Bend Magazine's The Circling Podcast with Adam Short
Hear from a variety of guests ranging from professional athletes, local business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, nonprofits, industry leaders, and more on Bend Magazine's The Circling Podcast.
Join Adam Short as he has conversations and shares the stories of those in our community who make up the soul of Central Oregon. Those who are helping shape the growth of our region, ensure opportunity for more and maintain what we all love about where we live; the beauty, the adventure, the way of life.
Though most of our content and guests are local, the insight, perspective and value learned of each episode can be applied in your own community, no matter where you call home.
Bend Magazine's The Circling Podcast with Adam Short
Bola Gbadebo On The Pursuit of Confidence
Bola Gbadebo, a journalist, poet, musician, and filmmaker, takes us on an inspiring journey of personal growth in the effort of redefining confidence. Through her unique lens, we explore how embracing vulnerability and understanding the power of community stories can transform our perception of self-belief. Bola's documentary, "Confidence," serves as a pivotal touchstone in our discussion, highlighting the courage it takes to embrace imperfections and the strength found in resilience.
Bola shares her inspiring career transition from sales to journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by her passion for storytelling and community engagement. With insights from friends and family, we uncover Bola's f pursuit of journalism as a platform for connection and self-challenge. The narrative delves into the intentionality and authenticity needed to build trust and relationships, while also exploring the creative process behind her documentary work. Through discussions of loss aversion and the courage to embrace growth, we gain valuable insights into the profound impact of empathy and vulnerability in shaping our shared human experience in the pursuit of confidence.
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It's been an ebb and a flow for me and I would argue for a lot of people. They feel that way In my own journey in career and personal life. I would say my career is really what put it in the forefront of my life. I'm like you know what Things are hard. How am I going to do this? How do I navigate hard situations and who am I when I do it? Do I like who I am when I navigate hard situations? Am I frantic? Am I still a good person and am I mean? Am I peaceful? Do I know how to respond to failure? All these questions are all elements of confidence and it took me a while to figure out what my definition was. I was like at first it was very, like, very much.
Speaker 1:The generic Confidence is being competent and knowing your ability and like, yeah, we would agree. But my definition was starting to err towards what I've been hearing confidence-wise and I really had to sit down. I had to analyze what I was actually experiencing versus what I think it should be and I realized for myself confidence is to combat the urge to go internally when I'm uncomfortable, when I don't like something, when something is hard, when something is scary, when you're someone who depends on yourself so much, you only really consult with yourself, and so when you're having a hard time, you go into yourself, and so I really have to, like I had to sit down and be like, what did I really struggle with? It's not messing up and failing. We all do that. It's how I respond to it, and now I'm forcing myself to stay outside that line of internal conflict.
Speaker 2:I remember when I was a bat, Times were hard and things were bad. There's a silver lining behind every crowd. Just four people, that's all we were Trying to make a living out of Blackland dirt. We'd get together in a family circle singing loud.
Speaker 3:It's been said that confidence doesn't come from always being right, but from embracing the possibility of being wrong without fear. On episode 61 of Ben Magazine's the Circling Podcast, I sit down with the incredible Bola Battyboe journalist, poet, musician, filmmaker and master storyteller. With an impressive range of talents and a rare depth of fortitude, bola shares the story of her journey to Central Oregon, where she became a multimedia journalist and, until recently, the morning news anchor at KTVZ News Channel 21, central Oregon's first television station, founded nearly 50 years ago. Last month, bola premiered her debut film, confidence, a documentary that delves into the shared human experience of self-belief and explores our capacity to recognize our own worth, abilities and potential for success. In the film, bola engages with local community members exploring their personal journeys towards self-assurance. Through these conversations, bola highlights the power of inner conviction over external validation, showing how we can better ourselves by facing challenges, taking risks and striving for progress over perfection. Confidence is a reminder that developing the mindset to overcome self-doubt is a lifelong process that requires courage, optimism and empathy. Yo Bola, thank you for the conversation. I really enjoyed it, as I knew I would. Here's a haiku I wrote about confidence, but I think it also might be about you Stand tall like the oak roots, deep in self-belief. Soil bloom in storms of doubt. Until next time, my friend.
Speaker 3:The Circling Podcast can be found on Patreon. Visit our page and learn how a percentage of your financial support will support local nonprofits and the continued growth of local community podcasting. Become a member and learn about this unique opportunity at patreoncom. Forward, slash the circling podcast, subscribe to the circling podcast on all major podcast platforms and leave us a review. It really does help. Lastly, I'd like to say a special thank you to all of those who participated in the making of this episode. It wouldn't be the same without your contribution and I appreciate your trust okay, okay, I'm excited.
Speaker 3:It'll be fun, man. I wanted to hear the story behind something here.
Speaker 2:I thought we could just listen to this for a sec Change with me babe, don't wanna fall out of our love, face to face, but you'll be the first to walk out. Nothing is always what you felt always. So someday I could come back to you.
Speaker 3:I'd never heard of this artist before.
Speaker 1:Monrovia.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:He's amazing.
Speaker 3:One of my favorite new things to do is ask people some of their favorite tunes lately and then ask why things to do is ask people some of their favorite tunes lately and then and then ask why? Yeah, because music is like I mean arguably like it's a spiritual experience music right, I mean it. It taps into an emotional bandwidth that few other things do yeah so, like when Pete, when a song resonates with someone, whether it's, you know, just the simplest, you know answer of just motivation and gets you, you know, pumped up to like something much deeper.
Speaker 3:And how did you find him?
Speaker 1:Instagram. I found him on Instagram but I honestly he he's such an amazing artist. His music is so. Honestly, if I had to give a description of how his music makes someone feel it's like a clearing, like you're looking at a pasture, and there's just this sense of peace that's immeasurable and can't replicate it. And every time I listen to almost all his songs, I get that same emotional response to his music. But also, I think I'm such a big supporter of him because he's a refugee and he escaped. I believe it was child labor. I'm forgetting the country at this very moment.
Speaker 3:I think it was Liberia.
Speaker 1:I think you're right, I'm, I'm, but it's just for him to use. Struggle and find a creative outlet that's impactful for several audiences is always going to move me and, I think, most people. When you see someone struggle and see how they can turn that into art.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's amazing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that, that that's along the lines of kind of I saw that as well, I think, and I'm excited to learn more about why you made this documentary and why you're doing what you're doing, and I mean there's parallels there. It seems like there's parallels between your stories.
Speaker 1:Yeah right, same mindset and that is my documentary is called Confidence and that is something that it's been an ebb and a flow for me and, I would argue, for a lot of people they feel that way, but in my own journey in career and personal life, but I would say my career is really what put it in the forefront of my life I'm like you know what Things are hard. How am I going to do this? How do I navigate hard situations and who am I when I do it? Do I like who I am when I navigate hard situations? Am I frantic? Am I still a good person? Am I mean? Am I peaceful? Do I know how to respond to failure? So all these questions are all elements of confidence and because it's something I struggled with, I decided to ask other people in our community how they deal with their own confidence.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's insane. I thought we could play the intro of the documentary so people can get kind of like a teaser.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my name is Bola Badibo. My name is Bola Badibo, and I don't know about you, but I think in some way everybody's on their own journey, whether it's intentional or not. We wake up and get to work, all with the faith that one day, that vision, everything you hope for, will come together. And in that process, confidence this rollercoaster experience for me, has occupied so much of my mind. I think I grew up expecting it to be something I just reach and then will always have. But some days I'm on top of the world and some days feel like my bed is the safest place on the whole planet. It made me curious about how others navigate confidence. And here's what I found. That's straight to the point. It's good yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean, what's that like?
Speaker 1:hearing that instead of watching that it's me and I know where I'm at.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 1:I know where my struggles are, so it's still I think it's me and I know where I'm at and I know where my struggles are, so it's still. I think it's just my honest reflection. Is it's something I'm still learning?
Speaker 3:So hearing it is like, yeah, I'm still on that journey, totally, that's, that's, that's amazing. You know what that tells me. It shows me. That tells me, it shows me which I believe is a massive component of a healthy perspective on confidence is the value and the role that humility plays in it. You know, like there's a lot, and we've all, I've met so many people that you know there's an arrogance that comes with a certain degree of confidence. In my experience it's a little less genuine and true. And then there's, you know, like a quiet, kind of humble confidence that it just speaks.
Speaker 3:It's a different language you know, and really the only way you can interpret the two is by listening and paying attention to people. Yeah so for you to you know. Yeah, that was me. However, long ago you said that and I'm still on that journey. I mean, I don't think that's a journey that ever ends in this life, anyways.
