Story Of My Quarter Life: Recent Episodes
Jessica Wreford and Alice Ball
Light-hearted, relatable overshares about the highs, lows and laughs of dating, friendships and ‘doing life’ in your 20s.
Brought to you by two extroverts, Jess and Ali.
Hey guys (and Happy New Year). We wanted to hop on for a short episode to let you know that we have decided to say goodbye to SOMQL. Whether it's forever or just for now, we're not sure yet. But life has stepped up a gear for the both of us, and right now we can't put the love and work into the pod that it deserves.
Full explanation (plus the usual life updates and overshares) in the minisode. However, THANK YOU for your love and support over the past year. We are so proud of this little community we have created, and will miss bringing you the positive vibes and laughter so much.
We really do love to see it.
J&A
Follow Jess: @jessicadoeslife
Follow Ali: @aliceeball/@aligoesrunning
HAPPY SUNDAY LEGENDS! First things first, big apologies for keeping you all waiting on the final episode of season 3. The good news is, we’re here and we made it! To round off this wonderful year since starting the pod, we’re ending the season with a #deep one and bringing you 21 life lessons we learnt in 2021. Strap in, because things are getting reflective! Plus, it wouldn’t be SOMQL without the usual life updates and overshares.
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! See you in season 4!
Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
Hey team! This week we’re unpacking a BIG question for all you singletons out there: is there such a thing as being too picky in dating, or are we right to never settle? Plus, how can you find the balance between the two? And how do you define your priorities and what you're looking for in a partner? Plus, there’s the usual updates and overshares from the two of us. Enjoy!
Don’t forget to share the love by subscribing and leaving a review!
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HAPPY SUNDAY LEGENDS! This week we’re joined by the lovely Emily Solman, aka @_emilysworld over on IG! We chat about what it’s actually like to be a full time content creator, toxic health and nutrition culture (trigger warning), feeling clueless post-uni and making a relationship work, even if you’re at different stages in life. Emily’s whole ethos is around putting a smile on your face, so we hope this episode brings some joy to your day!
If you enjoy, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a five star review!
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Hellooo friends! This week we’re pleased to welcome one of you guy to the pod. Susie Underwood was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma last December, aged 29. In this ep, we discuss her journey; from how cancer has affected her life and relationships, to finding contentment and joy in the here and now. This is such a thought-provoking conversation and we can’t thank Susie enough for her powerful words. We really hope it inspires you in some way.
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to share the love by subscribing and leaving a five star review!
Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
Happy Sunday legends! This week we’re joined by the wonderful Harry Savage. Harry was a contestant on the fourth series of Channel 4’s Hunted, where he caused ‘national uproar’ after narrowly missing out on the £100,000 prize. But what a lot of people might not know is that Harry lost both of his parents before the age of 20. We’re so honoured to have him on the pod today to talk about his journey with grief, and how it's shaped him into the person he is today. We also chat about how he came to terms with his sexuality, first sexual encounters, and much more!
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to share the love by subscribing and leaving a review.
Follow Harry: @harry.sav
Follow us: @storyofmyquarterlife
Hiya legends! This week we’re taking it back to our roots; just us, two microphones and you guys as we answer your dilemmas! From toxic work environments to messy housemates, and dating limbo to moving in together, strap in as we offer our totally unsolicited, unqualified advice to help you live your best lives.
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to share the love by subscribing and leaving a five star review.
Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
Hey guys! Welcome back to another episode! This week we’re chatting all things confidence with business and marketing strategist and all-round legend Alice Benham (who just happens to be Jess’ new housemate).
We’ll be unpacking: what confidence means to us; why confidence is an emotion, not a destination; how being extroverted/introverted isn’t mutually exclusive with confidence; and how you can build and apply confidence in different areas of your life.
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to share the love by subscribing and leaving a five star review!
Follow us: @storyofmyquarterlife
Follow Alice: @alice_benham
Happy Sunday legends! This week we’re super excited to welcome another Ali to the pod in the form of comedian Ali Woods! We chatted to Ali about how he got into comedy, and why he believes we’re responsible for making our own success. We also had a long old chat about dating, including why Ali isn’t on the apps, DM slides, age gaps in relationships and his biggest dating fail. If you’re having a rough day, strap in because this one’s for you!
Follow Ali: @aliwoodsgigs
Follow @storyofmyquarterlife, and don’t forget to share the love by subscribing and leaving a five star review.
HAPPY SUNDAY LEGENDS! This week we’re super excited to be joined by our wonderful friend Xav Craine, co-founder of Mixtons, to discuss how to overcome the fear of rejection. As a business owner, Xav has dealt with his fear share of rejection, and since the both of us have a crippling fear of it in a dating capacity (work in progress okay?) we wanted to deep dive into this topic.
- What is the difference between rejecting and being rejected?
- Where does the fear of rejection actually come from?
- What’s your fear stimuli?
