living a regular life without on edge or fear or getting triggered from loud noises or people yelling due to growing up in a toxic environment. We also mentioned how the older generation were birthed with these pessimistic rules within our cultures and how they experience severe punishments which was masked with ‘a loving lesson’ and these patterns occur onto their children because they thought it was normal and they didn’t have the courage to sit with their trauma but instead ran away from their issues because that’s what they were conditioned to do, and that’s why we sometimes react this way i.e not being able to speak out on what's hurting us and running away from our pain. Product of your environment is a very important term we continuously use to get the message across as we deal with this from time to time, maybe not as devastating as before but just mentally exhausting and how there's so much truth within that statement itself. you cannot grow in a place which deteriorated you in all aspects. 

You are not alone, you are so loved and we see you, hear you and understand your trauma and the toxic patterns you’ve endured. 

In this episode we spoke about the topic of fake friends, the disadvantages of not speaking up at the right time but also the great benefits it has for you to go through tough times with questioning your friend groups and being alone to sit with your thoughts to recollect your emotions and choose what’s best for you in the long run. We also touched upon our upbringing and how our toxic relationships within our culture has affected our experience with making friends and just navigating our way with life in general. friendship, a key concept of escaping a toxic home life and confiding in other people and putting your trust on the line because you simply need to decamp from your toxic reality, sometimes friendships last but sometimes they end abruptly. 

in this episode we discussed a big key topic which dictates a lot of trajectories in our lives for example relationships with our partners, with our friends, our parents and family and even with ourselves. we thought it was important to also mention how toxic mindsets and cultural standards that are forced upon us in our childhood can lead to harmful thinking patterns which can make us miss out on the true fruits of our youth or even our adulthood where we slowly unlearn those mistakes and heal ourselves. the importance and necessity of self love especially in this generation and day and age where everyone is so quick to put themselves behind others and not prioritise what needs to be a priority. we mentioned arranged marriage and the destructive consequences, divorce being frowned upon yet how its frequently occurred within families due to points which we mentioned in this episode.

in this episode, we discussed the importance of acknowledging your talents and being able to not let old societal norms (especially from within) get the best of you. growing up we were conditioned to pick a high paying professional route of a job for reputation, wealth or even as a label to be boasted about to relatives for the hierarchy and comparison that occurs frequently within toxic households. as passionate artists, we expressed our frustration from our childhood experiences and how we were essentially raised to hinder those talents because its either 'too embarrassing' or 'not a good job for a good look'. years later, we are continuing to pursue our goals and dreams to make them a reality. the topic of breaking generational trauma and curses was briefly spoken about and the impact it can have. we hope that this episode speaks to the ones who are either struggling on where to begin with their dreams, ones who are swallowed with doubt and skepticism or ones who are about to put what they are doing on hold to rethink everything and to also ask themselves 'is this really my passion? am i enjoying this?' remember you can make the impossible possible. everything happens for a reason. you got this. <3

in our first ever episode of “being realistic with abbie and zii”, we both discuss how we first met, and the circumstances that surrounded our friendship blossoming, which stemmed at the root of the popular versus unpopular circles. in this episode, we break down the different cultures to their rawest state, and discuss how being from these two completely different ends of the high school spectrum ultimately impacted who we became after high school as well as the people we are today