Featuring Nadya Okamoto - podcast episode cover

Featuring Nadya Okamoto

Feb 18, 202031 minSeason 1Ep. 5
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Episode description

Period.org founder and activist Nadya Okamoto joins Sammy Jaye in the studio, and they talk about what life looks like as the head of a successful NGO & a marketing company, while still maintaining a full class-load at Harvard University. Nadya and Sammy uncover the issues surrounding period poverty, homelessness, incarcerated women, and the long-neglected discrepancies surrounding the monthly needs of half the population. They unpack the benefits of a long-distance relationships, how Nadya made her panic attacks disappear, and how she flows from one activity to another without getting overwhelmed.

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Transcript

Speaker 1

Hi, guys, it's Amy j. This week's guest is a friend of mine who is truly amazing. Nadia Okamoto is an entrepreneur, an activist, published author, and a student at Harvard. She's also been named to Forbes thirty and her thirty Lists. Oh and did I mention she's only twenty two years old. At sixteen, she founded period dot org, which is now the largest youth run women's health and g O. Activism is in her soul, and that's where we began our conversation.

So I want to start with activism because that's where this all started. How did you create and what was the inspiration behind period dot org? Yeah, so I'm Nadia. I am currently a junior at Harvard and the founder of an organization called Period of the Menstrum Movement. And you know, I never grew up dreaming about being a period warrior, right, it was not even something that even crossed my mind. Um, But I stumbled upon it accident

when I was sixteen years old. So, in the spring of my freshman year of high school, my mom ended up losing her job and we entered what I call our time of transition, which was essentially several months of living without a home of our own, and during that time, I commute to school turned from about twelve minutes to over two hours long on public transportation, and where I would change buses was in an area of Portland, Oregon called Old Town where they were like ten homeless shelters

in a two block radius. So I mean long story short, I essentially was running into the same homeless woman over and over again and getting into conversations with them about their living situation, asking them questions about what they found challenging, and it honestly just came up in conversation like these stories of using literal trash to take care of their periods, right, and slowly just started hearing more stories of they're using toilet paper and socks and brown paper, grocery bags and

cardboard to take care of their periods. And it was like a privileged check for me. Right, So I'm sixteen, I am confused about my family's living situation. Like it was a time when like I had to mark no permanent address on school forms. But I was also the scholarship kid at a really expensive private school where like my face was like low key on the front of the financial aid packet like that kind of vibe. So

it's like really confusing. And so I was became obsessed with this idea of period poverty because it was something I had never thought about before, right, So it was this privileged check of Oh, even in this time when my family is going through this hard thing, I've never had to worry about where I get my period products and put things in perspective, I'm yes, absolutely, And so after I just got obsessed with it, googled things about period poverty, learned about you know, what it meant on

a global scale, about being like one of the leading causes of absentees and for girls in school, and then learned that forty states in the U s had a sales tax on period products, considering them luxury items. Okay, so for those who don't know, because we have guys and girls listening, what is period poverty? So period poverty is not being able to afford access to menstrual hygiene products so like tampons, adds menstrual cups, due to a lack of income. So why do you think there's such

a stigma around all of this? I mean, I think that throughout history, periods have been thought of as something that is shameful that should be hidden, right. I think. I think there's like the obvious theories behind how periods are inherently tied to sex, because it's like when your

body can become pregnant, right, um. But also I think like you can trace it back all the way I mean one to the Bible, right, Like in the Bible, periods are are framed in Genesis as when um as a punishment for the ultimate stind of like Eve eating the apple, right um. At the same time, yeah, at the same time, the word taboo, which means like untouched, like you do not touch the subject, comes from the

root word Polynesian root tapua, which literally means menstruation stop. So, like, throughout history and through the etymology of the language that we use, this is thought of as something that is stigmatized, connected to stigmatized topics like sex and pregnancy and all of that and pure it so I thought of as

something that like makes that less attractive. Right And at the same time, um, I mean throughout history it's been sort of as seen as the thing that puts women in their place, and so we don't talk about it today, like so much of our work is simply trying to

get people comfortable saying the word period, right. And I noticed that when I started talking to these homeless women, is we would start talking about periods and they would whisper it like it's a bad word, like oh, I'm on my period, right, or you think about asking your friend for tampa and going to school. It's a very secretive thing, exactly, And I think it's even it's rarely talked about in school today, but when it is, it's in like boys in one classroom and girls in the other.

