The In-Between: Why I’m Pressing Pause to Rest, Reflect, and Come Back Renewed

I've reached a significant milestone by graduating with my Master's in Public Health, but now I'm navigating the void that comes after achievement when the celebration ends and quietness sets in.

• Taking a month-long break from the podcast to rest, process, and return renewed
• Planning to bring more intention, storytelling, and whole woman wellness when I return
• Promising a surprise for listeners when the podcast resumes
• Sharing five gentle reminders for transition seasons:
 - It's okay to feel the void between endings and beginnings
 - Rest is a productive and necessary part of progress
 - You don't need the next five steps, just space to breathe
 - Reflect before you reset by examining what you've learned
 - You're allowed to evolve and come back different
• Encouraging listeners to pour into themselves first before rushing into the next season

If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at Tea with Tanya podcast, subscribe to the weekly Tea Talk newsletter, and rate on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Tea with Tanya
• 1:14 Post-Graduation Feelings and Void
• 2:58 Taking a Break for Renewal
• 4:00 Five Reminders for Transition Seasons
• 7:34 Gratitude and Looking Forward

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and grad student. Join me in the Tea Tasting Room where we spill the tea on finding balance and promoting positive living while doing it all. Hey friend, welcome back to another episode of Tea with Tanya. Thank you for joining me here in the Tea Tasting Room for another episode. I hope you have done something for yourself within the last week, because you know how we do it. Here. We are working on pouring it to ourselves, putting ourselves first.

Speaker 1: 0:39

I am about a week or so post-grad and I don't know what to do with myself. I honestly don't. This past week has been really good. It has been overwhelming, but in a good way, and I'm still processing it. I'm starting to. I think I'm just like I just process things late as I'm getting older. I don't know all, because I have so much things going on. I just block out certain things. I don't know what it is, but this has been an amazing week. An amazing week spending time with family, celebrating with my tribe. It's just been a really amazing week.

Speaker 1: 1:09

But today I want to talk about something that isn't always talked about enough, at least for me. What happens after the high of the milestone, when things get quiet Because I just graduated? I did the thing. I was able to walk across that stage, something that I've been waiting on for at least five years. And I say that because when I got my bachelor's of science in public health in 2020, it was in the middle of the heart. We were in the trenches, honey, when it came to COVID-19. So I had a virtual graduation. I just saw my name on a screen and that was it. So I told myself I was going to go all out when it came to grad school. So I told myself I was going to go all out when it came to grad school. So I was able to walk across that stage. I completed my MPH, my master's in public health. I closed a big chapter of my life and I'm so, so proud. I am so proud, but also I am tired and, honestly, I feel a little lost, just a little.

Speaker 1: 2:01

So I want to talk about that in-between season, the moment after the applause dies down and the question sets in now what If I'm keeping it real, which you know I always do in the Tea Tasting Room it's been overwhelming so much of my identity over the last two years has been rooted in being a grad student, in building and balancing and giving and doing and growing. Now that it's done, I feel the void, the quiet, the ache to keep going and the simultaneous need to stop. So here's what I'm doing. I'm listening to that still small voice that's been whispering you need a break, you need a break, you need a break. So, yes, my friend, he, with Tanya, will be taking a much needed break for the next month. Now, this is not an easy feat, but this isn't a goodbye, it's a pause. It's me giving myself permission to rest, to process, to reflect without rushing, to remember who I am, without the pressure of always producing, because rest isn't a reward for burnout, my friend, it's a requirement for clarity.

Speaker 1: 3:11

I want to return to this podcast, to the tea tasting room, renewed, restored and aligned, not just showing up to fill a content calendar, but to pour something meaningful into your ears and your heart. And when I come back, just know I have a surprise for you. So that's only if you look forward to it. I have a surprise for you. All right, we're taking things to the next level more intention, more storytelling, more of the whole woman wellness that I know you love and deserve. So if you're listening to this and you're also stepping into something new, maybe it's a transition, a pivot, a quiet reset.

Speaker 1: 3:49

I want to share a few gentle reminders for this season, because I'm going to be. I have it on a post-it note so I'll be able to see that reminder daily. The first one is it's okay to feel the void. The space between endings and beginnings is sacred. Don't rush to fill it. Sit in it, listen to it. Now, this is going to be somewhat hard for me because I'm so used to having things to do. And let me just make this clear I'm still going to have my to-do list. I just know that part of that to-do list is going to be cut into half at some point in time, but I don't want to rush into it. I want to be able to can seal that void. Sit in it, process and then just listen to what it's telling me. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 4:29

The second thing is rest is productive, which we all know. Yes, I said it Sleeping, slowing down and unplugging from output are all valid forms of progress. Okay, my friend. And then the third one is you don't need the next five steps. You just need to breathe. You need a space to breathe and this is coming from the girl that tends to write everything down. I'm always thinking about certain things in the future. No, you don't need the next five steps, you just need a space to breathe. The clarity will come when you make room for it, and I want you to believe that.

Speaker 1: 5:02

The fourth thing is reflect. Before you reset, ask yourself what did I learn? What am I letting go? What do I want to carry forward? That's something that I've been leaning into and I want to take this time to really just sit and reflect, because as I continue to grow and evolve, you know it's become nothing, which is going to lead us into number five.

Speaker 1: 5:21

You don't have to come back the same. You, my friend, are allowed to evolve. You're allowed to change your mind. You're allowed to come back softer, louder, clearer or just entirely reimagined. You are because, when I think about where I'm with the podcast now, to where I started, I've evolved so many different times and you guys have been rocking with me throughout the different transition. But again, that's because you know what we're not meant to be the same. We're supposed to continue to grow and learn and do what needs to be done when I think about what's going to be coming up in the tea tasting room.

Speaker 1: 5:51

Even I'm taking this break because one your girl has been doing them all for the last two years like nonstop. Nonstop Vacation is never vacation, because the vacation that I take for my day job is for me to go focus on my nonprofit stuff. You know what I mean. So it's never really a true vacation or a true break. So I want to be able to embrace that this season. Let me sit, let me reflect on the last two years of my life. What's going to happen?

Speaker 1: 6:14

So when I come back, you know you may meet a whole different target. First of all Because, again, I am allowed to evolve, but the work is going to be done behind the scenes. So I can make sure that I'm showing up for you here to the best of my ability. Sprint this, that I'm showing up for you here to the best of my ability. This is your reminder that you don't have to sprint into your next season. You don't have to rush to prove that you're ready. You get to rest, you get to pause, you get to breathe and when you come back, do it with clarity. Do it with intention. Do it because you've poured into yourself first and I'm going to say that last line because this is what I want for us to do why we're not going to be in the TCS for the next couple of weeks. Do it because you've poured into yourself first.

Speaker 1: 7:01

So I want to thank you for being with me on this journey throughout the last two years and since the podcast even started. Thank you for listening. Thank you for supporting and holding space as I go through grad school and into this next chapter of my life. I'll be off the mic for the next few weeks, but I'll be on Instagram if you want to say hi or share how you're resting too, and when I come back. Just know my friend, we're leveling up with softness strategy and a surprise. Stay tuned Until next time, my friend. Stay whole, stay grounded and sip slow. I'll see you soon. Love you for listening. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at Tea with Tanya podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Tea Talk newsletter and, of course, rate on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.