Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
We are Meredith and Mishelle and together, we are flipping the script on what it means to be an IT girl. Each week we will be discussing topics and questions submitted by YOU, our audience, as we navigate life's challenges together.
Mishelle Kost (00:01)
Hey, fabulous people, I'm Meredith. And I'm Michelle. And together we're here to flip the script on what it truly means to be the It Girl. That's right. Whether you're rocking the runway or embracing the messy bun life, no matter your size, ethnicity, or state of your sweats, you are It. We're diving deep into the realness of life, celebrating the victories, navigating the failures, and sometimes not having a clue while doing it all.
We've got battle scars, heartbreaks, contagious laughs, and an unbreakable bond of love for each other. Join us every week as we unwrap different topics and answer questions brought to us by our amazing audience. That's you. Get ready for a fresh dose of perspective that'll make you think, laugh, and maybe even shed a tear. We're on this journey together, growing, crying, laughing, and fighting for one another, because that's what being an It Girl is all about.
So send us your burning topics and thought provoking questions through our website, itgirllife .com or drop us a line directly at hello at itgirllife .com. Let's make every moment count, embrace the chaos and live our best it girl lives.
Mishelle Kost (01:03)
All right, here we go. Here we go. Inaugural episode one, we're going to take some time and interview each other, get to know each other a little bit more, make sure that our listeners understand who we are. I wouldn't quite say what qualifies us to talk to them, but I do think what qualifies to talk and answer questions. So I think we're going to jump right in and ask ourselves a couple of questions.
The good news, Michelle, is that you and I don't know each other all that well either. We don't, which is interesting because we decided to start a podcast together. Yes, this is going to be fun. But it's like we can all get to know each other together through this journey and this process, and we're taking you along with us. So I think it'll be good. Yes, this is going to be good. So let's go. OK. All right. Who's starting first, you or me? If we're going alphabetically, it's me. If we're going by height, it's you.
I love that there's already an order. Everything has to have a rhyme or reason. Yes, yep. Okay, let's go alphabetical. You start, go for it. Okay. Which means I ask you the question. Yeah, yeah, that's how it works. So, Meredith, who are you? Tell us a little bit about yourself and your story. Okay, so who I am. I am a Filipina American, strong, I would say tiny and assertive lady, but...
My journey and my story is really fun. Professionally, I have been privileged enough to work in the tech industry for about 12 years now. Before that, it was in accounting. My education is really around business strategy and leadership, which is really my main passion. Coaching people in leadership, growing folks, so on and so forth.
Did you always know that, that you had a passion for leadership in people or did you find that through the career path? Yeah, good question. I think I was in some very entry level before I even decided to go back to college, in some entry level positions. And I found that it doesn't matter what position you're in to make a difference and an impact. And that's where leadership kind of sparked something in me because I was...
this person but still felt compelled to be more, do more, have a bigger voice than what I did. And so that's where I fell into leadership, which was really kind of cool and then just absorbed as much information of it as I could. Got it. Yeah. Yeah. My personal story, I am married. It is my leap year anniversary this year. We'll be together for three leap, three leap years, 12 years.
And I have a dog named Bruin who is named after the Boston Bruins, not the UCLA Bruins. Was the leap year marriage on purpose? Yes, 100%. Because you wanted specifically to have anniversary leap years. We wanted to save for four years to go on a big trip every four years. And we're not folks, we don't have any kids, so we don't buy something for the holidays for each other or anniversaries or anything. So yes, intentional leap day.
anniversary, which is fun. So fun. So fun. Yeah. The last portion of that is probably, uh, you have families scattered around mostly East coast, mostly Southern California, West coast. Um, and that's what shaped a lot of who I am today was being a part of a household that was divorced parents. You know, a lot of people go through that. I have 11, 13 nieces and nephews and a great nephew.
That's wild. So yeah, this is who I am and most of my adult life was taking care of my mother, which has really shaped who I've become to overcome adversity and see, be optimistic and see promise and hope in a lot of different things that others might not. So. Yeah. So tell us more about your journey with your mother. Cause you've shared a little bit with me about that, but I know that that's going to be a big piece. Huge. Yeah. And like a through through string throughout.
our podcast. Okay well if anybody knows and has ever dealt with anybody who's a Filipino lady, that's my mom. And she's just the was the bubbliest, brightest personality. And then I would say in early 2006 -2007, she contracted something similar to a cold and was almost instantly quadriplegic.