So the boys never learned about it, and the girls learned that. It's like only talked about behind closed doors, and you it's never taught in a space where you can ask questions, right. So I mean the example I like to use of realizing the stigma around you is like when I give speeches, I ask people to raise their hand if you've ever stuck a tampa of your sleeve, right, And most of the time the majority of the hands

go up. And it's crazy to think, like, you go to the bathroom and we're conditioned to know that you hide your period product, but no one tells you that when you need to change your period product. At all costs height it. Yeah, you're like conditioned by society that this literal like piece of cotton is a shame an object of shame, right, and that you will be laughed at and giggled at. And so society conditions us to understand that there's this shame around periods. And I think

that's what we're trying to change. I mean, just talking about it, it's like it automatically makes my my heart be like, oh my god, like what are people? Can I think about it? Which it shouldn't be because it literally happens to have the population exactly. And I think I think even further, it's understanding that like this, these

small elements of stigma have real systemic effects. Right, So we think of it as, oh, it's just like it's just our own nervousness, right, But because of that stigma, we have the majority of US states that consider these periodpodics luxury items, not essential goods. But rogaine, viagra, penal pumps,

chopstick is considered essential goods. Really, So it's like all of these things where it's like the stigmas pervasive and has real effects all the way to we're still fighting for period products to be freely accessible in school shelters, in prisons, and like last year, legislation was turned down in Maine and a GOP representative stood up and said period products should not be free in prisons because they're

not meant to be country clubs. Right, So there's this to so this is like in a state house in Maine state House, right, And so it's we there are real effects of you know, we joke around about periods and we joke about, you know, what the effects of this are, but like, yeah, there's laws and that exists around this that are really angering and we you know,

my organization did a national study last year. We found that of teens in America have either misclass or know someone who has misclass due to lack of access to period products. So you started this nonprofit when you were sixteen, But when did you think this could grow and become such a huge movement. I don't think I ever really realized it was a movement. Even like today, I still wake up and I'm like shocked by how many people are interested and they call it to move and now

they had a carried movement that you started. Yes, yes, and it's it's super exciting to me. But I mean, when I started this organization, I did not think it was going to be national. I did not think it was going to go beyond Portland. I was truly doing it because I was like, I know these homeless women, and I genuinely care about them, and and I wanted to reconcile this privilege that I was realizing I had right and and I had no idea what I was doing.

I was googling what is a nonprofit? And what is the I R S? And what is a form nine nine? I was googling everything, yes, and on my I started with a goal of getting period products to twenty homeless wman a week because I personally knew twenty homeless woman. And it was simply through organizing and posting on social media. And then, I mean I was a true workaholic at the age of like sixteen. I was like staying up late finishing my homework, doing sixteen clubs, and then using

all the time I could to work on this. And so within a few months we were starting to register chapters around the country. And fast forward to now, um, we're now the largest youth and engine Woman's Health in the world. We've addressed about almost a million period. It's for product distributions, million units of product, and we've registered about six hundred campus chapters in all fifty states. WHOA, Okay, so how crazy is not just to say that in

a sentence that you've accomplished all that munch in you. Yes, it's interesting because I'm not very good at like celebrating how much we've done because I think that as an activist at heart, like, yes, it's important to take moments to celebrate those moments, but I think I'm so always focused on, like how much more we have to do? Right um, And I'm really proud of our team, like we in the last few months, we've taken down the Tampa tax in Ohio, Utah, and Virginia and just the

