

4 Gems ‘Women In Media’ Can Learn From Angela Yee
Recently, Women In Media gathered in Philadelphia to celebrate us, the present, and the future of media during their annual conference. This included honoring entrepreneur and radio host, Angela Yee, who continues to pave the way for those in the industry with her "hustle hard" mentality.
By the time she got off the stage, it felt as if we had been bonded together as she shared her journey to success. This epic girl talk touched on breakups (only to exemplify resilience and God's timing, of course) and business, and you can't begin to imagine the gems that were dropped.
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There were no limits to the helpful advice she spouted out to the women who were present. In the spirit of motivating other women in media or any industry, here are 4 top-notch takeaways from everything that Yee gave us:
Internships Pay Big, Even If It's Not Financially
We grapple with the idea of internships because it's essentially slave labor for the needy. It's yet another social construct developed to help the rich get richer, as they're the only ones who can afford to work for free (with minimal pressure and stress, that is).
Yet, they are what's necessary to get your foot in the door and, in certain industries (journalism/PR/marketing), unpaid internships are far more prevalent than others. That rings especially true in markets like New York City, a place thriving and over-saturated with post-grad potential, where you aren't the only one trying to be the only one.
Also important? Passion and, of course, a desire to be present in this moment of your life despite the struggle.
This is what Yee knew when she quit the paying temp job opening envelopes in a room with no windows and zero room for enthusiasm after only two days. Within the same week, she got two offers after putting in work sending in resumes, one of which was from Wu-Tang, who she had interned with during her time in undergrad.
"Even though I didn't get paid for all the internships that I did, I still have relationships at all the places I interned and any of those people, I think, to this day would still hire me because I was so enthusiastic when I went in," the entrepreneur and radio co-host said of the opportunities her internships have presented.
Working for free for a year or so is a small price to pay for the doors that interning can open -- especially when it's something you can do with hope for growth and professional development in the future.
To Angela's point, the undeniable truth is that: "No matter how much money you're making or not making, you have to always go above and beyond, and that's something I've always done."
Consider your time as an intern as a trial period to see if they see longevity in you and vice versa. It's easy to change professions while on the intern level but trying to do so at 45 with a minivan full of kids, although commendable, it's hard as hell.
Trust God's Plan And The Timing Of Everything
When Yee graduated with a degree in English from Wesleyan University in 2000, her ambitions were to become a writer. From Wu-Tang to Eminem's clothing line, and through a long string of marketing jobs, Yee continued to make connections in the industry. After being laid off while working with Em's line, Yee inquired about a marketing position at Sirius XM radio. When Angela stepped into the radio game she had no experience. Writing was her goal, writing was her passion, and writing was her end game. The saying "tell God your plans and watch him laugh" is a major theme in Yee's story and her continued faith has positioned her for the success we see before our eyes. She concluded by adding the importance of remaining open to opportunities and remaining "limitless."
"We have to stop confining ourselves to expectations of 'well, this could never happen' or 'this is a terrible idea.' We have to take a risk because if you don't take a risk, then nothing is going to happen and having nothing happen is worse than trying something that doesn't work."
What's Meant For You Will Be For You But Not Without Work
Much to our surprise, she admits she was awful when she first began radio.
"We should never assume that as soon as we start something we're going to be great at it, you have to know that it's going to take some time to get better."
"I was awful at first. It was hard for me to listen to myself, I didn't tell anybody that I was doing that [radio] because I didn't want anyone to listen, who I knew and be like 'what the hell?' So, it was kind of a secret and little by little people would find out," says Yee.
The self-made go-getter attributes her success to her endless dedication to improve, reminiscing she tells the Women In Media crowd: "I dedicated myself 100 percent to that. I wasn't going out, I was going out listening to my shows figuring out how to get better because I wasn't good at it."
Yee's skills improved immensely and Sirius radio went on to offer her the position on the morning show, and also space to create Lip Service with an opportunity for a night set.
After the doors began to open for Yee, there was no turning back. She went on to get offers from Atlanta, Philly, and soon thereafter I Heart Radio offered her a platform. As the co-host points out, "That's from someone who did not go to school for radio, who never thought I would be a radio personality, I grinded it out and worked hard."