Speaker 1:No, I completely agree and it's. I was just talking about a conversation with a friend about this, so I'm just kind of laughing at some of the takeaways and golden nuggets we got from that. But yeah, I truly just like in the intro I did think it was something like okay, I'm good, I can walk in a room and always feel that sense of calmness, peace and like ambition, you know, like I'm going to take over, like whatever I'm being given, and in a way, that's just like I can do this without the mental internal conflict and no, there's always that mental internal conflict, I just have to push through. But yeah, humility is a big role in it and I honestly just think that that's just a matter of honestly reflecting where you're at versus presenting where you want to be at. I think a lot of people present what they want to be perceived as.
Speaker 3:What was going on in your life when, when you this kind of idea came, came to be like to to kind of dive into confidence and not only kind of be vulnerable with yourself, but then kind of engage other people and ask them to be vulnerable about about it as well then kind of engage other people and ask them to be vulnerable about it as well.
Speaker 1:I would say my halfway point as a news reporter and as a news anchor I think I was the weekend news anchor, not the morning news anchor, but it was still. It's a job that you're always constantly adapting to, so it's still like you're constantly learning. But I think in that period of time I wanted answers, I wanted to figure out how to handle the complexity of my life better, and I think it was just a continual thought of every day like there's got to be more if that makes sense.
Speaker 3:Your documentary. I think one of the brilliant parts about it is your ability to draw out vulnerable stuff from people in our community you know, and there's something so refreshing about kind of that validation that everybody internally is kind of having the same conversations with themselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would say one reoccurring statement that I got from the people I've interviewed is this kind of felt in a way like a therapy session and I realized all it was was conversation, and it just made me realize how much we lack that.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:If I get that type of response by simply sitting down and talking to someone.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think that's one reason I love podcasting so much is because you're kind of getting this opportunity to sit down with someone you probably otherwise wouldn't yeah and get to learn about them and then engage with them in like a really like authentic way. You're not, there's no distractions, you know, and that's rare. I mean, that's always been rare, I think. Yeah, but it's even more rare nowadays.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so many of our conversations that we have in just everyday conversation with people, mostly at work or whoever you're around, most of the time it becomes like what can I do for you? Or just, in a way, you're selling yourself. You know, even if it's a calm conversation or what have you, it's still this is what I'm capable of, this is my achievement, this is my you know, this is what I'm capable of, this is my achievement, this is my you know, and so it's it's. I found it rare to to sit with somebody, to be able to do that and not have a goal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's always a goal.
Speaker 3:I'm just sitting here, I'm no expectation. Yeah, yeah. Unmet expectations are the root of resentment. Quote that Turn that into a haiku.
Speaker 1:I might.
Speaker 3:I'm excited for people to kind of hear your story because I talked with your sister and just some other people.
Speaker 1:Oh Lord.
Speaker 3:Dude Judy's rad.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, I'm so curious. Yeah, she's amazing and it was fun because I could connect with her.
Speaker 3:She's an anesthesiologist and now she's working in pharma and I. We didn't talk about that, but I looked into the role that she's doing a few years ago as as maybe a career pivot.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But I also used to. I was an anesthesia tech prior to going to PA school. So, like I had that kind of background where I could. It's always nice when you find something in common with someone you know, just gives you something to talk about.
Speaker 1:I'm sure that made her day. She's cool man. Yeah, she's, she's. I love my sister I mean I love my family, but she's such a great like supporter.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:She's one of my biggest supporters.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I got that vibe. She loves you a lot. Your oldest sibling is 11 years older than you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my brother is my eldest and then my sister, Judy, who you spoke with, seven years older. Sarah is six years older, so I was kind of like. A happy surprise is what my mom says, nice.
Speaker 3:Uh-huh, we popped out and we were very happy. What?
Speaker 1:does Bola. What does that mean so? What does Bola? What does that mean so? Ade? Bola is my full first name. Ade is the prefix for everybody in my family Okay.
Speaker 1:But it means Ade means crown, because I was born into a royal family, oh wow. And Bola means so together it means the crown meets wealth, so it's like you're being born into prestige. Yeah, my sister Adeola is very she goes by Judy, but hers is Adeola, very similar, the crown is wealth or so. And then my sister Sarah, which is Ade Doyne. I believe it means something with honey, I don't know. Nigerian names are very symbolic and meaningful.
Speaker 1:And then what about your older brother? I have to look that up. Yeah, yeah, they all go by their American names. Yeah, it's funny. And then what about your older brother? I have to look that one up. Yeah, they all go by their American names.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It's funny so tell me a little bit about your family story, because you said you were born into royalty. Yes, Now. Like what does that mean?
Speaker 1:So I would say the royal status of our family is equivalent to that of a governor.
Speaker 3:Okay, and this is in Nigeria.
Speaker 1:This is Nigeria.
Speaker 3:You were born in America.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And you, the very first time you went back to your parents' home country, Nigeria, you were, you were sharing, you were 16?. Yes, so that I mean you've developed quite a bit at that point as an individual you know, before. You kind of have your first point of contact with your family history. But what was that experience like? Going back to Nigeria for your first time and getting to meet your grandma? You were telling me, yes, you lived at 102?.
Speaker 1:She was my highlight, I'd have to say so one it was just. It was so mind boggling because it's the first time out of America.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then just to see what community looks like. I've never had that sense of community like we do in our culture in Nigeria, where your cousins and your aunt and there are so many celebrations and parties. That's rad and everybody's just there as a part of everything happening in your life, and here it's just. It's so independent. I live so independently of people and my achievements are, you know, really driven by my own motivation a lot of the time, and so it's like to see people as a part of your life in such monumental ways really moved me. My grandma, my great grandma so she brought a lot of humor to my life because that woman was 102 blind, or she passed at 102, rather, but she was 100, I think. At the time she still drank liquor, she ate what she wanted to, and I'm just laughing because I'm like, wow, she's just alive and kicking and happy and full of life and I just it was just a pleasure to see. Yeah, my, my family is. They're who, they're so funny.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I get that vibe. I mean, they're hilarious.
Speaker 1:They're hilarious people, they. I think I find so much value in it because they really know how to take what I would perceive as like a shaky, scary, big situation and minimize it in such a way that you can laugh at it and realize, hey, this is life, there's a learning point, it's okay.
Speaker 3:Man. That's a massive life hack to be able to do that. Less and less people can do that.
Speaker 1:It's yeah. I'm not very good at that, I think that just comes from having people around you that support you, and enough people and knowing to tap into those resources at the right times in your life especially when you're going through big changes.
Speaker 3:You know, life experience perspective those things. Yeah, what, what, uh cause you grew up in in Northern California.
Speaker 1:What part of California East Bay, so Pleasanton.
Speaker 3:And your folks moved there from Nigeria. So what was that? What part of California, east Bay, so Pleasanton? And your folks moved there from Nigeria. So I think, and what was that story?
Speaker 1:They moved in their early 20s and they moved. I think my dad came here first. He lived in San Francisco.
Speaker 3:What brought him over here?
Speaker 1:He wanted to be an electrical engineer. Start his own business and he's always kind of been, and this I've gotten bit, bits and pieces of my dad's story because he's just kind of like a very private man.
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah you're just you. He's never gonna tell you. And then randomly you ask and you find out like, oh my gosh, you were. You had this crazy life. I never knew about, um, but yeah, he wanted to be an electrical engineer. He came here I think he said he watched some like thriller movie. He's like that's the kind of job I want to be. I don't know, but I'm guessing something equivalent to like Ocean's Eleven, I don't know, really cool, something like that. And so he established a life out here. My mom moved not too long after. They built this company called Rockford Engineering and they were very highly successful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they had multiple locations and they were married for some time and then they kind of separated when I was three so I got divorced. That changed, you know, their entire life. My dad raised me, so he ended up raising all four of us, and yeah, I would. I would say, though, my perspective on just my family dynamic is so different from my siblings because of the age gap for sure so so much of what I've learned about my parents are through what they were able to observe and what I only I wasn't, I wasn't, or.
Speaker 1:I was, I was too young to interpret what was happening. So it's just, um, yeah, they're amazing people, but I will say that, being such a private man, um, my dad raising me I became very, like, very independent and very non-communal, and even though I love family oriented stuff, it's something that, like, I have to remind myself like tap into your resources, call your sister, like you have three siblings, you know, and so I I do believe that's part of my confidence journey too, because so much of it internally was depending on myself and so and life, and life is just yeah, but life is just not practical that way.
Speaker 3:Totally.