This happened in the Philippines. And so I was this person starting in this, I was considered an adult, but really had to overnight take on the responsibility of taking care of an adult parent. And so financially, because none of the other siblings were ready to step up. Correct. Yeah. Physical, like emotionally, financially, all of those things I had to navigate and figure it out. Um, and then, you know, my husband was just so kind and we brought her.
here and had just taken care of her until we lost her in 2019. But through her story and her journey, we found a lot of different opportunities and a lot of things that she was capable of doing, even though she was essentially quadriplegic. So, yeah. Yeah. So for how many years were you caring for her? Since 2007 till 2019. Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
That's significant. Yeah, a good chunk of my adulthood. Yeah, which how old were you when you started to how old were you when you ended that Yeah, so let's do math really quickly. I want to say. That's what I'm getting at, Meredith. Can you do the math for me? Don't make me do the math right now. Yes, yeah. It is like 24, 25, 26 time frame. If I'm thinking correctly, I've always been a support system for my family, and this has turned the tide.
of how much support I offered to them. So I would say that's when it took the most amount of effort was those years in my life. Like in your early 20s. to 25. And then we lost her in 2019. Which is such an impactful moment in your life. So impactful, yes. 23 to 25. Yeah. Which actually I didn't really even realize, Meredith, that my crazy life like big moment that really shifted me. Was that time too? Was that same exact time frame. Like that 23 to 27. Dang, yeah. Yeah.
Well, and the funny part about that similarly is I was previously married. And so going through the initial part of my mom getting sick was with my first marriage. OK, so it was you had to take care of your mom and through the process go through a divorce. Yes. And that whole transition. Yes. That was a lot. Yeah. Whoa. OK. Yeah. And then met my new husband. And then we lost her actually to breast cancer in 2019 and not.
through her original ailment. Yeah, and so 2019, I'm gonna say everybody should know I'm really proud, I'm 40 today, so we're gonna do the math and take that away, and I was about 37, 36, 37. She held on, she was like, in terminal care for about seven weeks before we lost her. So the last couple of years were the hardest physically and the hardest emotionally and spiritually.
to transition because we knew. We knew it was getting closer to time. And so just really wanna resonate with the audience of whomever's listening of just, you always aren't ever alone in an experience. And so I'm so grateful and so thankful to share her story, to share my story in regards to that. And how you worked through your own life transition through the process of growing.
yourself but also caring for someone in a very big way. Yes, yeah. Because that's life changing in itself. It has been the most rewarding, fun journey that I could ever tell anybody. I couldn't say bad things. In the moment there were just so many good so many experiences and lessons learned. But just looking back it was just the most - I'm honored to have had the opportunity to do that.
Yeah, and have those special moments with her. Exactly. Incredible. Yeah. Okay, tell the listeners though a little bit more about your career history because I feel like you also have a very interesting career. I do downplay that quite a bit. Yeah. But it's always interesting to know and don't leave out the part about when you had to be in a full suit. All the time. From head to toe. Yes. Yeah. You know what I'm talking about. And who I am. Yeah. And who I am today.
Okay, so I guess the fun part about that is I'm a tomboy through and through, right? Ball caps, ripped jeans, hoodies, that's who I am. And in my career through accounting and through IT, I've been fortunate to work for healthcare, for hospitality, for software development, casino, and large retailer. And it's funny because the instances where you would think I would have to dress more professionally, retail and...
software development were the ones where I could come in pajamas if I wanted to and nobody would say a thing. But accounting and in the casino environment and the healthcare environment, it was so strict and rigid of what you had to wear. So I did have to wear a lot of pantsuits and I did have to wear a lot of business attire. But I'm most comfortable in jeans and a ball cap. I do...
I'm fortunate enough and privileged enough to sit at a director, so almost closer to an executive level, depending on what organization you're in, an executive level. Busted my butt though. So it is hard earned to be able to sit in the platforms that I've been able to, and just really lucky and networked, and I hope people would say, was just kind and followed up and followed through with previous folks, and that's been what has opened the doors for me in several different.
career paths. How did you go from accounting to IT? Yeah. Is that even similar? I feel like that's a big jump. I mean, it's similar in the fashion of what resonates with me, which is like rules, like hard set rules and regulations. Rules and regulations. Got it. Yeah. If you want to please me, you just give me a over here like, no rules. No rules. Running from the rules. Break all the rules. Yeah. If you're like, hey, let's build something. You're like, I got this. And I'm like, I have to read the 82 page manual.