- And the million dollar question: just how can you overcome the fear of rejection?
We hope you enjoy!
Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a five star review and follow @storyofmyquarterlife
Get yourself some Mixtons (Use code JESS20)
Trigger warning: Alcohol abuse and domestic violence
WELCOME BACK to SEASON 3 LEGENDS! This week we are so excited and privileged to welcome Dr Imogen Dalziel to the podcast. By day, Imogen works as a holocaust researcher, but she’s actually on the pod to share her complicated journey with alcohol, having lost her mum to alcoholism as a child. We break down the stigma of alcoholism, the difference between alcoholism and problem drinking, toxic drinking culture, and finding your intuitive drinking soft spot.
Plus, there’s the usual dose of oversharing – we have a lot to catch up on!
Useful resources if you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol:
Drinks aware
National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACOA)
Talk To Frank
Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
It’s the final episode of season two! This week we’re talking conflict/argument styles, based on the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI). We unpack the pros and cons of each of the five styles (competing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising and collaborating) and why understanding a friend or partner’s conflict style could benefit your relationship.
Take the quiz here
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to subscribe to the pod, leave a five star review and follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
That’s right, we’re back from our mini hiatus and ready to answer some of your dilemmas for our penultimate episode of season two! How do you go about changing careers in your 20s? Dating when you live with your parents? How do you have a life and save money at the same time? And at what stage of dating should things become exclusive? Plus, the updates you’ve all been waiting for on Jess’ dating life!
Don’t forget to subscribe to the pod and share the love by giving it a five star review. Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
Helloooooo legends! This week Jess has been conquering her fear of the PPDA (post-pandemic dating anxiety) and getting back in the dating game. In her honour, we stuck a question box up on the old Insta and asked you guys for your dating worries and concerns. Basically, we’re here to be your personal hype gals and help you to take the pressure out of dating. From pre-date nerves, to the awkward goodbye. What if they think you’re a catfish? What if they’re a catfish? We’ve got ya.
Follow us at @storyofmyquarterlife and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a five star review if you enjoy the ep!
Welcome back to another episode! This week we’re going in DEEP and talking all things self-worth and setting boundaries. First we’re exploring Nathaniel Branden’s six pillars of self-esteem and how these are linked to our ability to learn, make appropriate choices and decisions, and experience success and fulfilment. Then we’re talking about the importance of boundaries. How do you set them? How do you maintain them? What happens when your boundaries get broken? And of course, what you’ve all been waiting for…an update from Ali on our guest from episode 16…
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to share the love by subscribing, leaving a review and giving us a follow us at @storyofmyquarterlife
Happy Sunday legends! Today is a VERY exciting episode because we’ve got our very first guest! And not just any guest…somehow Ali convinced a random guy off the new Thursday dating app to come onto the pod to chat dating, sex and STIs from a man’s perspective. Yes, really. We’d never met Alex before this recording, so a big hand to him for being such a legend and putting himself out there so openly!
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a five star review and follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
Welcome back guys! Now let’s be honest, break ups suck. We’ve both been there. The good news is the shitty feeling won’t last forever. In this week’s episode we’re unpacking the best ways to mend a broken heart. Should you take a clean break? Do you really need closure? Does time actually heal all? Plus, there’s the usual ‘tell me something goods’ and a side order of oversharing.
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and follow @storyofmyquarterlife
Happy Sunday legends! This week is a slightly different episode as we are talking love languages.
Based off the best-selling book by Garry Chapman, The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate, we are unpacking what each love language means and how you can use them to strengthen your romantic and platonic relationships.
Take the test yourself here!
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and give us a follow @storyofmyquarterlife
Welcome back legends! Seeing as the two of us met on the other side of the world (has Jess mentioned she went to New Zealand?) we wanted to do an episode all about solo travelling! We asked you to submit your questions via Instagram, and now we’re here to answer them. From planning where to go to budgeting; and from making friends to keeping safe whilst away from home, we hope this episode inspires you to take the plunge and explore what the world has to offer (global pandemics permitting).
If you enjoy the show, don’t forget to share the love by subscribing, leaving a review and following us @storyofmyquarterlife
Hey legends! Now that the UK is back in business (well, almost) we wanted to chat all things post-lockdown dating. Whether you’ve got straight back out there organising dates left, right and centre (Ali) or have a case of the post-pandemic dating anxiety (Jess), we’ve got ya. We also discuss how on earth you’re meant to navigate the dating scene when you’re trying to keep things casual. And as usual, there’s a side order of overthinking.
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to share the love by subscribing, leaving a review or sliding into our DMs at @storyofmyquarterlife
WE’RE BACK FOR SEASON 2 BABY! This week’s episode is all about this little thing we call life; from career choices and relationships, to marriage and moving countries. What should we be doing and how can we navigate the winding path that is adult life? Spoiler: screw timelines. Plus, we bring you up to speed on what we’ve been getting up to since we’ve been away (marathons and dating galore).