Speaker 1:People do it. But it's just so much harder when you, when you look at people who tap into their family and their and they, just without a thought, they can resolve situations like maybe you took months to try to figure out and navigate. And I'm like, oh, I want that. I want that ease and that access to such a support because you can go so much further. And I'm like, oh, I want that. I want that ease and that access to such a support because you can go so much further. And so part of my confidence journey is learning how to tap into my own resources. My family is very much that. My sister always reminds me. She's like don't you understand? We love you. Just call us. It's really cute.
Speaker 3:Stan, we love you, just call us. It's really cute. It's crazy when you start getting to the age where you reflect on certain aspects of your life and you start looking at your previous life experience and maybe it doesn't explain all of it, but it's a big portion of the why behind those types of things, you know like behind your struggles, you're like totally.
Speaker 1:this is why I think this way and you can always change. You know, I mean it's just active effort, but you need to know where to put that effort into. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:I shared this on here before but I tapped into after COVID. There my primary care doctor was telling me about a program for healthcare providers in Oregon. About a program for healthcare providers in Oregon. Basically it was like a four or five kind of visits with any participating mental health providers in your community to kind of tap in and kind of get some therapy and with a psychiatrist which I'd been to, like psychologist, many and very good skillset. But it was such an interesting experience working with a psychiatrist and walking in and having, you know, like man, the very first session was four hours. Wow so, like four hours of just like really letting it all out like child, like it was. I walked out of there like I need to make, I mean, I mean I, I used up my it's. There's so much value in getting someone else's perspective on your story, you know, and then when you can, you know, muster up the vulnerability to kind of share your thoughts on that or or how you, you know, engage with some of that stuff, or the unresolved processing or trauma.
Speaker 3:I mean so much right. Everybody experiences trauma in one way or another.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I just it's one thing where the sooner we allow ourselves, I think, to be in those situations, the faster we can start redirecting those mindsets and just reconnecting that circuitry. And I think it just takes a long time to be okay doing it sometimes, Just to get in a position where you're like okay, let me figure out what the root is.
Speaker 3:You know, yeah, just figuring that out might take years, yeah, yeah, but it's, it's yeah, I mean, without sounding cliche, it is. It is quite honestly the process and the journey of it that's been very revealing, you know.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So yeah, I mean, you kind of just had your typical American like adolescence in California. Like what was it? Are you an athlete? Do you play sports?
Speaker 1:So what did I do? Who was I a few years ago? How old are you?
Speaker 3:I'm 31. 31.
Speaker 1:The thing, though. The thing, though, is my memory. It's not impressive. Yeah, I laugh at myself sometimes, because I just feel like I'm such a like what's what am I building?
Speaker 2:What am I working towards? Yeah, and.
Speaker 1:I'm learning to temper that, because you want to be present too, but it's just when I'm told to like reflect on what was I'm like huh. I can tell you what I'm doing now. But, um, yeah, so I grew up in East Bay. Um, I went to a school where I think it was like second grade to eighth grade so, and it was a predominantly white. I think my family actually goes down in the history book here. We were the first black family at that at that school.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what was the name of the school? Senal?
Speaker 1:glenn senal, glenn elementary school I don't even know if it's still called that today, but um, yes, it was kind of amazing because I believe my brother went through it, then my sisters yeah went through it and then I went through it. Maybe my brother did or didn't have to, yeah, different time period, but yeah, I just remember that was a.
Speaker 1:That was just a fun fact, I guess yeah but I went there and then I went to Foothill High School in Pleasanton, california, and then from there I went to. I didn't really know what I wanted to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um and very normal yeah, I was like I can go in undeclared or I can take time to think about it, and I think I was just like just in this tumultuous stage of what do I want my life to look like. I went to a community college for a little bit Solano Community College for a year and that is when the first time I lived with my mom.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow.
Speaker 1:That was a big experience for me.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, that's a massive experience. Were. You guys interacting quite a bit growing up, like you're a regular part of each other's lives.
Speaker 1:My mom, despite not just having the means to be able to raise us, she was always present.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, and she's here today, she came to visit me and watch my film.
Speaker 3:So I love it.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I that was. That was an interesting period of my life because it was me trying to establish. You know what I want to do, who I wanted to be experiencing and exploring this new relationship, being in a new community, trying to build friendships, and yeah, just a lot of thoughts and a lot of processes at once. But I didn't end up liking it. I think it was just a little more. I just don't think it was an environment that I felt too comfortable in. I didn't really know how to navigate too well and I just didn't see, you know, how I would build from there. And so I ended up going to Diablo Valley College to finish out my community college term, transferred to UC Riverside, studied sociology, and that is pretty much what I practice today and I mean I always will.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's interesting. I took a sociology elective track in college at a community college as well central oregon community college. I went there I think in 2002 or three, I don't know long time ago, and it, of all the classes I took up on that hill man, that sociology um tract was very interesting.
Speaker 3:Yeah, like when you study groups of people and how they interact and you know, know it's very complex and can be, but I think that's one reason again, like there's, if you're a curious person, it's a good environment to engage yourself in, because there's always something to be curious about. You know, like one of my favorite things when I used to travel a long time ago, I would like every airport I had like my favorite spot to just kind of post up and people watch you know, do you like to people watch? I do, yeah, I figured you did some people.
Speaker 1:It's not their thing, but yeah yeah, I mean it goes back to the curiosity in people and I've always had that, like I've always wanted. It's funny, before I knew I wanted to be a journalist, I I called myself a questionologist, that's a good name. I was like, wait, there's a career for this. I think they're called journalists. But um, yeah, I've always been more intrigued into who a person is rather than I don't know, like music or pop culture or whatever is relevant and new like you asked me an artist today, I just I'm gonna disappoint most people.
Speaker 1:I just don't know. But you want to tell me you know what motivates you, what gets you up in the morning, how you manage. You know your stress and stuff. I'll be here all day that's rad, uh.
Speaker 3:So after school you kind of went down that track of kind of business sales and then yeah, um, yeah I'm laughing because I didn't belong in that track.
Speaker 1:I couldn't tell anything.
Speaker 3:And this is pre-COVID.
Speaker 1:This is pre-COVID, until COVID hit and then I got laid off from my sales position and that was like a whole. That was a blessing in disguise.
Speaker 3:So I have an audio clip from Judy that I think will be. This would be a good time to listen to it. In your story she yeah, I'll let her do the talking.
Speaker 4:I was working in the hospitals and COVID you know I'm intubating patients and COVID is coming out and I said whatever you're doing right now, quit. Like you don't know what this is. Nobody knows what this is, it's not worth catching it. You know you're in the sales job. It's not your life passion, just quit. And she goes. I can't quit. I'm like, yes, you can. Whatever they're paying you, it's not worth what you're going to get if you get this disease. We don't know what it is yet. So she does.
Speaker 4:And then she just takes her I guess it's her camera or her phone and just starts doing stories, just taking her car, no formal training whatsoever, and just starts looking for people in why people responded to her so positively. But she just became so dogged and she goes. Oh yeah, I want to be a reporter. I'm like since when? Since when she goes, since I decided and I thought I worked hard through medical school, I thought I was focused. I've never seen anything like this Someone just deciding against all odds because there typically is a path, and just believing they could do it, connecting all the right dots, putting together reels, putting together things, showing it out to the public and then actually landing a role Traditionally.
Speaker 4:What I've grown to understand is most people start off going to school and communications and have a path, and I watched this girl that I've known all my life just bulldoze a path for herself, becoming not just a reporter but also an anchor. I was like, okay, who are you? Because I remember you. You were born, I was in the hospital and I've known you your whole life and I don't know who this woman is, but I'm all about her and then through that she's always given me tidbits of. I'm doing this community work, I'm doing spoken word, I'm doing this creativity that I've always seen. She's always been naturally creative. She's self-taught piano, self-taught guitar, self-taught poetry, everything she's just picked up because she's always been curious and creative from a young age. And to see it just manifest in this way, and then for her to tell me, oh yeah, by the way, I'm making a documentary, I'm like, oh, okay, sure, so with her, I just look at her, I'm like that is the definition of tenacity and just when you want something, and going for and having that focus, not getting distracted. There was no inside scoop that I got. She just started doing things and then she let me know when they were done, that she was even starting them. That's how I learned everything from Boa.
Speaker 4:So I just stand amazed by her. I just stay in the form of amazement. I'm like anything I can do to support. She goes yeah, just be encouraging, pray for me. She's very much strong in her faith and we pray together a lot and just you know, a lot of these things are unwritten and it's scary to do something new and I watch her and I'm reminded yes, it's scary to do something new, but just do it anyway. Do it scared. Like ever since she was born, she's just been my favorite human and she's remained my favorite human all these years. I just am fascinated with her creativity, her kindness, her empathy and I learned from her so much Like I don't think she realizes how much I learned how to be a better human just by watching her and listening to her speak. Hi, I'm Judy Bodeva, one of Bola's older sisters, and Bola inspires me every day.