Senate just passed the bill two days ago in Virginia. Congratulation. But I think, like in my mind, I'm like, Okay, there's still thirty states and we're coming upon which is like one of the most pivotal years in terms of reproductive rights right now, and we're still fighting to protect the same legislation we've been fighting for for the last like six decades. And like I'm with a few presidential campaigns today, and like I was talking to them and

they had no idea that the Tampa tax existed. I met with Bluebrigs team today, but like it's I didn't see. That's what's crazy to me that they don't understand how relevant this is. Well, even more so, it's like I regularly meet with governors or legislators who don't even know that their own tax state has this tax right because it's an archaic law that has never been questioned. So you're the one that started questioning this. We're trying to us that all of our chapters. Yeah, so how many

states have you made it? So there's no tampata. So it's not just it's so many different activists. It truly is this movement of so many different organizations now. But I mean when I started in when I was sixteen, it was forty states, and now we're a thirty man. Okay, So once you get down to thirty and there's none, how are you going to celebrate? Yeah? I guess I should. Sorry, Yeah,

I mean I think that Okay. Honestly, Like the first thing that came to mind was like, oh, once we get it all past, that's when we can really get period products all the schools, right, So it's always I know,

and I really this is my goal for twenties. I need to learn how to like take a step back and like but like I mean, I sort of see the Tampa tax and fighting it as a trojan horse to fighting for the other things, right, because the Tampa tax is not affecting homeless and low income women, because

it's affecting people who are already buying the product. But yes, but it's exactly, it's a catalyst because we have to fight this stigma that menstrual hygiene is a luxury, so that we can fight for period products to be free in school shelters, in prisons. Like I actively think that period products should be freely accessible in every restroom because if you walked into a bathroom there was no toilet paper, you'd be kind of mad, right, or you'd be really

mad and frustrated. It's this, It's just as natural, it can come just as unexpectedly. And actually our chapters have been amazing. We've passed UM or introduced about twelve pieces of legislation in the last few months. UM Missouri yesterday,

California last last week. UM around period products to be free in schools, right, um, because like we it's crazy even thinking about not just the statistics of missing class and missing school, but like if you have to go get a period product in the middle of a class and you have to go find it, and oftentimes it's like, first of all, sometimes it's in the bathroom and you

need a quarter who carries a quarter anymore? And at the same time, or it's in the principal's office and you have to like go to your principal, who's honestly most likely a man, and you have to say, Hi, I'm menstruating. I'm thirteen, and I'm going to tell my principle I'm menstruating and I need a period product. Yeah, okay, So when you created period dot org, I just find it so fascinating. How did you collect product in the

first place? So I really mean it when I say we started and had no strategy, Like it was truly passion and like not going to stop working. So it was like, Okay, this is my thought process. We need a period product, so I need to go buy the period products. I didn't even know the concept of like corporate social giving could give us products like we're going

to go raise money to buy this product. I did not come from money, So I tried singing on my guitar on the side of the street corner for five hours, raised twenty dollars. Realized that was not a good use of my time. I started trying to pitch to anyone who would listen on the street. Realized I was just a creepy young person like training some people. So my natural thought was, Okay, I'm just gonna go pitch to people who were They're forced to be there. So it's

like staff meetings. So I would go to like Fidelity Insurance, Chase Bank, Jiffy Loup auto mechanic store, and be like, can I pitch at your staff meetings? And I would get up in front of the audience and or not audience is a strong word, the staff, which was sometimes like a few men, and I would just pitch them. And I would just try to pitch in different ways.

And I remember like when someone would give me literally two dollars or five dollars and it was like the most incredible as a sixth year old who like was not us some money and being like, oh my gosh, they believe in what I'm doing. Right. That's why it's crazy to me to realize how much we've grown when we when I looked back at our first year where we raised a million, I was like, like a million dollars.