So that's the Oh yeah, no, I'm ready to just start. I'm like, just open up the bag of tools and give it to me. No, that doesn't sound like fun. That sounds like anxiety. I'm sweating already thinking about you doing that. So we're not gonna build furniture together, Michelle. Okay, good to know, good to know. So from accounting to IT, it has less. Maybe I'm not the best person to answer that. For me specifically.
I always want to learn about what I'm doing that impacts everybody else. And so I learned so much of all the different softwares and what it was capable of doing while I was doing accounting. So I was an accounts payable clerk. I did accounts receivable. I did payroll. I did analysis, budget and analysis in accounting. Okay. And through that process, you were learning about the systems that you were using and you just wanted to know even more. Yeah. I wanted to learn, but I'm the but why person.
Like, hey, but why? And they're like, well, you do this and this, but why? And I feel like I need that. I need the information. I need to understand. And at that time, I worked for a really large health care organization, and they were acquiring more and more hospitals. And so the hospital eliminated my department, and I was recruited to move over to IT. OK. So it was just a really, like, they so it almost happened through HappenChance. Yes.
It was because they saw your passion for it. Through your but -why question. I enjoy getting to know people, and so I go through all the different departments, talk with people, help them, and then someone was like, you know how to do a thing, maybe you can learn how to do a thing over here. And that started the journey. But the fun...
knee part of it is I don't know if that if I just fell into it and I'm good at it maybe mediocre and I just have been fortunate with all these other folks in there but I I feel a spark when I get to be with teams and make process better and make systems better and make people if you've ever had if you've ever worked and said this is like we're working harder than we should.
then that's where I shine. I'm like, yeah, we are, let's fix this. Make it easier. Yeah. And so I don't know that that sums up what IT is in a box, but that's what I, the parts of IT that I love the most. So that's what drew you to it in the first place, is through that lens. Yeah. Okay. Got it. And the most interesting journey is I'm stepping out on my own and just trying to, uh,
trying to fulfill a passion, hitting 40 and turning this chapter to say, who do I really wanna be here? I was this person because I had to be a caretaker, a caregiver, a breadwinner for so long to support my mom and all those things. And then you fell into IT just from that happen chant. So then here you've been doing IT for this many years. And now it's time to think about what Meredith wanted.
Exactly. Yeah, taking the different components of what I've loved to do and turning that and kind of investing and taking a risk on myself. That's exciting. It is terrifying, but also exciting. And exciting. And exciting. More so exciting. So why the It Girl podcast? Yes, the It Girl podcast for me, which is really funny for me and you specifically, is through conversation, I love to make someone's life easier.
and or to be a resource for someone who feels like they're facing this alone. And it doesn't matter what the topic is. And in a non -braggie way, when I talk to people and they just share their life story with me and I say, have you ever thought of this? Or I think you would be great at this. And they come back and say, I never thought of it that way. That's really what I'm hoping to provide to whoever gives us the opportunity and listen, a different perspective.
on the outcome of who you're going to become because a lot of people don't give themselves enough credit for how amazing they are and they want to be able to shine that light. And help people shine that own light. Their own light on themselves. Yes, yes. Okay, love that. Okay. What's your life motto? My life motto, I think...
that my life motto, if I were to choose one in this moment, in this season, is just pull up your bootstraps, dig in, take risks, and trust yourself. That's not a motto, that's more of a paragraph, I feel like. Here's my life paragraph. Yeah, here's my life paragraph. But really just,
To go for it. To go for it. Yes, thank you. You gave me my That's what I hear the most is like to go for it. But with a plan. To go for it, but make sure it's completely planned out and every move you make is assessed with the risk. If that doesn't tell you her background in a nutshell, I don't know what will.
