From Food Stamps to $33,000 Meals: Alexa Santos on Career Pivots
If you feel in your soul you need to pivot, you should probably listen.
I just sat down with Alexa Santos. Former TV news reporter turned viral food creator with over 800,000 followers across social media.
In this episode you’ll learn
How Alexa 10x’d her journalism salary by getting fired and going full-time into food.
Why “delusional confidence” is a requirement for entering rooms you aren’t invited to yet.
The exact roadmap for finding your “out” when stuck in a soul-sucking corporate contract.
We dive into the details later in the conversation. If you like the episode, please subscribe.
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:58 Navigating Career Transitions and Self-Discovery
5:40 The Challenges of TV News Reporting
11:50 The Role of Support Systems in Career Changes
14:24 Freelancing and Financial Struggles
23:04 Unlearning Toxic Work Beliefs
25:53 The Importance of Valuing Your Expertise
32:30 Building Confidence and Inviting Yourself
38:46 Turning Passion into a Profitable Career
44:28 Creating an Action Plan for Career Transition
50:22 Challenging Societal Norms and Personal Growth
1:01:52 Where to find Alexa What’s For Dinner
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Here’s the full transcript:
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (00:00.046)
When someone reads, fired on food stamps and then $33,000 to cook one meal, what story do you want them to have learned by the end of this conversation? If you are really feeling in your soul that you need to pivot from your current career path, that you should probably listen to it. What made you go, you know what, I’m going to get into food? I was a journalist by trade and like a foodie by hobby.
first salary right out of college was $30,000 a year. That was for a year of like, rind. In the workforce, like, you gotta eat a lot of shit. You gotta like, suck it up, make a little money, and just do what you gotta do because that’s what having a job is. How do you set yourself up in a way that you can feel like you can take the leap? You know how little money I had made in the past, but having brands come to my inbox saying like, do you wanna do a video for us for $5,000, $8,000? I’m like, holy shit, I knew this was possible, but I didn’t know it was like that. Yeah, they fired me.
in November of 2022 and January of 2023 was like, all right, we’re Alexa, what’s for dinner full time. And I made more money that year by like 10 times than I ever had in my entire life. Welcome to that one time with Adam Metwally, the podcast bridging the gap between health, hustle and happiness. We’re at podcast for a while in Chelsea, New York City, and I’m with viral home cook content creator.
and former TV news presenter, Alexa Santos. Alexa is the creator behind the social media pages, Alexa What’s for Dinner, sharing easy and exciting recipes to almost 800,000 people on Instagram and TikTok. She was a senior producer at Feed Feed and one of the home cooks on Hulu’s Secret Chef, where she cooked under the alias Chef Bologna. When someone reads fired on food stamps and then 33,000
dollars to cook one meal about your life, what story do you want them to have learned by the end of this conversation? That if you are really feeling in your soul that you need to pivot from your current career path, that you should probably listen to it, because that’s what I
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (02:09.102)
Like, should I start from the beginning? I just like what I did. Okay, so I studied journalism at Northwestern University, which is a top journalism school. And that’s kind of always what I wanted to do. I wanted to be the next Katie Corrick. was like, I grew up like setting up fake news sets in my house at home. We called it eyewitness penguin, because I was obsessed with penguin, penguins, I don’t know. So I kind of always wanted that. And I worked at my high school newspaper, yearbook. I was always locked in on being a reporter.
And I went to school for it, left school, was a TV news reporter in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and then Fort Myers, Florida for two years each. And so that was it. That was my career path. And it was not a lucrative one, but it was one that I was very sure that I wanted to do. But when it finally started hitting in and sinking in for me, that it was not for me and my soul, it took a little while to grapple with that. And of course it was very hard to pivot. And I could get more into that as we go through this, but it-
obviously was something that you doubt a lot and you think like, I doing the right thing? You know, I’m basically leaving all my dreams behind to start something that doesn’t really exist yet. Am I like making the wrong decision? Am I, did I waste all this time on something that I always wanted, but now I don’t want anymore. And it was like genuinely and truly like the best decision I ever made in my life to like jump ship from where I was at.
and make that change. And it was just something that I kind of knew in my heart of hearts and my soul that needed to happen. So I call it my quarter life crisis. And luckily I’m very lucky that it worked out and everything did pan out. And I, it was not without like a ton of bumps in the road and twists and turns and dips and pitfalls and tears and anxiety attacks, of course, but the light at the end of the tunnel was so worth it. And it was something that I think
Most people in my life were really impressed that I was able to pull off. So I think that if that’s the voice in your head that’s speaking to you, that you should probably listen to it. Yeah. When you are asking yourself all of those questions, what answers did you get? As far as like, am I doing the right thing? Yeah. The answers I got were, so the problem with TV news is that all the content is very depressing. So you watch, you turn on the news, it’s like murders and crimes and bad things happening all the time. It’s just not...
