Episode 3 - Hitting “Reset” with Amaris Garcia
By Jessica Garrison
Over the past three seasons, the F.E.E.L podcast has highlighted many ideals, and one of them is that you can always learn from hearing someone else’s journey, no matter how different they may seem from you. The guest featured on this week’s episode, Amaris Garcia, shares plenty of stories to help all of us grow as people. She speaks in depth about her experience with the COVID-19 pandemic and how she was able to take something positive from the experience. Her outlook on self care was transformed, which in turn, positively affected her life. It took a complete shift in the world for her to realize that if she didn’t slow down, she was going to completely burn herself out, and this realization helped to shape her into the person she is today.
The way she did this involved making subtle changes in her day to day life, rather than everything all at once. She also says that setting strong work boundaries changed her for the better. Amaris leaves her work at work instead of bringing it home with her, and it’s important to make up for the nights you do have to stay and work late. Amaris suggests the app Habit to others who may be struggling to keep an eye on their goals. I had never heard of this app before, but it definitely looks enticing: it’s free on the app store and offers a way for its users to focus on completing their goals throughout the day. I’m sure it doesn’t work for everyone, but if it’s free, I’d say it’s worth a shot.
When it comes to taking care of her emotional health just as much as her physical health, Amaris realized how much she admired the people who were taking the time to invest in themselves, and she wanted to achieve this as well. She says that she takes more time to pause and reflect during the day and acknowledges what her body needs rather than keeping the “go, go, go” mentality.
On the podcast, we believe in supporting others through their journeys to self discovery and self care. Amaris gives a warm response to the question of how she supports other women in taking care of themselves. It’s important for her to share the message to others, especially women who have been told how they need to act in order to be happy in life. As women, we’ve been taught to tear each other down, when we should be working together to achieve our goals. I agree with Amaris that we need to stop judging one another and take care of each other, reminding those around us when they need to take a rest.
Another thing that Amaris spoke about that I enjoyed was traveling. She’s been to over a dozen countries, and she encourages others to explore the world as well, but it doesn’t have to be to the same extent as her. She acknowledges that not everyone may have the opportunity to branch out incredibly far, but even going someplace you’ve never been before can help open your mind.. She also says that getting out of her hometown helped her find herself as a person; it was a way for her to be able to do what she wanted to do, rather than what was expected of her. Everyone deserves the opportunity to be able to live the life they want, instead of continuing to do what others’ want.
One last story that I loved from this episode was when Amaris and Melissa talk about relationships and how some of them need to end for the better of both parties. Not every relationship is meant to last forever, which is an idea that I continue to struggle with. When I lose someone in my life, I look at it as a sad thing because something must’ve gone wrong for this to happen. But in reality, some relationships are meant to be short, and that’s okay, too.
Amaris gives a lot of credit to her parents for becoming the incredible woman she is today. She describes them as amazing leaders throughout her life who continue to bring her back to her values and make sure the decisions she makes align with who she wants to be. Fun fact: one of my favorite episodes from the podcast actually comes from Amaris’s mother, Christy Martinez Garcia, who was the featured guest for the 14th episode of F.E.E.L. These women are a powerful reminder of the quote: “Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.”