Speaker 1:And Bola inspires me every day.
Speaker 3:That's really warm. Yeah, I mean, I feel like I get to know you so well from that soundbite and just the relationship with your family. It's awesome, I think. Do it scared.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, that is such a real theme.
Speaker 3:She, she said that and ever since she said that, I'm like man, that's a, that's kind of a good tagline. Do it scared yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I live by it like half the time. It's just, and that's hence the confidence journey, I would think, full circle right yeah.
Speaker 3:It's not about how great you look doing it, it's if you put yourself out there, totally. So it's very true. Yeah, yeah, why journalism Like, why? Why? Why from sales to like going out. Talk to me about that.
Speaker 1:So during during COVID, that. So during COVID, after I left the sales position, I wrote down a list of things that I was good at and things that I like about myself she mentioned it Empathy is one of them. The curiosity in getting to know people. I like talking to people and if I can establish a career in talking to people, I'm going to find that career, and so it was making a list of these things. And writing I love writing.
Speaker 1:I wasn't familiar or knowledgeable about journalistic writing, apa style, any of that. I wrote a lot of poetry, I wrote a lot of stories, and so I was like well, it's just a different capacity of writing. I can learn it and that's, given all those, everything I wrote. Journalism stood out to me because one it would help me excel in all these things individually. These are already my strengths, but how can I better them that are different from me, that think different from me, and that also challenges me to continually get better in my strengths. And so being a news reporter, the networking from that and the exposure from that, because within journalism there's still a multitude of fields I could have chosen, but I chose that for that exposure and I also knew that everything that I was going to learn.
Speaker 1:I wanted to take and build my own platform with it. I didn't have any idea of how I wanted to do it, what I exactly wanted to do with the platform. I just knew that I want to create my own thing, to connect to people. I want to tell stories in my own way and, working under any umbrella of an industry, you can only do that to a certain level. You don't have full agency, although you can have your own show on a platform. It's just not the same and I know that I like to do things my particular way. I also think that this was something that was put on my heart by God. I don't think it's an accidental ambition, especially considering, like she said, I had no idea what I was doing, and I think only something like that is empowered by something else to just wake up and be like I'm just going to figure it out.
Speaker 3:Everything along the way, humans like very relatable human experiences that kind of have like undertones of you know, like character building and just self-development and growth, I mean yeah.
Speaker 1:So, and this false confidence falls under the category of human interstories.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so it's something that we all experience and we don't talk about to shared experience, and I like the fact that we can talk about it and I like the fact that so many people want to talk about it, but they haven't been prompted or asked about it, and so I do want to do more things like that.
Speaker 1:My sister's like I. She kept calling it courage on accident. She's like I can't wait to watch courage. I'm like maybe the next one will be courage. So I was already thinking of that. But I also like to do things that are like dating. Dating is such an interesting thing for the fact that no matter where you're at in your love journey, if you have one or not, that's still a perspective that other people would be interested to hear. It's like everybody's kind of invested in the whole concept of romance and love, and I would like to do one talking to people who are married, people who are divorced, people who are single, people who are in situationships, whatever that may be. There's a broad brush for that, but I just want to hear how people pursue love, embrace love and what love has taught them.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and what love is? That's an interesting question that I've had with friends lately. I think our English is pretty limited in a lot of the concepts. We use love as a noun, as an adjective.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Um, and, and you know you go to some of these other dialects and and written languages and you know, and there there's a lot of other words that kind of conceptualize what we sometimes gloss over real quick.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like an element of love. So there's this book side note. Oh my gosh, please remember. It's like the dictionary, something of Sorrows.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I can look it up, yeah.
Speaker 1:So this book and my sister actually introduced it to me. But there's this. So my favorite word is sonder, and sonder actually came from this book. I didn't know it, but I always used it because I found it online somewhere. My sister's like oh, that's in this dictionary.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows yeah, by John Coney.
Speaker 1:It's a good book. I recommend it. But pretty much it captures so many concepts that we don't actually have words for that's cool, yeah, and like Sonder it would be. I can't say it as gracefully as this man had described this word, even though it's made up. But Sonder is the realization that other people have their own backstories and in life and they're equipped with their struggles, their strengths, and they're not just.
Speaker 1:they come off as a background character in your story because, it's not directly your life, but it captured the fact that, hey, these are people that are going through the exact same things you're going through. It's a great book, but it has a lot of words like that where you're just like, oh, like. I feel that I have an emotional response to that.
Speaker 3:I understand it but I don't know how to articulate it. Yeah, In some ways that I mean, that's what you're, what this documentary does. When you were just doing that. It's kind of, you know, even even words can have different associations with them, like confidence. And when you hear people's relationship with their level of confidence from so many different perspectives. It gives you that same sort of sense of Sondra.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it's cool.
Speaker 1:It's true. And just speaking of just my own definition of confidence today and it took me a while to figure out what my definition was I was like at first it was very, like, very much the generic confidence is and it's they're all true definitions. But confidence is being competent and knowing your ability and like, yeah, we would agree. But my definition was starting to err towards what I've been hearing confidence-wise, and I really had to sit down because I had to analyze what I was actually experiencing versus what I think it should be and I realized for myself confidence is to combat the urge to go internally when I'm uncomfortable, when I don't like something, when something is hard, when something is scary. And it's such a natural thing, probably really tied to how I grew up and everything but full circle. When you're someone who depends on yourself so much, you only really consult with yourself. So when you're having who depends on yourself, so much it's, you only really consult with yourself.
Speaker 1:Because when you're having a hard time, you go into yourself and so I really have to like. I had to sit down and be like what did I really struggle with? It's not messing up and failing. We all do that. It's how I respond to it, and now I'm forcing myself to stay outside that line of internal conflict.
Speaker 3:I like how intentional this is. Like you know, I like learning the why behind why people do what they do. You know, that's another thing I try to learn about with these and I'm growing to, because there's so much that you can learn from that you know, and and but it's really impressive when people have a very intentional why behind what they're up to.
Speaker 1:Well, it makes it so much. Well, people can see authenticity.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Even if they can't name it or what they don't like about something or what they do, they feel it and they see it, and when, when someone brings up something that's actually in their heart, close to their heart, something that they're actually working through, other people can receive that pretty quickly and they'll appreciate you more for it, because it's like I believe you and we like to build relationships on trust.
Speaker 3:Trust, man, yeah, and transparency fosters trust, and that's you know. It's a pretty simple equation, you know, and yeah, it's cool, I like it, bola, I like it a lot.
Speaker 1:Do you want to try some chin chin now?
Speaker 3:Yeah, tell me about this.
Speaker 1:There's Chin Chin, because I'm very proud of my mom and she's just such a good cook and I miss Nigerian food.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So Chin Chin is a Nigerian snack. It's popular in weddings. It's like one of those snacks that are always at weddings, but it's flour, baking powder, butter, nutmeg and sugar and enjoy. I'm just curious what you think. If you don't like it, don't tell me. I'm just curious what you think. If you don't like it, don't tell me. I'm just kidding those are dangerously good yeah, you can sit there all day and just pop them in your mouth chin, chin.
Speaker 3:Amazing. Where do you get these?
Speaker 1:my mom. My mom got it. She lives in texas, so somewhere, and she's been traveling with her husband I love it somewhere.
Speaker 3:Well, tell her. Thank you, I will do.
Speaker 1:I get to keep these I will give them to you, enjoy them oh, were you just sharing with them?
Speaker 2:no, I have a bunch, she bought me so many.
Speaker 1:He's like great Thanks for the whole box of chin chin.
Speaker 3:No, but please enjoy it because I kind of want to pour a little almond milk over those things. That would probably taste really good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's complimentary yeah.
Speaker 3:That's like a really fun Saturday morning cereal.
Speaker 1:Make it last Wow, that's creative. Make it last Wow, that's creative, make it last.
Speaker 3:I want to go back and hear kind of the story of transitioning from grassroots bootlegging coming up with this, learning how to put together pieces, studying journalism to, not that long later, moving to Central Oregon to work at KTVZ Did you have that job lined up before you moved here.
Speaker 1:That's what brought me to Bend. That's what brought Bend on the map. For me. It was between Eugene Boise, idaho, and here, and I looked at Bend and I said, wow, this is beautiful.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So during that COVID period I was in Long Beach and that's when I was going around driving random places. I don't know if you remember the occupied protest in Seattle.