Yeah, go for it, but assess your risk. Mm hmm. OK. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. And I'm thrilled. I'm excited for this opportunity and this journey. And just just to see where we can go and who who we can impact, hopefully impact, I would say. Oh, not even hopefully for sure. Yeah. Yes. How many can we? Yes. Yeah, exactly. OK, that's great. Yeah. OK. Are you ready? I'm a little bit.
red in the face, a little bit warm over here, having that much attention on me for that long. Yeah, sorry. I know we meant to go back and forth, but then I was like, let's just keep going. in it. You do a good job. was in it. Thank So let's just keep going. Yes. OK. I think we got it. I think they bumped up the air. Yeah, they bumped up the air. Here we go. I don't know if we're editing any of that out, but feel free to do whatever you want with that. OK, here we go. Michelle, here we go. Who are you? Tell us a little bit about yourself.
and your story. Okay, who am I in a nutshell? So I am a second generation Korean American. I will actually like to say 2 .5 because my dad moved here when he moved to America when he was in middle school. So he got here with my parents, with his parents, my grandparents really early on. His parents were both medical doctors at the Albany Medical School. And so he came early on.
again when he was in middle school. Then my mom came here on her own to marry my dad, specifically through an arrangement, to marry my dad when she was 23. And so that's why I call, that's why I like to say 2 .5. So it's a little bit extra. So my dad is like fully,
He's a little bit more Americanized where my mom is a little bit more fresh off the boat. But I love it that way. I love it. I love it that way. And I know, I'm picturing it already. Yes, and I think I'm just gonna mention my momies. I'll probably talk about her a lot on this podcast. We call her Crazy Happy Lee, she's nuts. And I think we both share that love for our mothers in that way. And so anyways, there's that. Okay, and then back to myself. What else do wanna tell you about myself? I have first time mom at 40.
So I'm 41 and I had my first child at 40, which is incredible piece of like story for me. I mean, it's a, what that represents for me is possibility. And so I love to share that about myself. I'm a teacher at the core. I love to teach. I love self leadership. I'm a huge self leadership advocate. I love to work out. I'm a huge sweat junkie. My husband and I own a CrossFit gym. We've been working out for over 10 years.
He's been doing it much longer, but I'm new to working out. And then I love to laugh. I'm a huge laugh enthusiast. So that's me in a nutshell, in like the top level. And then my story.
I'm pausing, so we may have to edit some. But what is my story? You've had a long journey. I've had a long journey, but what is my story? My main story is that, well, I'll talk about my career path thing, so we'll move on to career path thing. So I, well, okay, hold on. Let me just think for a second. Well, how about, let me give you a little bit of a prompt. What about,
What sparked, what was your first spark of interest to know that you loved teaching people and leading people? Because you brought that up as one of your core things at that top level. OK, yeah, I do love leading people and leading self. So I think for me, I I opened up two restaurants when I was 27 years old by myself, had no idea what I was doing, actually listened to an interview on NPR and.
heard this guy talking about how he opened up a restaurant in a recession, reached out to him, said, hey, can you just teach me everything you know, because I want to open up a restaurant. So I ended up hiring him as a consultant. He ended up helping me open up this restaurant. We opened up two in Charlotte, North Carolina. And they were great. They were both really super successful. I had no idea what I was doing in terms of management or people. And I tell the story sometimes where I literally hired and fired somebody every single day for two weeks straight.
and it was the most exhausting experience of my life. And I had to grow up really fast through that process. Then I ended up getting a divorce, like you, and ended up needing to step out of the business and needed to find a new career pathing and stumbled upon retail, which at the time felt like a major downgrade because I went from owning my two businesses to then working at the mall, which felt...
like less than for some reason. And that was something that I had to work through because I was putting way too much value on my work and myself. And so had to work through that. Anyways, that's a whole other episode. So through the process of getting into retail is when I really realized that I had this huge passion for managing people and leading people and learning how to develop myself. So the first company that I worked for within retail was Lululemon. And that company really...
develops you and gives you the tools to be able to learn about yourself and self -management practices. And it was through that process that I realized that my current life as it stood was not working for me. And it was because I was not making the right choices that were aligned with who I was as a person, which then made me realize, I don't know who I am as a person. So at 27, 28, I had to hit the reset button and start over and really.
look at my life and say, okay, who am I and who do I want to be? Again, very similar to your path and decided that I was going to go on this whole journey of self discovery. And in the process, while still working in retail, got a certification called Light Your Leadership in self leadership and have continued to work with people individually and to help them in their own life journey, basically. Yeah.