We are SO excited to be back and cannot thank you enough for your support on season 1. Don’t forget, if you enjoy listening please do subscribe, leave a review and follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
Hey pals! We can’t believe we’ve reached the end of season 1 already! For our final episode, we thought it would be fun to read some of your dating confessions, before offering some unqualified advice to some of your dating dilemmas! Am I being ghosted? How should you start a conversation with someone on a dating app? How can you get over the fear of asking someone out? Should I lower my dating standards (spoiler: no)?
As usual, if you enjoy the episode make sure you subscribe, leave a review and follow us over at @storyofmyquarterlife – we’ll be back very soon for season 2!
It’s the penultimate episode of season 1 and we’re back by popular demand to chat…dating! First, Jess regales us with the tale of a recent DM slide, before we chat overthinking and why we do it. Then, we’re straight onto those dating red flags! How do you know when someone is breadcrumbing you? What should you do about it? Plus, just how much should you talk about an ex to a new partner?
As usual, if you enjoy the episode make sure you share the love by subscribing, leaving a review or sliding into our DMs @storyofmyquarterlife
Trigger warning: Disordered eating and exercise behaviours.
Hello hello! This week’s episode is a bit of a different one. Since the both of us have been on long old journeys when it comes to fitness, we wanted to dive further into this topic today. In storytime, we both share our personal experiences with exercise addiction and how our approaches to fitness have changed over the years (aka another excuse for Ali to mention running). Then we’re talking intuitive fitness and how to find your own healthy balance. Enjoy!
Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife and don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and DM slide to let us know you’re loving the pod
The light-hearted lols are BACK people, and it’s the one you’ve all been waiting for (or maybe it’s just because we wanted another excuse to chat clitoral stimulators): we’re talking all things sex! From solo sex to bad sex, from friends with benefits to keeping things safe. Strap in because there’s a lot of ground to cover!
If you love the episode don’t forget to subscribe/leave a review and follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
Hello friends. This episode is coming to you a little earlier than usual. We always said this pod would provide the highs, lows and laughs, and although the lows are few and far between, the events of the past week are unfortunately one of them. We felt, however, that this was a topic we couldn’t ignore.
Please note, this episode comes with a trigger warning. This is also a very raw and personal conversation for us both, so bear this in mind as you listen.
Sending love to you all.
Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife and don’t forget to subscribe & leave a review
Hiya pals! Since lockdown restrictions in the UK are going to be easing soon (fingers and toes crossed anyway) we wanted to chat about the fear of missing out - a.k.a FOMO - and the pressure many of you (ourselves included) may be feeling to make up for lost time this summer by throwing yourselves into all manner of activities. For the chronic people pleasers out there (e.g Ali) we’re also tackling ‘how to say no’, as well as discussing our hopes and fears for post-pandemic life.
If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and send us a message on @storyofmyquarterlife!
Another week, another episode! Today we’re chatting dating etiquette! From dating turn offs (including males’ perspectives) to sex on a first date (do you or don’t you?). Plus, ghosting: is it ever okay (spoiler: no)? We’re also bringing you some tragic dating stories of our own, so strap in for the ride!
If you enjoy the ep, don’t forget to subscribe, review or send us a message!
Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
Welcome back friends! This week’s episode is a slightly more serious one (but don’t worry, we’ll be bringing you more tragic dating stories real soon) – we’re unpacking hustle culture! How do we define ‘success’? How can social media warp our perceptions of success? Can you ever achieve a work-life balance? And has good old #selfcare just become another part of the daily grind?
As always, if you love the episode please hit the follow button, leave a review or slide into our DMs @storyofmyquarterlife to share the love!
We’re back baby! This one’s for all the swipers out there…love them, hate them…most of us have dabbled with at least one dating app in our time. We unpack what makes a great dating profile, what makes a not-so-great dating profile (spoiler: we don’t give a damn if you like pineapple on pizza), conversation openers, first dates, ghosting and more!
Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
Well hey there! Welcome to Story of My Quarter Life! Join us, Jess and Ali, as we bring you light-hearted, relatable overshares about the highs, lows and laughs of dating, friendships and ‘doing life’ in your 20s. For our first episode, we’re kicking off with the story of how we met on the other side of the world, before delving into the complexities of making and maintaining friendships as a 20-something.
Disclaimer: In this episode we speak about talking to strangers on social media. We would like to stress the importance of making sure that you know the person you are talking to online is real. Please do not meet up with someone you have met online without letting a friend know your whereabouts, or bring someone with you.
Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife
Gals Who Graduate: www.galswhograduate.com
Have a Gos: instagram.com/thehaveagos
Hey guys! Welcome to Story of My Quarter Life! Join us, Jess and Ali, as we bring you light-hearted, relatable overshares about the highs, lows and laughs of dating, friendships and ‘doing life’ in your 20s.
Follow us @storyofmyquarterlife