Speaker 2:It was like six block radius and talk to a bunch of people who live on those six blocks and he's like, okay.
Speaker 1:So I was doing random stories, but I didn't know this wasn't me doing it, knowing what was going to happen because of it. Yet I was just, I'm just going to create a bunch of news reports, Damn dude, talk about jumping in.
Speaker 1:Totally, and it's so funny. And then I was like, what do I need to do next? Oh, a reel. Okay, I looked up a reel and I saw, like all these agents that are like I can make your reel for you for a thousand dollars, like nope, I'm going to get Premiere Pro and I'm going to edit my video and create my own reel. And so it was a fun process. Yeah, it was just.
Speaker 1:I think it was just the innocence of also the ignorance innocence and ignorance tied in here because I didn't know really what I was getting myself into. And I love that because the challenges that I encountered, having taken that path that came later on, I was like whoa man, if I had thought about this before, what have I would? I have responded the same, I don't know. But it puts me in a spot where you're just forced to grow and I will always appreciate those opportunities because it's our natural instinct to protect ourselves and, like you know, when something's too stressful or we think it's too stressful, even if we don't back down, we want to at first kind of back down from it. So I just I love the ignorance in my process and I love the innocence of my process and I love the creativity in my process, and it's all led me here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's, it's incredible. I mean, what you're talking about to me reminds me of and I think really is um, this concept of loss aversion. Um, have you heard of this loss aversion? Have you heard of this? So it's, it's kind of the it's an economic concept, but I think it it kind of plays on people's natural psychology, which is we're more prone to make choices to avoid losing the things we have than risking gaining things we don't.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:And it's you know I mean from an evolutionary standpoint. It makes sense in terms of like survival sustainability but it's. It's interesting because there's so much value in going against kind of that natural inclination, you know, which again comes back to kind of the one of the core concepts of your documentary and one of the values found within this concept of confidence. It's super cool.
Speaker 1:So much accountability within that.
Speaker 3:Totally, yeah. Yeah, it's good stuff. I mean, your documentary is good.
Speaker 3:Thank you Documentary is good Like it's. It's. You know it's a simple concept, but like, I've watched it a few times and every time I watch it and I think it's good for a couple of reasons. You've created this safe space where people are being vulnerable and we've talked about that. But there's layers to the value of that, you know, and and maybe some people identify more with you know, I, I saw so many versions of people I knew within there, so it was also a diverse sample of who you talked with.
Speaker 3:You know you have, you know, city employees and professionals and students, and you know middle-aged folks and you know it's all over the place and I think that that's another reason why it it's, you know, relates with a lot of people. I'm excited to hear how people respond to it me too.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm really excited about how the interviewees will respond to it yeah, they haven't seen this, they haven't and I'm just, yeah, I know, and I know it's it's always a little nerve wracking, because it's like well, how, how, what did I say a year ago? I don't remember, you know.
Speaker 4:Totally.
Speaker 1:So I'm excited to see how they respond to it too. And then my my goal, my intention, was to present them in the best light that they were honestly in that time period of their life.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so and I I think I did a pretty good job doing that.
Speaker 3:So yeah, I think you did too. We, you and I, have so much in common um very, very similar path. But one thing that I can appreciate and and kind of um relate with is the the responsibility that you have when you're presenting someone else to the world through the work that you're doing. Whatever the whole reason you're doing that is, maybe you don't even know, it doesn't take away the fact that, like you know, there has been a trust relationship established there and finding that balance of you know representing people in their best possible, you know true self at that point in time. I think that was a really nice way of saying it. Yeah, I gotta, I gotta think about that. That's good, it's super good.
Speaker 2:We keep deviating from your story, but it's fun.
Speaker 3:So I still want to hear those. So you, you went out.
Speaker 1:You were in Seattle at the Occupy um oh yeah, the um movement, yeah, chop, I think yeah.
Speaker 3:And then was that was your content, from that what got.
Speaker 1:That was one of it. So I that was just my, also my excuse to like I want to travel and still do you know what I need to do?
Speaker 3:for whatever reason I'm doing it. Had you like established a business and like At that time no, no, I brought my phone.
Speaker 1:I brought my phone, I brought my phone, I bought a gimbal to hold my phone.
Speaker 3:But I mean, were you like an LLC? So you're writing some of this off?
Speaker 1:No, no, if I was so business oriented, I would. Honestly, there are a lot of things I probably would have had I known. But no, I was just a girl. That was like I want to be a news reporter, and this is what news reporters do they collect stories, they get honest content, they put it together, they learn how to edit.
Speaker 4:The only luxury I had that I didn't have coming in, which was still a great- learning process was the urgency in the time frame of how quickly you need to put a story. A deadline, a deadline, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I was. I mean, I had the ample time. I was like, well, I'm laid off, I have time. So I put some stories together. I learned how to use Premiere Pro.
Speaker 3:Good for you. Yeah, it was exciting. That's so sick that you just like dove into an editing. It's one thing to like learn how to put together some audio, but to like start editing and mixing like an audio video, that's heavy.
Speaker 1:Passion changes everything, it's true. Passion makes the things that were once uninteresting interesting. That is very well said and it is so true yeah yeah, yeah, yeah but, um, I yeah, I did all that and then I started applying. I'm like, okay, I guess the next step I created my reel, the next step is to apply.
Speaker 3:So I did that and and when you're saying real this, I keep thinking like instagram. Real you're talking about like yeah, like a reel of your work a reel of my work.
Speaker 1:So I I did three stories. One was the the seattle chop, one one was like a farmer's market and one one really like it was a very emotional story and it was someone who, um, was killed and I I read about the story online and I saw that the location was close enough to go check out the area and when I went, there was a whole ceremony and there was somebody. He went to school with the man that passed and I just started speaking to everybody and I know it was very emotional. I was very emotionally sensitive too, but I'm like this is not me looking for a story at this point. This is a story, this is meaningful. This is a story Like this is meaningful. This is someone who existed and his family's here and I'm like I need to.
Speaker 1:Where's the news? Actually, yeah, at that point I was like where is the news, like this is something to capture, and so I ended up talking to those that were there and I caught such a beautiful, equally sad moment and I put that in my reel and those three stories were what my reel was. There was like a random. So we do these things called stand-ups, where you're like it's like maybe 10 seconds of you saying something, but usually interactive, like you're in an elevator and like, well you know, sometimes elevators go down. It's kind of corny sometimes.
Speaker 1:It, it's acting yeah, it's acting for the fact that it's. I created it for this very purpose. So I did a few of those and I put it together and I submitted it to a few new stations. And it's funny because in my mind I was like I'm curious about Oregon. I wonder if a station in Oregon might be interested. We'll find out. And then that was the third one to get back to me.
Speaker 3:No way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I was like, oh, I'm going to go to Oregon. And that's when I saw Ben, that's when I learned about Ben and I saw how beautiful it was and I saw the population was a big difference from Southern California.
Speaker 3:Yeah, big time, but I how is that? What's this experience been like in Central Oregon?
Speaker 1:So I think and my sister would agree with this, I think I just adapt to wherever.
Speaker 3:I'm at. Yeah, you seem that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so I don't have the same activities I had, like I would enjoy some jazz lounges or, I don't know, a day party sometimes or just fun things that you have in the city that you don't have here. But here I established Tumalo Falls and Crater Lake and Blue Pool. I went and did my first polar plunge in Blue Pool and I just found so many other things to be excited about and it's been beautiful for the nature because it's also given me so much clarity and peace of mind yeah and it's that's so undervalued.
Speaker 1:Sometimes the peace of mind allows you to be creative. It's like you. You get to clear out all the nonsense and you can sit there in nature under a tree and ask yourself genuinely what's next, what do I want to do, and then you can actually start building towards it. Then you do it. So I just I got that a lot just living here, just that sense of clarity. I do miss jazz lounges, yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean you are such a creative person and I learn in your story and just kind of some of the different seasons of your life, Like you know. I mean you're a self-taught musician, You're a poet, Like your haikus are insane, I know you keep. Last time we hung out you were sharing. You showed me your iPhone ongoing list. I mean, there's so many in there.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:The ones that you share in your film are, like perfectly placed. I don't know if you created those for that, like that point in time, or if they you wrote them being inspired, but I mean, you're really talented at your haikus like they're super good. You should, you should make publish a book I'm working on it in fact, part of the event.