Two Women Are Always Better Than One
The Real
Starting a new position requires you making the rounds to find your fellow black crew. Being a woman, we tend to find an additional place amongst our workplace peers of black women. It's one of the best ways we know how to support one another -- by sticking together. However, we've all heard those women who swear they don't enjoy the company of other women. Yee warns against these type of women, stating that she's "really cautious of people [other women] who say 'I don't mess with other girls' because that's an awful attitude to have."
She further elaborates, "We work so much better together and a lot of that attitude comes from people around us."
Sadly, Yee recounts the numerous times she was pitted against women like Melyssa Ford, Miss Info, and Amanda Seales who all worked in the building while she was at Sirius. None of the women were on the same station and were constantly being told not to trust one another. This is, unfortunately, the way of the world. But we know that together, women get shit done!
Although this was delivered to the Women In Media by a woman in media, we know that Angela Yee is so much more than that. She's more than any one title and we have the potential to be, as well. Knowing the grind can present many roadblocks, it can be useful to heed the advice of someone who has already overcome quite a few of the same or similar obstacles.
With that in mind, I hope that some boss babe somewhere sees this and keeps pushing the limits of her faith.
Related Stories:
Why I Took the Job As a 30-Year-Old Intern at Buzzfeed - Read More
Angela Yee Shares How to Master the Art of Side Hustling - Read More
9 Lessons I Learned After Working 9 Internships - Read More
Motor City native, Atlanta living. Sagittarius. Writer. Sexpert. Into all things magical, mystical, and unknown. I'll try anything at least once but you knew that the moment I revealed that I was a Sag.
Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Why Do Millennials & Gen-Zers Still Feel Like Teenagers? The Pandemic Might Be The Reason.
There’s nothing quite as humbling as navigating adulthood with no instruction manual. Since the turn of the decade, it seems like everything in our society that could go wrong has, inevitably, gone wrong. From the global pandemic, our crippling student debt problem, the loneliness crisis, layoffs, global warming, recession, and not to mention figuring out what to eat for dinner every night. This constant state of uncertainty has many of us wondering, when are the grown-ups coming to fix all of this?
But the catch is, we are the new grown-ups.
As if it happened without our permission, we became the new adults. We are the members of society who are paying taxes, having children, getting married, and keeping our communities afloat, one iced latte at a time. Still, there’s something about doing all these grown-up duties that feel unnaturally grown-up. Enter the #teenagegirlinher20s.
If there’s one hashtag to give you the state of the next cohort of adults, it’s this one. Of the videos that have garnered over 3.9M views, you’ll find a collection of users who are overwhelmed by life’s pressing existential responsibilities, clung to nostalgia, and reminiscent of the days when their mom and dad took care of their insurance plans.
@charlies444ngel no like i cant explain to her why i had to buy multiple tank air dupes from aritzia #teenagegirlinher20s #fyp
The concept of being a 20-something or 30-something teenager is linked to the sentiment of not feeling “grown up enough” to do grown-up things while feeling underprepared and even nihilistic about whether that preparation even matters.
It’s our generation’s version of when we ask our grandmothers how old they are and they simply reply with, “I still feel 45,” all while being every bit of 76 years old. In this, we share a warped concept of time while clinging to a desire for infantilization.
Granted, the pandemic did a number on our concept of time. Many of us who started the pandemic in our early or mid-20s missed out on three fundamental years of socialization, career development, and personal milestones that traditionally help to mark our growth.
Our time to figure out and plan our next steps through fumbling yet active participation was put on pause indefinitely and then resumed provisionally. This in turn has left many of us hanging in the balance of uncertainty as we try to make sense of the disconnect between our minds and bodies in this missing gap of time.
Because we’re all still figuring out what the ramifications of being locked away and frozen in time by a global pandemic will have on us as a society, there really is no “right” way of making up for lost time. Feeling unprepared for any new chapter of life is a natural rite of passage, pandemic or not. However, it’s important to not stay stuck in the last age or period of life that made sense to us because self-growth is the truest evidence of personal progress.
So whether you’re leaning on your inner child, teenager, or 20-something for guidance as you fill the gap between your real age and pandemic age, know that it’s okay to grieve the person you thought you would be and the milestones you thought you’d hit before you ever knew what a pandemic was. If there’s anything that the pandemic taught us, it’s that we have the power to reimagine a better world and life for ourselves. And if we tap into our inner teenager as a compass, we can piece together our next chapter with a fresh outlook.
Sure, we’ve lost a couple of years, but there are still some really amazing ones ahead.
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