w/ my creative chimera sister Elan šÆš®š neuroscientist turned designer + asking: overcoming imposter syndrome? (006)
Co-Host:Ā ElanĀ @lano.illoĀ | Host:Ā Xinyi XanĀ @xinyixan
Hey! You're listening to episode 6 of Don't Be Strangers, a podcast and social experiment for learning to create meaningful connections together via collaborative conversations! I'm your host XinYi and in this episode, we're chatting with my creative chimera sister Elan who describes herself as a life enthusiast and lover of colors. We had rainchecked the recording of this episode at least 2 times due to travel and moving schedules, so I'm so grateful we finally made it happen.
I was personally really ecstatic about this conversation because I met Elan through instagram after a mutual friend of ours, Amy, featured her. Her art, poster design skills, intuition for pop color palettes, and illustration skills are to be envied. When I reached out to ask for an art collaboration, I had no idea it would lead to recording this podcast episode together. So albeit this isn't the first time we've communicated, it was definitely the first time I spoke to her in real time and over video. And we talked a lot.. like for almost 3 hours straight. So yeah, I have a lot of editing ahead of me. Highlights of our upcoming chat includes (1) how she pivoted from studying neuroscience to a career in design, fresh out of school (2) my favorite sensory experiences that make life colorful such as scents, visuals, textures, etc. (3) if Elan was a secondary character, who would she pick to be the protagonist? (4) a potential method for overcoming imposter syndrome and (5) what quarantine revealed about her friendships and long distance relationship.
Timestamps
01:52 - I just think of myself as a life enthusiast.
02:16 - I like to sample from diverse experiences, whether that be different people, different culturesā¦
02:59 - Claire of episode 004: w/ Berlin-based photographer Claire P.** š§”šøšæ from meeting on YouTube to hanging in NYC, Dallas, and Dublin + asking: can I see myself as an engineer for the rest of my life?
03:19 - Elan guesses my profession
05:28 - Q Xinyi to Elan: How did you go from neuroscience to design?
06:14 - When you spend time in college for 4 years, your worth feels how good your grades are.
06:44 - So I think in a sense, art and design kind of saved me.
08:35 -
https://theinturnship.com
09:54 - I hate the phrase āself-taughtā mainly because I feel like the internet is such a rich resource..
10:33 - If youāre even remotely interested in any topic, and you have a working wifi connection and the privilege to spend time working on somethingā¦ you could probably do it.
10:39 - QĀ Elan to Xinyi: What are some of your favorite sensory experiences that make colorful for you? Like favorite scents, textures, sounds, visuals, etc.?
14:33 - I love knowing what sensory stimulations a person really enjoys, cause I feel like itās really descriptive of who someone is as a person.
14:55 - Q Xinyi to Elan: If you were the secondary character, who would be the protagonist?
16:39 - Q Elan to Xinyi: If there is one thing you could know for certain about your future, what would it be?
19:47 - It would be amazing to know that if thereās a time and place where something you love and value and would love to delve into is something that the world would actually embrace for a sustainable amount of time.
20:42 - Q Xinyi to Elan: What did quarantine reveal about your friendships and friend groups?
21:25 - Quarantine solidified that I could totally be a words of affirmation person through and through.
24:04 - I just found that physical separation did not weaken my relationship with people
24:16 - I learned to value just looking forward to hearing someoneās voiceā¦
24:32 - Another love language of mine is sending memes to each otherā¦ like thatās a real love language. I love receiving things that my friends know will make me laugh and doing the same thing back.
24:45 - I feel like humor just unlocks a lot of different dimensions of a person.
26:02 - When I first got my phone andā¦ the novelty of just having a device that you can use to instantly connect with anyone, just makes you think that youāre supposed to be doing that all the time.
27:18 - Q Elan to Xinyi: What are the biggest inspo for your art?
28:14 - What is a Creative Chimera?
29:37 - Abhas ( https://www.instagram.com/abhasmisraraj/ )
29:44 - Creative Chimeraās Club > https://www.instagram.com/creativechimeras.club/
30:30 - I think a lot of people have the tendency to be likeā¦ omg, Iām such an outlierā¦
32:21 - Q Elan to Xinyi: With the way you chase novelty have you, have you ever wondered to yourself where youāll be in a few years?
32:52 - Well, I still feel like an imposter but I have a lot more confidence in Googling thingsā¦
32:58 - I have confidence in my ability to figure it out!
33:35 - The core meaning of intelligence or skill
33:50 - I donāt think it means having the literal ability to execute something from the mind, then and there. Itās more like, when you have an end result in mind, how are you able to acquire the resources needed to help you get to that end product?
34:36 - You knowing it and being able to do it without consulting the internet is basically a product of experience. You have to start somewhere.
35:12 - Q Xinyi to Elan: How do you define a stranger and at what point do they go from being one to not being one?
38:49 - Q Elan to Xinyi: Does acquaintance sit closer to the side of a stranger or a friend?
41:20 - If the cards fall correctly, you would care to get to know this person better.
42:13 - I define it more of a mental state because technically, when you ask someone, āWhat is that person to you?ā You have a choice toā¦ bestow some title to them.
43:20 - Vignette of Curtis the hobo from a Starbucks in Salt Lake City
47:43 - A lot of the wisest people are just people who observe.
48:10 - Heās honestly probably far happier than people who a lot more material goods than him.
49:30 - I love that you highlighted that weāre given a choice because I feel like this is true not just in regards to our relationships but just everything in lifeā¦ that we have the choice to perceive any situation in any way we want.
50:28 - Stress and anger are the two worst things that you can put your body through and will genuinely shorten your life, but the most powerful agent against negativity, sadness, depression, stress, anger is gratitude. You notice theyāre not saying happiness, right? Everyone thinks that happiness is the opposite of sadnessā¦ but gratitude is a much more dimensionalā¦ state of mind.
51:54 - Q Xinyi to Elan: What are you grateful for?
52:27 - I think thereās a lot of hesitance for many people to make connections with others that they donāt think theyāll ever physically see.
53:13 - Q Elan to Xinyi: What are you grateful for?
53:26 - Kimi ( https://www.instagram.com/_imik/ )
54:26 - Humanity is amazing and people are so coolā thatās why I always try to reach out, thatās why I always try to talk to people because thereās so much to be learned from youā¦ I donāt know what it is yet, but I want to meet youā¦ I want to talk to you. (Yes, you.)
Man, it's conversations like these that makes my heart ache for the existence of teleportation. Like why don't we live closer? But in any case, how would you answer some of the questions that Elan proposed to me? Feel free to shoot a dm or leave a public comment and start a community thread @dontbestrangers on instagram! And don't forget, anyone of any background can apply to come on to chat. Or if you know anyone who appreciates deep conversations or loves making friends, you should totally consider introducing us!
I'll link Elan's art in the show notes, but you can also directly connect with her on instagram via @lano.illo! Or if you want a personal introduction, just reach out, and don't be a stranger! Let's speak again soon.