Speaker 1:I have a haiku booth and I have all the haikus not all of them, but a lot of the haikus I've written, like laid out. But I also have a little box where anybody who wants to submit their own can do that. And my idea here was well, because I'm in bend, I'd like to make it local and kind of celebrate. You know my community, so I would take a few of those local submissions and put it in my haiku book. So it's kind of nice. You know my community, so I would take a few of those local submissions and put it in my haiku book. So it's kind of nice, just your haiku, my haiku. But I am working on my haiku book and I do love haikus for the fact that they're so short and yet so layered.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, 5-7-5.
Speaker 1:And I honor it every time, I'm like, because long poetry is beautiful too, but there's just a different level of thought and the ability to keep your audience as you're progressing through a journey and I'm just like, or a haiku.
Speaker 3:Yes, I would agree. I mean I get a lot more out of haikus than I do other, like multi. What would you call it, stanzas? You know that's just me. But yeah, I mean going back to you, know your, your, your outlets, your creative outlets. I mean, like, talk about that Like as a kid you were. Was this a way that you processed with emotion? Was this more of a like product of curiosity and combination, combination of both? What are your thoughts?
Speaker 1:the first one, I think you hit it um, processing emotion, and it's funny because you're actively making me thinking about it now and I'm just realizing every all my creative um explorations have been something I can't always articulate emotionally, and so I play piano and it captures my feeling, but I don't always have the words to express what I'm feeling. Haikus, haikus. At some point I've learned the words. So, haikus, allow me to use figurative language to capture those same feelings. And, yeah, a lot of it is me internally processing what I'm thinking or internally processing what somebody else is saying and thinking Like, for example.
Speaker 1:This conversation is a goldmine for me because there are so many things that we've talked about and that you've shared about yourself that can be in a haiku for me, and I'm probably going to go home and write a bunch of them. That's usually how I get the material. I don't think haikus are something, and I think much of the world is like this If you listen well enough, you don't really have to create as much as you think you do. It's just it kind of exists, you know, in conversations and such.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's well said, I agree. I also think you know you're an artist and art is like a it's a, it's an expression of emotion, you know, and and a lot of those things that are felt with a good. You know a haiku that hits. Well, what's it hitting on? It's like hitting on something that's like innately hardwired into you, that like it just touched on that enough for you to realize like there's some truth to this yeah you know, it's cool yeah, it's really cool I love it yeah, you should.
Speaker 3:You're good at them, I mean thank you, yeah, it's it's, um yeah, the the ones in your film are are insane, um rad. I'm glad. I'm glad we got to talk. I didn't want to, I didn't want to blow over your artistic outlet, because I there that there's such a massive component of that to your overall story and it's really cool and it makes you a really good storyteller, because you're trying to relate this emotional experience that people are having or you're having with them. It's cool when you're in tune with that. I think it gives your work a different layer of texture.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. I think it's literally just a matter of listening. Yeah, that's all it came down to for me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, have you always been a good listener.
Speaker 1:I don't want to use the word always, but I do think that's been my strength for the most part, I think I've matured with it. Maybe that's a better way to say it, it's something that's been there, but I've matured with how to listen better.
Speaker 3:That's cool, bola. So, ktvz, you decided to move to Bend and tell me about your first day at work here. What was that like? Okay?
Speaker 1:My first day at work was it was challenging. This goes back to the ignorance statement I made earlier.
Speaker 3:So I'm coming into a field and I'm just like a, a fun loving, like hi, and up to this point, not to interrupt you, but they just that you went through an interview process. They kind of knew what your skill sets were and what they weren't and they were.
Speaker 1:They were like yeah, come on something said out about me. Yeah, she's like the girl with no experience, all right yeah, I think just goes to show yeah so I was like well, this is meant to be so.
Speaker 1:I was really excited and I and I think I had the misconception of coming into this industry knowing that I didn't have the background. There's going to be like, this formula, this very formulaic process to like make you a great reporter and you're just going to thrive, succeed, no competition, no challenge. You know it's just very idealistic and that's with any job Like. There's always this idealism and then the reality of like what you're coming into and I think I struggled on multiple fronts socially, definitely coming in without the same backgrounds as a lot of my peers. Naturally, I think there is. It creates a culture, it can create a culture in a business amongst your peers, and it's not always a favorable one.
Speaker 2:For sure.
Speaker 1:I think, not having community and just coming into a place without giving myself time to establish that I drove here from Long Beach the day before I started working. I just drove straight. I was so excited.
Speaker 3:Had you been here to interview or was it a virtual interview?
Speaker 1:Everything was virtual.
Speaker 3:I took the job.
Speaker 1:I said I was super happy and I think that I made such a great choice, but I also just, you know, just acted on it. So I came down and I realized quickly everything I wasn't good at. I think that was a tough wake up call. I realized I knew what my strengths were, but I also saw the list of things I just wasn't good at or I didn't understand yet. And I don't want to say I wasn't good at in the sense that I wasn't capable, but in my mind at that time I wasn't good at it. I thought I wasn't good at it. It came out with practice, but there was just a lot of pressure with the deadlines and all these things I didn't anticipate. So I was like, can I do this?
Speaker 3:What were some of the things you felt you weren't good at?
Speaker 1:Deadlines. Well, one Putting a story together, and the way I like to do stories is very, it's warm, it's like let me get to know you. And as a reporter, depending on the nature of your story, you don't have time. No-transcript people in their best light, and that can be a hard thing to given the timeframe. Most news stories are a minute and 30 seconds, maybe tops three, and that's considered super long and it's a no-no usually. So, man, how can I tell this person's complexity in one minute and 30 seconds? Well, you can't, you can't, yeah.
Speaker 3:That was impossible.
Speaker 1:That shook me.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I was like, okay, and it's hard, because internally you want to do better, externally they want their story told the way they intended it, and so it's just you have to find that middle ground.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's tough.
Speaker 1:It's tough because it's like you want to appease the person that you're working with and you also want to do your best life, but you also have to follow guidelines, rules and regulations. Another pressure, apa style. I just wasn't used to it.
Speaker 3:And what is APA? It's a journalistic form of writing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's very different. I'm much a free writer, free flower, but I'm a creative writer.
Speaker 3:So it's just the world of structured writing. Yeah, I like more of your style too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so I'm definitely a storyteller, but I wasn't. I wasn't. It took me a while. I remember our editor. I would literally be up for four hours writing an article. He's like I need to go to bed, are you done so I can edit it. And I felt for him because I understand like there's a flow here, but it was just it took me a while because I'm like I need to get in every detail, like you don't want to miss the detail and I need to put in the right formula, and these are things people do in less than an hour. So I think it was just catching, like getting up to speed with the expectations and then which are high to begin with.
Speaker 1:Which are very high, which are very high, you put massive expectations on yourself, yeah. And then trying to be an honest, fair rider, and then still learning how to use your camera and learning how to get the good lighting and learning how to use your audio. And oh no, there's a problem, there's a glitch. You have to rerecord.
Speaker 3:Are you out on location by yourself?
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, Everything we do on our own, which is like the beautiful part of this is you learn to do so much so quickly.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And it's just one of those experiences that it's hard. It is hard. I will never undermine how difficult it can be to be a multimedia journalist, not just a news reporter a multimedia journalist You're the editor, you're the driver, you're the person on TV, you're the camera person, you're the writer, you know just all these things, but it's a great skill. Like this is what I wanted, though. To build my own platform. I needed to learn all these things absolutely, but you learn it quickly.
Speaker 1:I remember, like I think the first week they're like okay, it's time for you to get on tv. I'm like huh, what? What about the coaching and the practice? Yeah, there's no, there's none of that. And you learn as you, as you grow, you learn as you go, and I think the humbling point for me was realizing everyone's going to see my process all 70,000 viewers, and that was hard because I'm an internal person. So I was just like wow, I want to do this, I want to get good at this, and then I want to get great at this, but I want the great part to be televised when I'm there, and I like that because I think it also made me just more of a reasonable person. I can identify struggle in other people and understand that journey.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I had a. I found what you said really interesting about that dichotomy of people wanting to share their whole story and you only having so much time to share it, and that has become more and more. It's obvious that that's a challenge, because there's other ways that people are telling their story now that aren't constrained to that time limit, like podcasting and independent media platforms and. Youtube and all the things right. So yeah, I mean, there is kind of this component of that sort of storytelling that's becoming less interesting to me.
Speaker 3:I guess as a way of saying it's an incomplete picture and everybody knows it and also like you don't really get to know, like it's hard to establish trust in that amount of time. And now more than ever, especially with media, whatever your media is like I think for me trust is such a massive component that everything that you put out there has to be built upon yeah, you know yeah just to be true.
