"I get to see where curiosity takes me"

3 highlights from my interview on the Tyler Hill Podcast

My friend Tyler Hill recently had me on his podcast, and it was one of my favorite conversations to date. Tyler is not only an incredible thinker, but he also pays attention and deeply loves. I felt so moved by how Tyler sat with my words and interests and took notes to ask me specific questions about them.

We talked about cultivating beauty, finding purpose in life, and being true to yourself in all things. This conversation means a lot to me, and I hope you make time to sit with it and maybe even share it with someone special.

Here are a few of my favorite things we explore in the episode ⬇️

1. Curiosity is entirely the name of the game

Over the years, I’ve fallen deeper in love with the things I enjoy through following my curiosities about them. Whether it be my favorite basketball players or characters I learned about on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, I’m someone who tries to soak up all I can and enjoys sharing my findings with others. It’s this curiosity that has kept me coming back to writing over the years and guides the essays I write for my newsletter. I’m constantly pursuing love, and I’m always met with love along the way.

Alex: “I get to create my own learning agenda… It takes me back to those times as a kid when I was following wherever my heart and mind went.”

Tyler: “The curiosity was still there; it just wasn’t encouraged by the system like that. That spirit was in you; it just was in conflict with the system was built around you.”

2. Authenticity invites belonging

My creativity has always been an expression of my true self. Even as I’ve changed and evolved, my work has reflected who I am at that time and what I value. My newsletter, Feels Like Home, features essays and musings on NBA basketball, Bravo TV, hip-hop music, religion, politics, and more. I find connections between these things just as they’re connected within me—and what I often find is people who love the same things I love and feel seen or people who aren’t interested in that topic on the surface but gain a newfound appreciation for it. Either way, we find room to belong.

Alex: “I want to get in on the fun.”

Tyler: “By way of sharing with complete authenticity, you’ve created a home and a place of belonging through your creation.”

3. God probably looks like Grandma

I learned faith through the women in my life, especially my grandmothers. But they didn’t hand me a Bible. They handed me candy when they wanted to keep me calm during the church service. They handed me their music, which I still feel in my body to this day. They handed me cucumber slices after a long day at basketball camp. When I think about God, I think about my grandmas, Gwen & Thelma, because they embodied goodness; they overflowed with love.

Alex: “So much of what I recognize as God in these women is the way that they live; it’s the way they love.”

Tyler: “The feminine spirituality is embodied. It has so much more to do with the food and the hugs and the cuddles and the face touches and the kisses.”

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Thank you!

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