I think what you're downgrading for yourself is that at 27, not many people are just like, I'm gonna shoot my shot and open my own restaurants. And then like, okay, I'm gonna pivot and then do this whole career change. Like at 40, that's the thing that I'm just now like, who do I wanna be? But that is just such a risk that my mind, for anybody at 26, 27 year olds that...
have that and I just you know embrace it and lean into that which is so amazing. It's so cool. I mean it was a it was a leap. I will say it was not of my own like choice and desire and I think that was part of it was it was through the marriage where my ex -husband was like pushing me to do something and so I took this on and I'm so grateful because...
it grew me in ways that I can't even explain. And when it's all said and done, I don't know if I would have done it for myself. So that was, again, the beginning of this journey of what am I doing and who am I doing it for? And why am I trying to please every single person and meet all these other people's expectations, everyone except for my own? So it is this amazing accomplishment and I'm so proud of it and it was the hardest thing that I've ever done.
And at the same time, it's so strange because it's not something that I actually initially wanted to do. And I wouldn't take it back. But anyways, that's the story. Yeah. Yeah. What about all of this journey and who you've become today and all your experience? What makes you want to do this podcast with me and on this journey that we're on now? Again, I think it's for me, it's similar to you where I want to impact lives.
and I want to help people on their journey, their own journey. I've had such a long line of like, I wanna say long life, but really, I mean, I'm only 41, but I've had such an experience of learning, failing, growing, figuring it out, starting over. And I know other people are going through that too. And not everyone has the tools to get to the other side. And I think for me, I see it so much where people like you, you feel like you see, you don't see people shining their light.
And I don't think I see people really fully recognizing their full potential. Like I'm the person who will tell me something and I'm like, oh, that could easily be a business. You can do that. I just inherently believe in you. I believe in people. I believe in the human potential. I know that things are possible because I mean, I've completely shifted my life. Like I went from.
several times. Several times, but I went from like zero black nothing darkness. My life is over. I don't know what to do with myself. Is anything even gonna happen from this place forward? To being able to create a life for myself that I designed and then ended up having a baby at 40 years old. And so for me, my entire life, I just want it to represent.
If I can do it, you can do it. And if I can help somebody along the way learn one or two things on how to get through that process, quicker, faster, easier, then I'm here for it. Yeah. I mean, I know that this interview process wasn't us hyping each other up, but I would say having gotten to know you better in these last 60 days being colleagues and swiftly turning into friends, I don't think I had ever really visualized an opportunity to heal and reflect internally.
when I was really coupling leadership and my way of leadership and all of the certifications and the degrees that I've gotten was really outward. Me coaching others how to lead and me building others, but there was a component of that where I wasn't self -healing. And so that journey that you continue to, like, but did you do this? And are you sure for you? And I feel the most uncomfortable there. Right.
but it's necessary in order for me to grow to a next level or do that. And so I think that that's something I want people to resonate with as they hear you speak specifically, because I'm gonna come with a lot of aggression and a lot of sarcasm and love, because that's who I am. I hype people up and I'm like, no, we're not gonna do it that way. But in the real way, in the realest way. Yes, but for them to really truly understand, make sure that you continue to look inward.
Because I don't that's not a place. I'm like now that's messy. I'm just gonna be like You might need to open that door though, you may want to investigate that yeah. No, that's a hot mess We don't talk about her like that's what I'm I am so I'm so for me though It's like you have to uncover those things to reach your highest potential. Yes to be your most powerful self I can see it show up every single day as that person requires you to
peel back the onion, get all up in there and figure out what has been creating your current life view. And is that the narrative you wanna continue living and recognize that you have agency and power over it and you can change it. And I think if I could be on a soapbox and talk about that forever and ever, I would. Just you are responsible and you can change.
your circumstances and the quality of your life simply by shifting your mindset around it. And so that's why I want to do this podcast. I want to continue to help people see those things for themselves and figure it out. And again, like I said, if I can help you in any way, do it easier, faster. I'm here for it. Yeah, I would agree. And then I will just introduce the sarcasm and the judge. Judgery.