Speaker 3:Whether or not people agree with you is fine, but at least so that you're authentically yourself and reflecting that or telling your story in its entirety? Yeah, you, because components that, can you know, be either, for whatever reason, withheld or not included, can have a massive outcome on how that story can affect people or not, yeah. Yeah, it's important and I you know I don't know what the hell I'm talking about.
Speaker 1:No, you do. I think you get the bigger picture. I am not a journalist.
Speaker 3:I don't think you have to be that well you know it goes back to what is a journalist right? Like you know, I mean I'm a storyteller.
Speaker 1:That's what I like to say.
Speaker 3:I do I think you are as well, and yet that's a yeah, there's, there's there's a shift in kind of this profession associated with degree of study. You know, I think that it's, it's really important to like educate yourself, either you know, studying traditionally, or self-educating yourself on you know the, the fundamentals, I guess.
Speaker 1:But really you know.
Speaker 3:I think a lot is intent driven. You know the, the fundamentals, I guess, but really you know, I think a lot is intent driven, you know I absolutely think so.
Speaker 1:I mean, and I'm just, I'm thinking the spectrum of my own friends. But some of the most ambitious people I know are trailblazers because they were just, they had the tenacity to learn it by themselves, and usually when you do that, your scope of knowledge is much broader than what you learn, like on a on a standardized test or in school it's like. It's very formulaic and often old and outdated yeah but there's all those new ways, especially with technology and all these things.
Speaker 1:It's like oh no, you need to see what's happening today, what came out yesterday, you know so I I see that too, though, and I look at my industry and a lot of people who study certain majors.
Speaker 1:I'm like is your major, and I think mine is very much so not to harp on sociology, but it's so applicable to so many avenues of life that there's always value you can cultivate yeah um, and I yeah, just stuff like that is like you can always use it and build and and if you're a curious person and you, you strive, you know, to learn people, it's just it all works out well, yeah, I mean you're, you're, I think you're developing a skill set too.
Speaker 3:That's good you're going to be able to leverage in the future, because I'm I'm of the opinion that, as things progress rapidly, technologically, like moving forward, like I think we're on the verge of some pretty interesting change in sectors of industry, if you will, I guess, being broad. But I think moving forward, business is going to have to really leverage that technology, or really leverage the humanity that that technology can't improve upon. You know. So that can be, you know the trades is, you know an area of kind of industry that I'm curious to see how the technology affects, because you can you know, it seems like AI specifically is starting to like really influence these knowledge based areas of industry.
Speaker 3:Whereas you know the things that are less knowledge and more skill right or production, I guess, but then also like emotional humanity, I mean like in engaging storytelling you know, connecting with people drawing stuff out, like. I think that's going to be a skill set that is going to be more and more applicable in unique ways as time goes on.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Because less people are going to be doing that. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:I mean. So the train of thought that just kind of I pivoted in right now was AI in our industry, for example journalism, and how that can easily take over.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean even that human element. Ai is always evolving and I just I've seen people use that to create news reports. That I actually thought were people made and I'm like, oh, yeah. Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:So you took, you, put me in touch with Lindsay Harris, uh, your co-anchor at KTVZ.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And she had audio B roll here that I thought would be fun to listen to, and and and she talks a little bit about the role you played in helping her feel welcome when she showed up kind of in a unique way, having never been in as a, having never been as a television journalist as well. Is that what you call?
Speaker 2:Yeah, a multimedia journalist.
Speaker 3:Is that what you said?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:How would you?
Speaker 3:describe that role where you're doing it all.
Speaker 1:She's a news anchor. News anchor, that's how she was hired. I was hired as a multimedia journalist, so before I became a news anchor, I was doing all of that. Well, we skipped over that.
Speaker 3:Then tell me how you went from that to News Anchor, because I didn't realize those were different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you get hired as an MMJ, and that's what I was doing for a good year a year and a half and then there was an open position and I was offered like hey, you want to be the weekend news anchor and I'm like, oh my, I don't know about me and being the face of.
Speaker 1:You know it's different when you're a reporter. You're there for like a few seconds and you're like thrown back to the anchor Leanne Anderson, take it. You know it's like it's just a moment, but as an anchor, you are the face you need to. You need to be able to differentiate your stories and consistently read through the course of an hour engaging an audience. So I didn't feel up to it, but I knew I wasn't going to say no, because it's just not what I do. So I took on the role of being a weekend news anchor and I struggled. And when I say that, it's like, you know your constant supportive viewers that are like, well, it's all right, you'll get better. You know it's so cute and I'm like I'm in the right community because you put me in a bigger city, I mean everybody's so nice here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and there's definitely there's still that lack of understanding for those who don't understand how the industry works and how this station particularly works.
Speaker 1:But but for the most part I was like this is a little challenging, but I did get a lot of support. But the good thing about the weekend is that a little less pressure. It's not a big morning news position that I took on later on. It's not an evening day week position, so less people do typically watch news on the weekends and it's just not the same urgency, pressure and structure as a weekday schedule, because you're like the only one in there with, like maybe an editor or one reporter and there's just not much that happens. And so sometimes there is those breaking news moments where you're like, oh, but yeah, I took that on and I grew, I was getting better and better.
Speaker 1:At first and this is a funny story I think the first week I was a weekend news anchor I was so nervous that I couldn't stop pushing the pedal for the prompter and I just remember the screen just like jerkily moving and it was just me, my foot just freaking out. It's like a spasm out of nerves and I'm like am I going to be able to talk clearly and just be able to be the anchor that the station needs for the audience to receive the news. Are they going to be wondering, is she okay? And I just had to practice. Over the weekend I met someone named Dina Cam who is a voice coach, and she taught me how to use my diaphragm better speak with my diaphragm. She taught me how. You know Dina. Actually she's on this show. I was like Dina, I need to improve. I'm not too proud to let you know that I need to improve.
Speaker 3:She's amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah and I'm like well, you can only second public so long or you can find some way to improve. So she helped me with that and I was getting better slowly but surely, and then eventually I took on the morning news anchor position and, mind you, I'm probably being hard on myself, of course you are?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that goes without saying.
Speaker 1:But I get it In my head. This is what was happening.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean yeah, I mean, they didn't let you go, so you were doing good, yeah, I got more emails that were positive than not and I'm like I don't know what they're talking about, but I'm going to keep trying and that were positive than not, and I'm like I don't know what they're talking about, but I'm going to keep trying. And then I eventually did the morning news and that was a big position, but and it was also a growing moment I mean, it definitely wasn't easy at first, but I got into the rhythm of it. And then you have to find the rhythm with your co-anchor too, because that's a different personality, different person, different read rate, and so you're trying to navigate how to read together and have that same energy, because one person can't be like this and the other person reads the news like this.
Speaker 1:But, you have to establish that synergy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's like a dance.
Speaker 1:And so, and I loved, and I will go and going back to Lindsay, we did that very well. And I do miss her, as she's my friend, but I do miss working with her as my co-anchor and helping her, because I knew one thing that that I, I look at what I, what I would have wanted in in the way that I would have wanted it, and I tried to replicate that for somebody else who has that need.
Speaker 1:And so I saw her and she was new and I'm like this is what we're going to do, and we're going to do it together.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it was great and you became I bet you anything that process like refined your skill set, because when you're teaching someone right like it's another pass on the process.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and they're looking up to you to some capacity too, so it's just like I can't not do, like I can't, I'm going gonna keep trying, I'm gonna keep doing what I can.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for those of like people listening, myself included, briefly kind of describe what is the job description of a, of like a morning news anchor. I mean, are you you're? You're reading a teleprompter? Yeah are you writing the stories sometimes? Okay?
Speaker 1:so, because as an mmj, you also learn how to produce. I didn't even talk about that, but a producer is the person that puts the shows together in order, the way it's going to be read and presented on TV with the video.
Speaker 1:You cut the video, you put it in with that 30-second story, then it goes to the next story. So a producer arranges all of that. So I also produced, so as a morning anchor. I was still a reporter, but my stories weren't every day like they used to be. They were about twice a week.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 1:And so that gave me a little more flexibility but also made me want to expand on the stories. I'm like I have more time now, so it was kind of fun for that. And then I also would come in early to produce when we didn't have a producer. And we didn't always have a producer, and that's part of the industry. It's changing parts all the time, See. That's why they want you to know everything.
Speaker 1:It's like hey, we don't have a producer. You're going to produce this week and so I would. My shift was, I believe, like 2.30 am to 11.30 am, so, as a producer, I would wake up at midnight or even earlier to just make sure I have a show that I'm going to anchor. And so it was literally finding the stories. What's the breaking news today? What's going on? Is this an event that we can repeat because it hasn't happened yet? I mean, we want to make sure that you know that event, whatever it is, gets that exposure. So I would look for events that were meaningful. I would look for breaking news were meaningful. I would, um, look for breaking news, anything fire related. Make sure that's all updated, because in the morning has it been more contained, is it less contained, all these things?