It was a crazy realization of how far we'd come because when I started, I was truly just like searching for anyone to listen to me in the first place, and to to you know, to to give any amount, right, and I would just practice my pitch in that sense. Then I got frustrated, so I went online found every pitch competition in the area. When all of them started with a few yeah, I mean I was just googling, like I just how I can raise money as a

young you start up our entrepreneur. There's so many funding opportunities, like so many funding opportunities, like adults really want to give to young activists right now. That's why I always told young people like now is the best time to start, because everyone is calling for this next generation to take action, and they have money and they have resources, and they

just need to find people to invest in. But so I yeah, I mean, we started with a few thousand dollars and I got a group of like guy friends together and we would go buy out the grocery stores, get friends together, put them into little packages, and then distribute them to people directly on the street. And then realized that was not maximizing our impact, so we went and distributed directly to shelters, and we just started doing that until we had a few hundred shelters. Then we

realized we could raise money online. It was like there was no there was no business plant Like now, of course we have a strategic plan, but I didn't even know what that was when we started. When I started, it was like, I have no idea what a nonprofit is. I just know that I'm really passionate about this and I don't know what I'm doing, but we're going to do it anyways, and so it's I mean, that's honestly the mentality I've had in everything I've done. From that too.

I ran for office when I was nineteen, had no idea what that meant, but googled everything and just kept knocking on doors. When I wanted to write a book, I googled how to write a book and cold emailed literary agents and then signed with my dream publisher and wrote it in Google Docs because I didn't know, it was just like the simple. It was the easy thing to do. And I think that's the thing that holds young people back is like, what is my first step

in starting? And it's like there's no right first step, you just have to do it. So how long did it take you to write your book? Um? They gave me two months? And how many pages? Has it? Like? Toft words? And I was so I had so much imposter syndrome about my book and I still do, Like it was this whole like why do I deserve to write a book? Who's going to read the book? So I procrastinated and wrote it in like the last three weeks. Yeah, oh my goodness. And keep in mind everyone that she's

at Harvard. Yes, you took a gap here. Yes when my book came out. Wow, you are the busiest person like you No, well, like you're so inspiring, just like, so, what's your goal for a period? Data org? In general? I mean, I think the goal of every nonprofit is to put yourself out of business, like our goal like that, it's truly what we're trying to do. We wake up every day saying I wish we didn't have to exist, Right if we achieve what we do in terms of

fighting period poverty. We can close our doors and say we did our job right. I don't know if that's ever going to be achieved in our lifetime, because periods are still like the number one reason why girls my school and developing countries. It's the single vent that leads to girls dropping at a school, getting married early, undergoing

female gender mutilation, or social isolation. Like this issue is so big, But I think that what I love about this movement is that we have tangible ways of making a difference. Like I can tell you exactly how many states still have the tampon tacks, which states still don't provide period products? Um, how many more? Like I can find out, like how much more, how many more prisons need to like freely freely provide these products. Like there's

tangible ways to make a difference. And I think that's why I wanted to write my book too, was to say, like, this is one of the few poverty related issues that is solvable. You are a very clearly passionate person. Do you ever get tired and want to give up? Because you seem so motivated, Like just like a week in your life when I see your Instagram stories. It gives me anxiety, just like the amount that you do, the amount of flights. How many flights would you say you

go on a week? I think it totally depends on a week. Busy week, it's like a flight or two a day. Yeah, chill week, it's like a couple of trains a week. But it's part of my restlessness, right, Like, that's that's the thing I always tell people. It's not that I'm super busy. It's that I grew up in very tumultuous like like my childhood was not peaceful, right. I grew up downtown New York City posts on eleven and then with a lot of domestic violence and abuse

in my own household. So I and then I grew up moving around all the time. I think by the time I sixteen, we'd moved like sixteen times or more. We were bouncing around all the time. So my when like what I am used to is is like instability. Honestly, Like I think when I'm in one place for five days, I get restless. So it's not that like I'm I look super busy, but like I don't feel busy because I think my life has always had a little bit of that chaos. So like when I go to Portland.

