The Schoolin Life podcast has been a game-changer for me since I discovered it in the latter part of 2018. Co-hosted by two super educated Black women, Ashley and Marcy come together every week to talk about navigating life, love, and (occasionally) libations. Tuesdays are my favorite day of the week largely because I can count on starting my day with a brand new episode of Schoolin Life. Let me give you a breakdown of the episode structure.
It Ain’t None of My Business
If you listen to some of their earlier episodes, you’ll hear Ashley kick off the show with a rant––usually related to something that happened in the preceding week or some new trend taking over social media. It was always good for a laugh and is a segment that I miss. Ashley was always so impassioned about whatever it was that had irritated or excited her that week that if you didn’t already have a strong opinion on it (or if you didn’t know anything about it), you definitely felt some ways about it by the time she was done. Honestly, I wouldn’t be mad if they brought this segment back every once in a while.
Mentoring Moment
The It Ain’t None of My Business segment was replaced by Mentoring Moment, which was birthed from Ashley’s two loves––serving women and professional development. This segment is usually a recap and teaser of the week’s IGTV video and focuses on some of the different ways we (women, specifically) can change the way we think about our careers, and employ strategies to maximize our impact and reach our goals. This segment, in particular, has been incredibly helpful to me in my recent shift from youth development to child welfare, and I know it will help me (and you) to shift my thinking as I continue to grow.
I Digress
The I Digress segment is the meat of the episode, where Ashley and Marcy really dive in and dissect the topic of the day. From social capital to parenting your parents to dealing with grief, I really appreciate that the show does not shy away from any topic. I also love that this segment is not a lecture about what you should and should not do; rather, it’s a real conversation between Ashley and Marcy. Sometimes they agree on an approach to a situation and sometimes they don’t, but they always have a great discussion about it. I always walk away from each episode with something to think about or a new strategy for approaching things. I love it.
All Black Everything
Given the name, this is, obviously, my favorite segment. Marcy takes the lead here and introduces something related to Blackness. I love the variety of this segment––one week she’s talking health disparities and how Black women are impacted by breast cancer differently, the next it’s a game of Black Card Revoked! This segment has taught me a lot and I just appreciate how unapologetic it is about celebrating Blackness in all its forms.
TV Tea
Ashley leads the close of the show with TV Tea ––sometimes folded into All Black Everything––and it’s pretty much the conversation you have with your besties about your favorite TV shows. Ashley and Marcy talk about some of my faves, have put me on to some new faves, and have put a few shows on my radar for when I have a little extra time. I’m still trying to figure out how Ashley has time to watch anything with everything she’s got going on. Clearly, I still have much to learn from her.
Not just a podcast, Schoolin Life has built an impressive online community. Their online store has some of the cutest merch I have seen. Their live events have been everything I love about the podcast but in person (I am really hoping for more of these in the future). And if that’s not enough, Ashley recently launched the Mentor Me platform which is equally amazing and needs its own review.
I have grown so much over the past year, and I attribute a lot of that to tuning into Schoolin Life on a weekly basis. The conversations between Ashley and Marcy make me laugh, and they make me think. Each episode teaches me something new about life, or myself, and I have often relistened to certain episodes to help me navigate different spaces or emotions. I’ve adopted Ashley as my big sister in my head (hopefully she’ll have me)––Marcy’s my Spelman sister so she’s stuck with me lol––and I love feeling like they’re talking directly to me every week. I am so excited for what’s next with Schoolin Life and definitely think you should check it out.
Happy Buying!
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