I love the judgery. I don't know that that's the real word to say. The judgery is good though sometimes. Yeah, yeah. Because sometimes self -work can feel a little, it sounds super easy and there's gonna be lots of times where I'm gonna make it sound like, just do it, it's really simple. And I think that's where your judgery is gonna come in and bring that dose of real, where people can resonate and be like, yeah.
Yeah, well, we don't like to sit in your feelings and I'm like, no, I don't think so. I don't want to sit there. Right. So I agree. So do you have a life motto? So do I have a life motto? Yes, I do. And let me sum it up as.
I mean, my main life motto is probably that you have the capacity to do, be, or have anything that you want. It's all possible. I think that, I mean, that would be the motto, would just be. Believe in yourself. Believe in yourself. You can do it. Yeah, believe in yourself.
Yeah, I feel through my interview from you to me, I didn't give a shout out to my pops who has very much been in the picture the whole time. So I'm going to be very subtly. We don't have to go back. I'm just going to shout out to my pops lives close. My Irish dad. Yeah. So was he in the mix when your mom got sick and was he a part of the caretaking? Yeah. Thank you for asking that.
because it's heavy. My dad also has health issues. And so through a lot of my mom's journey, he had a stroke, lost his vision. Through that, he had bladder cancer, heart triple bypass, and aneurysms. Yes, yes.
And so I'm hopeful that I was equally there for them both, but he moved to be closer to us and my family. They had been separated since I was very, very little, and I'd moved several times for both of them. So, love them both very much. They're a huge part of who I am. Yeah. And your dad's still alive. He is still alive. He is in Kansas, where we moved from here to Waco. But, yeah.
had a lot of health ailments going on, but my family through, I think I'm closer to my family in the last 10 years than the first 30 years of my life, which is weird to say and sound out loud, but it was a journey for all of us to get to where we're at and be in a really good place. Yeah. Yeah. Which is...
I mean, again, another reason why you want to be on this podcast. Yes. Sharing the stories because there is a lot of people dealing with family. Yeah. Issues. Yeah. Trauma. Yeah. Miscommunication. Agreed. All of those things. So I think that's really important. Yeah. I would certainly agree. I don't know. I think we did a good job of just summing up who we are, having the crucial.
background of why we're doing this, why we're hopeful that people tune in, write in questions. What else didn't I ask? What else didn't we ask each other that we might wanna ask through? It's gonna envelop quite a bit, episode over episode. okay, so then what about, do you have a favorite quote or meme? I know you love a good meme. None of them are PG -13, so maybe we're gonna slide into this real,
softly because my face is usually like F around and find out. That's my like not my motto or my thing, but I'm really protective of the people that I lead, my family, all of that. So I really don't take a lot of crap from people, but I do it in the kindest way with a really nice smile on my face. So some people are like, is she mad? She looks happy. Does she mean it?
When I say over my dead body, they're like, oh, that sounds funny, but I mean it. So I don't know that I have a quote or a meme that is appropriate. sums all that up. Well, that also sums up the impression I want to give people that I genuinely want to help them because I genuinely want to help them find that voice too. So F around and find out is what I want to tell people. No.
Do you have a quote? Let's put it back to you. Okay, so then mine, which I think is hilarious to share now that you just shared F around and find out, is the, be who you were created to be and you will set the world on fire. Yes, okay. And so somewhere in the middle of that. I'm the gasoline. Somewhere in the middle. Somewhere in the middle of that will be the it girl that will be born from that. Yes, yeah, flipping the script.
on what it means to be the it girl where there's this new chapter and this new craze of supporting each other well and being there for each other presently. Imperfectly. Yeah. Imperfectly. I think it's that right there. Cause in the world that we live today where everything's perfectly manicured and everyone is posting their highlight reel, we're here to tell you that.
There's another side. Yeah. Yeah, and we're embracing the imperfection and embracing the journey. And love both sides. Both sides. Yeah. Both sides are great. Mm -hmm. Okay, so now that you have a better idea of who we are, don't forget to submit your burning questions through our site, itgirllife .com, or by emailing us at hello at itgirllife .com. We can't wait to hear from you. Send us your burning questions and topics. We want to discuss them and help you out. So the more you send us, the more...
content we will have for you. So yeah, hit us up. Yeah, grateful for you guys. Thanks. Thanks. Bye.