If I'm Portland, Oregon, which is very chill compared to New York, if I'm there for like four days, I will actively get anxiety because I'm like everything is moving in slow motion. So you thrive off of the go go go totally. Yeah. And I like New York. Yes, And I can sleep better on planes, like when I feel like it's so odd, that's so interesting, But it's because I grew up around like a lack of so like when and I know that eventually in my life

I'm going to have to learn stability. But right now, and it's the same thing. I've never focused on just one thing right And it's been frustrating for some of my team members who are like, why don't you just focus on period, And I'm like, yes, but sort of like I'm so nerdy to use this comparison. But you know, when you're like practicing for standardized testing, and the first tip is if you get stuck on a problem, don't

spend time on it. Just move on right and you'll start You'll think about it in the back of your mind and you come back. That's how I think of everything I do right to maximize efficiency and make sure I'm getting like perhaps like the quote unquote right answers, I focus on period and when I get to a stopping point or like frustrated with that, I move on to my company or I move on to running profice and I know I will eventually come back and I'll

complete it all. And I used to have really struggles with anxiety, and then one of my friends told me stress is just a waste of time, and time is going to keep going. And it's so true, right, like if you panic and you just I used to panic attacks every day and from like PTSD and stuff, and I would sit there and panic and realize six hours went by and I did nothing right. And I think I just had to internalize like time will keep going

whether you're with it or not. And I think time is our most one of our most time and our energies like our most precious resource, and we just have to accept that and stay focused and breathe so you can be more effective. You are so insightful. Oh my goodness, it's one or the other. But like you could just write a book on motivation, like in itself. Okay, I want to talk about jew for how would you describe you as a pitch jube to the people listening? How

would you describe it? I think it makes sense when I talk about the story behind it. Right, So I grow period, we start mobilizing young people in like historic waves ever seen before in the period space, and I run for office. We didn't win, but we made history of student turn out and I accidentally became the youngest Asian American to run ever and accidentally so I did

not even know. But at a certain point I started finding myselves, like honestly, not even thinking about it, but finding myself is called into rooms of high up people and companies or hi up people in campaigns who are saying, who are using these a case study? Saying how have you grown this? Now? Teach us how how do we reach young people? What we forget as young people is that we are really powerful together. We are the largest segment of a population in the history of the world.

Were of the global population. Wait, yes, that is a crazy statistic, but we're of the total media audience and even more on social right, So when you think about where these companies are investing in their marketing dollars or who they need, who campaigns need to reach to vote UM And even in the month we spend, we control a hundred and forty three billion dollars of spending power, but we influenced six hundred billion dollars where parents money right,

So there's so we have so much influence in this space. So I I it was truly an accident. Like I started getting call into taking these meetings and realizing I could like charge money for people who wanted to understand

young people. And what I realized as I would walk into these rooms and it was often like people who are decades older than me, and then there was like someone in the corner who was like the youth expert, like the youth expert, and I knew I was like the first young person they've talked to in years, and I would realize, like I'm not. I would sit there being they would be like, oh my god, you're so amazing.

We've never heard any young person speak like that. And I'm like confused because I am, like, I don't feel unique in this sense, like so many amazing there's so many amazing young people. If you think I am like a diamond in the rough and you're just not talking to enough young people, right. So I started doing this just as like on the side, as a side hustle um to like support my fan, like support myself from

through school. And then I started meeting other young people with like my co founders Yad Ahmed, who was like another actors in the space who sort of started building a business in that own since we joined together created this company. So now we work with small companies all the way up to about thirty fort companies working on marketing strategies, digital activations, experiential marketing. We basically go into companies and we say, you're already trying to reach young people,