Speaker 3:and so, yeah, I would wake up early and produce and then I would practice anchoring the show and then I would anchor the show covid was 2020, right, yeah, um, obviously, yeah, some yeah some point during that year transition to you know, going from a multimedia journalist to a weekend to a morning anchor in less than four years is it's badass man, it's really cool, I mean it's funny.
Speaker 1:I mean, on the outside I think it always looks like, wow, what a great transition. But I know all the bumps. Oh yeah, of course you do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, of course you do yeah, yeah, but it's still. I mean it's, it's um, yeah, it's, it's insane.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Your story might be one of my favorite that I've learned yet. Just like honestly and and what you're doing, and I think what I have a a hunch of what you're up to.
Speaker 1:But Well, you can see why confidence became my theme now. I love the way you engage.
Speaker 3:A lot of people have ideas, but then to act on them and to be so disciplined and driven and you know the grit that it takes to come with you know to be able to receive the criticism and the feedback and you know all that comes with this journey you've been on is rad.
Speaker 3:It's super rad, thank you. Before we get too much further, though, let me play this soundbite of Lindsay Harris sharing her first thoughts of, or her first days working at KTVZ and the role you played, and then she shares some thoughts on kind of your storytelling skills and then your documentary, because I think she's seen bits and pieces of it.
Speaker 5:I had been thrust into this position for the first time in my life as a news anchor. I had kind of come in and tried it out for our director and she said yes, which I didn't think she would. And then, you know, the very next week I was here at KTVZ going through training and Bola was to be my co anchor for the sunrise show, and so I came in, I met her. Um, she's lovely, she's warm and extremely professional, and that was the first thing I thought was like okay, she has all the answers, she knows how this is going to run. So I'm going to cling on to dear life to this woman. And sure enough, I was correct. And you know, here it was.
Speaker 5:It's kind of sink or swim, you get kind of thrown in and she basically showed me the ropes all day with kindness and patience and we had just an immediate good rapport and every single morning was just really fun and really light. And the more we got to know each other, the more we were laughing behind the scenes during commercial breaks and she really, you know, she took extra time out of her day always to help me. If I had a question about anything, she would, you know, pull her chair up next to my desk and sit there until you know I understood what she was saying or made sure I didn't need help with anything else, and she was just a wealth of knowledge and patience. Bo is the type of person where everything is thoughtful. She'll never say anything that she hasn't thought through first, and that is something I personally strive for, and it's just always incredibly refreshing to be in her presence because she's just truly authentically herself, and our time was short together at KTVZ, but it was definitely meaningful.
Speaker 5:I think you know, ultimately, bola is a storyteller. She's incredibly observant and she absorbs all the information around her, and I think it's just kind of an innate ability of hers and I'm really happy that she's using that and has figured out that she has a passion for it, because it's just truly who she is. I find it really intriguing. Everybody had something different to say, which surprised me, and the level of vulnerability people were willing to give on a sensitive topic was fascinating and kind of. At first, when she presented it to me, I was like, oh, confidence, okay, I mean sure. And then I started watching it and I was like, oh, it kind of gave you the sense of belonging and not being alone in your insecurities. Hi, my name is Lindsay Harris. I'm an evening anchor at KTVZ and a proud friend of Bola. I know this documentary is going to be amazing and she deserves all the recognition.
Speaker 1:That was man. I have a lot of emotions. I think I'm thinking. I think I'm thinking two things here. One I'm glad she felt exactly what I had meant for her to feel with me, around her, and I really appreciate that she recognized that and values that. Yeah, I would say those two things.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's rad, good job Straight up. I mean, especially hearing you say you know, it was just cool the way that I learned that and that other people will learn that story, you know. And yeah, I mean it's authentic, it's um, it's authentic living, and you're you, from what I have learned, you're pretty good at that. So I'm excited to see what you are up to. I mean, I'm I'm excited to learn um and hear about the impact that, uh, this documentary has had on the people that you interviewed.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know, I think that that's going to be maybe a follow-up conversation that we can have. I'm curious and excited to see you know how I can only imagine you got a lot of really interesting ideas that you're working on and developing and you know to the feel free to share to the level of your comfort. I don't know what your plan is. Are you, are you planning on going back to KTVZ? Are you what? What cause you stepped away?
Speaker 3:I saw a thing, online that um your last, um, not episode, but my last um my wow.
Speaker 1:What do you call that? I know what do I do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, final, uh, yeah, episode, I guess. Yeah, we'll stick to that.
Speaker 1:But newscast there we go.
Speaker 2:I was like what is the word I.
Speaker 1:My contract ended there and I was given the opportunity to opportunity to extend, but for two reasons I didn't. I learned everything I was going to learn from there. Yeah, I learned everything I was going to learn from there, yeah, and I felt like it got to a point where it was getting in the way of what I wanted to do, and what I mean by that is I want. Now I want to use everything you guys have taught me and everything that has just been ground into me and connect with people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've learned all the things to do to build this great story and aesthetics and and be a better presenter and speaker and network. And now I want to. I want to tell stories, I want to tell stories the way I want to tell stories and and I just yeah, I just wanted to put my heart 100 percent into that. I think it's time and I'm doing that right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and, and you ultimately want to have your own platform yeah, so Confidence Film is a product of a business that I'm wanting to build, and first I'm doing these events and then, once that's settled and which is tomorrow, the first one is tomorrow and then Saturday, the 28th of this month. But now I'm going to focus full-fledged in the business I'm building and create more products from that, and I have many ideas with it. It's still a baby in the making, it's cooking, but I do know that I like the idea of human interest stories and I want to continually reach people at a level that we don't get to do on a normal day-to-day basis. That's actually, I would just say that's the foundation.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, I'm excited to watch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:I think about, like tomorrow and as your film comes out and more people watch it, what are you hoping people walk away with?
Speaker 1:I want to foster a greater sense of empathy within people. I want people to look at other people and not be so quick to judge or criticize who they are based on what they think they know about them. I want them to give space for other people's humanity and I think when you do that, you also have to confront yourself and give yourself grace. You can't give grace to others if you can't give it to yourself very well, and I think these are big ideas, but it pulls at so many things to think about and I want that type of authenticity between people, so that way, when somebody has a difference, whether it's political, whether it's religious, whether it's how they dress, how they talk, you know you're finding deeper things about them than what comes off.
Speaker 3:Shared humanity. Yeah, love it. Thanks for doing what you're doing.
Speaker 1:This was a fun one and thank you for helping me like promote it and share it with the world, because yeah, sorry that the timing of this isn't perfect for your it actually is release well I mean because I don't know when I'm gonna get around to getting this up.
Speaker 1:That's the only problem I think it'll work either way yeah I I truly do, because I my first concern. I don't, I mean I think it's an either way. Yeah, I truly do, because my first concern I don't know. I mean I think it's an honest concern, but it's just will people come?
Speaker 2:Sure Will they know about it.
Speaker 1:Sure, I have like 10 spots left, yeah.
Speaker 2:That's amazing, people are coming yeah.
Speaker 3:So at this point, this is just sharing why I'm doing it and hopefully that'll instill other and and it's only gonna you know more to come you know, like this is just the beginning, yeah yeah, I'm excited yeah, well, thanks for hanging yeah, this is fun.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me yeah, um till next time all right, until next time.
Speaker 2:All right, until next time I'll join him in a song. I'm going to join the family circle at the throne.
Speaker 3:Hey, thanks for listening to Ben Magazine's the Circling Podcast. Make sure to visit benmagazinecom and learn about all the outdoor adventures in our area, as well as upcoming featured community events. Local artist profiles our dining guide and more. Local artist profiles our dining guide and more. Remember, enter promo code podcast at checkout for your $5 annual subscription. Our theme song was written by Carl Perkins and performed by Aaron Colbaker and Aaron Zerflu of the Aarons. We love mail, so please send us comments, questions or art to thecirclingpodcast at benmagazinecom. Support the Circling Podcast by becoming a member on Patreon at patreoncom. Forward slash thecirclingpodcast and learn how your financial contribution will help support local nonprofits while also supporting local podcasting. While also supporting local podcasting, learn more about Bola and find out where you can watch her film Confidence at bolafilmscom. Lastly, if you know someone who you think would enjoy today's episode, please share it with them today. Hey, thanks for your time. Central Oregon, get outside. We'll see you out there. And remember the health of our community relies on us.
