"I hope I can walk away feeling I've actually achieved something here, that I've really pushed myself to the edge of my boundaries and put myself in a position which is beyond something I could have even imagined a year ago," said Pineapple Dance Studios star Spence.
Join Me chronicles the journey of starting a positivity cult through simple acts of kindness initiated by Danny Wallace, which became a sense of community for many.
Ben moves in with their estranged older sister and her husband after being thrown out of their parents' home for coming out as non-binary. As Ben navigates young adulthood, they find support from an eccentric art teacher and a kind-hearted student.
"If [music] had anything but piano and organ, like if it had electric guitar or drums, it was considered Satanic or bad," he says, highlighting the extremism of his parents' beliefs. "We weren't allowed to go to movie theaters, we weren't allowed to watch movies, we didn't have TV. All the girls in our house had to wear skirts ... even to bed, I had to wear skirts."
Travelling solo is a pleasure, a tonic, and occasionally a character-building experience. It teaches independence and offers a personal connection to surroundings.
I'm a real people pleaser-I often prioritize the needs of others over my own and carry a constant concern for their well-being. While that can be a beautiful human superpower, my fixation on pleasing everyone sometimes leads me away from my true self.
"To be honest with you, I didn't have confidence that I could do comedy well... I've done so many years of very serious roles that I was actually petrified, because comedy is really hard. You can't be saved."
Her conversations with Small, she said, changed her perspective on love, romance and friendships. He became the main character in Just Friends, the grand-prize winner of this year's NPR College Podcast Challenge.