You're spending a lot of money on it. You're trying to research us, but all of the research you're doing is not in the best way, right. It's either do done through research that takes six months to come out. By the time it comes out, the trends are outdated, right. Or you do focus groups, but you're they're just telling you about the problem, not the solution, and you're not

getting at the heart of the problem right. For example, I hear a lot from clients who do these focus groups about social media and have never heard of a finsta, right, because they've never asked about it. They don't know what questions to ask, right, And so we just come in and we're like, if you want to reach young people,

you should talk to us. And I sort of think about our vision or our ethos not as just about like young people, but it's the idea that if you're trying to affect any group of people, that group of people needs to be represented at the table, right, otherwise you're not doing it equitably. I completely agree, and I think it's really smart that you did that, because is

there anything like that? No, I mean that was that's why we've grown so fast, because we started this and it's a huge need and there's no competition in this space, right, Like we are like the only made and there are other gen Z marketing places, but like, but it's the run but you're one and run by people your age and yeah, and there's some that are popping up like it, but we are the only one that have like infrastructure

and and and scalability. Right. So we I was the oldest person at the company until we recently hired a twenty three year old CFO last year. That's twenty four year old chief of staff, and we have a hundred consultants between the ages of fourteen and twenty two, and then we deploy them out to work with high level executives. And then we have a vine network of over three

thousand young people that we regularly fill out to surveys. Right, So, like some of our favorite clients like this Go, we'll do these surveys with um on like how gen Z thinks about creates itty or social media, and we're just

able to get like, you know, much deeper insights. And it's been it's been incredible to watch because I think I took everything I learned from period of like the power of working with brands who have resources and platform and network, and we take that into this space and we consider ourselves like a company that's truly about empowering young people and trying to honestly get these companies to take a stand on something like climate change or the

digital divide. My work teaches me to have little privilege checks, every little every day, right, because it put things into perspective or like I mean, even coming over here realizing

like I don't even think twice about subway fair anymore. Right, but five years ago the Subway fair was really stressful for me, right, or like I know, it's stressful for a lot of people, and today I never think about it, right, And I think it's you remember, as you you know, I'm not used to making money like that was not

something I really grew up with. And I think I pushed myself to be so thankful for those little things every day and to recognize how far we've come to It's it's taken a lot of heal ing, and I think it's part of being a sexual thought survivor you like have like I have really struggled with like treating myself or being like I deserve a home, or like I deserve to be taken care of, or like I deserve my own space, and so like I finally got my own place, And how have you learned to actually

splurge for yourself and treat yourself? I mean, yeah, I'm still learning, but I think I mean, I think honestly it was it took a lot of pushing from my family and the people close to me who knew about

all of this. But also I think what put it into perspective is, like I care so deeply about all the young activists that I work with, right, Like I think, like I spent hours a day texting back and forth with chapter members or young activists I've never met, but like genuinely love, like would dive because I like support them so much. Oh my god. So how do you balance college and all of this? And Harvard is not an easy school? Yeah, I mean it's really hard. It's um,

where do you majoring in sociology? Now? Yeah that's interesting. Yeah, it's really fun. But I mean the thing is is, like it's not like the comes with no sacrifices, right, Like when you live this life, I don't go to parties every weekend. You know, I was supposed to go to all these New York Fashion Week shows. I've ditched all of them to work by myself in my pajamas, right, And I'm actually really happy doing that. I'm so not extroverted as people think I am. But like there's sacrifices

that come with it. And so I mean when I'm at school, I'm there for class, like, I'm there, I see my friends, we work together, but like I'm there Monday to like Monday night, and then like Wednesday to Wednesday night. Like that's often how it is, and so I like go to class and I live by to do list to do list, and whenever I have time, I block out, like six hours on Saturday, I just get all my homework done. Smart When you have a

deadline or you're working for your nonprofit, are your professors accommodating? No, usually not not at all, because Harvard is the school of a lot of ego. Right For the most part, it's the students who were the best in their class and then they get to Harvard and they expect this special treatment because I mean, for the most of us, we were like our teachers, like we were the ones who got away. But no, that's not the case at all.

