An Introvert Walks Into a Podcast
If crushes were coffee, I’d have a Trenta-sized one on Trevor Noah.
Trenta is the secret jumbo-sized Starbucks cup that’s bigger than a Venti and not on the menu. My friend, Jacci, taught me a very important Trenta lesson years ago.
When you live in Hawaii and you’re a zombie sea slug before caffeine, you drink A LOT of iced coffee. Starbucks has the best iced coffee. That’s an indisputable fact. A lot of iced coffee from Starbucks equals a lot fewer dollars in your bank account for other essentials like sunscreen and pinot grigio.
Enter Jacci, knower of important things. She taught me everything I know about the elusive Trenta, which is literally just one thing but it’s THE BEST one thing.
You don’t go in and order the typical grande and get a cup of ice with four sips of that sweet, sweet nectar of the gods. No, that’s for chumps and people who swim in gold coins like Scrooge McDuck.
INSTEAD, YOU WALK UP, LOOK THAT OVER-WORKED AND UNDERPAID BARISTA IN THE EYES AND ORDER A TRENTA ICED COFFEE WITH NO ICE.
Those walking miracles will proceed to hand you a bathtub of chilled deliciousness. Then—and this part is critical—you tip the barista for putting up with your and everyone else’s bullshit. Because there’s not enough free coffee on earth for that thankless job.
Once you’ve got your cauldron o’ coffee, take it home, pop it in the fridge, and enjoy a solid three day’s worth of iced yummy. *Chef’s kiss*
Is making iced coffee difficult? No. Does this still make it easier and taste better because stuff always tastes better when someone else makes it? Yes. Does this bit win the award for my longest side tangent to date? Also, yes.
Anyway, back to Trevor Noah. I mean, have you seen those dimples? C’mon, man! Not fair.
I’m doubling down on the swoon after human light, Jeri Bingham, interviewed me on her podcast, Hush Loudly. Our conversation centered around activism and the critical role introverts play in it. Jeri is brilliant and kind and uses her voice in powerful ways to elevate other introverts. Talking with her is both an honor and a delight.
During the episode, Jeri mentioned she sees a similarity between me and Noah—and I about fell out of my damn chair. Had I not been earnestly trying to not stick my foot in my mouth while we were recording, I likely would have been reduced to a pile of soggy croutons.
Aside from the charm and the smile *swoons for eternity*, Noah embodies another incredible trait.
HE SHOWS THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A SERIOUS PERSON TO TALK ABOUT SERIOUS TOPICS.
Can you imagine being in his shoes? Hosting the Daily Show through two clusterfuck U.S. elections, the COVID pandemic, and massive shifts in conversations around race, gender, policing, education, health, and sexuality? That is some big shit to tackle. Yet he does it in a way that brings just enough humor to make it human and—no matter how heavy—just enough hope to show us we can and must do better. That’s a goddamn superpower if you ask me.
So when Jeri made a comparison between me and Mr. Dimples, my heart raced as though I’d just downed an entire Trenta iced coffee in one swig.
It was the best damned compliment I’ve ever received. And I promise that I 100% let it inflate my ego. I can’t even walk through doorways anymore; my head is too big to fit.
In the same way that you don’t have to be an extrovert to possess a powerful voice, you don’t have to be a solemn person to take on serious topics. Not everyone likes my approach, or Trevor Noah’s, and that’s okay. It takes all kinds of people and all kinds of voices to move a message that can move a mountain.
THE GOAL IS TO USE THE VOICE YOU HAVE.
If you want to hear Jeri’s and my actual voices, check out the podcast here!