Like everyone is doing their own thing. So of course you find some professors, like there are some professors I've worked with who like, so support what I'm doing. Others are like, yes, we support what you're doing. But like, you are a student, just like anyone else. Would you ever just take forty eight hours and just like go to a spot or something and not be on your phone and not work or do you think your mind

just can't do that? No? I actually I've been able to do that, and I think it's been even So the thing that I do no matter what is I work out every day, right, Like, no matter what where I am anything, if I'm at a hotel or whatever, I will always go to the gym. And like my sipulation with my team is like whatever hotel, I say, and there needs to be a gym at twenty four our gym, like and I need to work out every day.

And it's like the time when I put my work away and I just listen to music or NPR and like I just like clear my head. I mean yes, my therapists argues that that's no longer just self care because I started modeling, so it's like part of my job now. It's like I signed with Adidas and so like I have to be. But it's also at the same time, I think like working out is like very

portant for me. I also started dating someone, and so for me, like our sipulation is when it's long distance, but like when we are together, like I put everything away and I'm like there and present have long distance. I think it's like perfect for me because when I wasn't long distance before, I was like, so like please go away, like go okay, I need my time to

do my best to both worlds. All of my romantic relationships before this one have ended because they've asked me to choose between period and them, like actively choose between this and them. And I'm like, I'm always like sad at first, and I'm like, okay, bye, Like like so long distance I love actually because I'm like I get my own time to like focus on my stuff and to work, and I I'm obsessed with what he's doing. He's like doing um, sustainable infrastructure like solar panel stuff, yes,

in his own way. And then I'm like, you know, he get me focus. And then when we're together, which is like I don't know, like once a month or something like, I'll be fully present. Yeah that's yeah, I see what you're saying. Yeah. Actually, Also, I recently found out that long distance is more common with Gen Z

than any other generation. It doesn't surprise me, yeah, because we have the tools so like you can face time and it doesn't think like can you imagine if you were in a long dis persuation and all you have to do could to write letters? Oh my god, It is crazy to me, Like it would never work in that sense. But yeah, as an activist in general, what is your goal. I know it's you're doing period, you're doing that, you have another business idea, What is your

generalized goal in this entire field? So I mean I have overall goals of what we I think we should do right, like and the Tampa tax, really accessible period products and schools. At the same time, I actually don't have goals for like what I want to like I'm

going to do everything to get there. But I sort of think is my goal is just to like maximize my impact, like maximize my being, like bringing I don't know, like inspiration to like the people around me, or like love to my family, or like impa to my team. Because I used to hold myself to standards of like my organization needs to make this impact. Otherwise I did

not accomplish the goal. But I realized that when you work in policy and you work in social change, first of all, it's really hard to measure but who you are depending on like a slow, often broken system, Right, So I realized, like I just try to push myself to like maximize what I can do, And I think that's my goal is just to like at any stage of what I'm doing, maximize what I'm doing. You are very busy. Thank you for taking the time. I mean,

I'm inspired by what you're doing. You're making history with podcasts, and you're much younger than me, and you're killing it, and we're all inspired by you. Do You've actively talks about how inspired we are by you. Stop it seriously. Oh my god, Oh my god. I will you too. You need to take a break from that. But I'm telling you I'm taking breaks. It's just like I'm just I like being busy. I can tell you thrive off it, Yes, exactly.

Thank you guys so much for listening. I hope you guys enjoyed this episod open Naudia, make sure you follow her on all of her socials It's Nadia Okamoto, and follow me on my Instagram. It's at It's A M E J. That's I T S S A M M y J A y E. I also recommend you follow our podcast account because we have some fun giveaways coming. Thank you guys so much for listening, and I'll see you guys. Say bye.

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