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (04:29.038)
something that resonates with me and my soul. And mean, of course, these are facts of things that are happening in the world and you can’t hide from that forever. But that being your day-to-day life where, as a TV journalist say something, God forbid happened to a family member of yours and we’re reporting on it on the news. So then I’m knocking on your door being like, hey, your brother was in a car crash. Can you talk to me about it on the news? And you’re probably like, literally get out of my face. I would show up on people’s doors and ask them to...
do TV interviews with me on the worst day of their life. Almost every day. So it’s, you know, very, it wears on you because you’re very, it’s a very volatile thing. And when that’s the type of stuff that you’re covering every day, it’s just constantly, you have to have a really thick skin for that. And I did, and I do have a thick skin, but it’s, it just really, it grates on you. The fact that you’re just constantly like, for lack of better term, like,
bugging people in the midst of tragedy or whatever else is happening. And of course I would never take away from the job that TV journalists or any journalist is doing. I mean, it’s incredibly admirable and it’s incredibly important in society, but it was just something that for me was not speaking to my soul anymore. It was not like bringing me joy to have to like basically beg people to go on TV with me when horrible things were happening to them. It was just not.
it didn’t feel right for me after a while. So nothing wrong with the profession. In fact, we need them now more than ever. And we always will. But it just wasn’t for me anymore. That’s what happened. So did you quietly check out and then you got fired? No. So the firing was actually at a different job. OK. Yeah. So I did quietly check out. And I think so in TV news, they kind of loop you into these contracts that are like for at least two years usually you’ll get at a local news station to be there on air.
And so I was kind of about halfway through my contract where I was working in Fort Myers, Florida. And I just realized like, I can’t do this. so, but you can’t just quit. You’re in these contracts. So it’s like a pretty big deal to get out of you. It’s not something that happens. It’s very like, like if anything, very frowned upon and like legally not allowed. You’re like in a very intense contract. And yeah, I think luckily I had a boss that was pretty understanding and picking up on the fact that it
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (06:49.92)
I wasn’t happy anymore. And I think I was at that point on autopilot and just doing like the bare minimum to get through the day to day of my job. And you could tell, you know, I was on live TV every day reporting. I’d literally be like, yeah, happening right now behind me, like so-and-so crime scene, this and this was happening. And I think my bosses after a while could tell that like my heart wasn’t in it. And so I’d obviously at a certain point, you don’t want to keep someone at a job like that where they’re so unhappy and it’s affecting their...
Like, why would you want to keep someone somewhere where they’re miserable? Like, you’re not going to get the output that you want. So I was very lucky that they did, like, kindly let me out of the contract where I was, yeah, finally able to pursue something else. And I think that was really huge for me. So it was kind of a slow, like, shit. I don’t know if I want to do this to, okay, now it’s, I can’t even, like, really do my job in a way that this isn’t affecting me anymore to, like,
they’re noticing it and they’re realizing like, okay, if she wants to go, we should let her go because it’s not, it’s not going to help any of us. Yeah. If she’s miserable here every day. So I just, yeah, I was then unemployed at that point. So were you already doing food content on the side at that time? Not at all. So what made you go, you know what, I’m going to get into food. Yeah. So I was always really into it. Both my parents are in the hospitality industry and like have been in the restaurant industry their whole careers and my whole life. So
that’s actually how they met and they got married in Chicago, which is where I was born and where I was raised in South Florida. My mom was running a restaurant. She was a restaurant manager and my dad that wrote just like various jobs with and around the hospitality industry. Neither of them were chefs, but I grew up with just like a very fondness and understanding of food and what good food is, especially, know, like home style food. You know, my parents were both good cooks and I was lucky in that sense.
And it was always my thing. I was just always really into it. I had a grandma who was a great cook. I learned a lot from her. I was just always like the foodie girl out of my friends. And in college, you know, since I was living in Chicago, I had access to really nice restaurants that I was able to try. And that kind of opened my eyes up to the world of like fine dining, which I had never experienced really in my life. And it just became, I would say my hobby and like passion would.
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (09:04.312)
would have been like, you know, trying new restaurants in Chicago at the time in college. And when I was a TV reporter in Wisconsin, I was driving distance from Chicago. So that was just like my idea of a good time was trying good restaurants and knowing about food, learning about food. I grew up watching all the Food Network stuff, all the, you know, even the old school stuff, Iron Chef Japan, like that was just always my thing. It was always like, that was my core other than, you know, I was a journalist by trade and like a foodie by.
hobby. And so that was just almost my thing. And I kind of figured, okay, I can do this. I have a really stacked resume. went to Northwestern, which is, top journalism school in the country. If I’m doing these like very complicated news stories every day on all these like hot topics and crimes and local city hall scandals and whatever it may be, surely I can do this, but about food. And this was in the era of like very viral food stuff, like
Sushi burrito, rainbow bagel, this was like 2017, 2018, all that stuff. was like, surely I can be a journalist for like, know, cronuts if I can do it for all this other stuff. So at that point I was really like, yeah, bet, you know, I could get a job at like Buzzfeed Tasty or TasteMaid or like, let me work at a media company doing what I do now. I want to be like a visual, a video journalist, but for food.
That was a lot easier said than done. was like, yeah, trust me in 2018, they were not really like chomping at the bit for like off the beaten path hires at Buzzfeed. They were like locked in and everybody who was growing in that industry was either like kind of grandfathered in by having like an internship there or they were already like culinary professionals. I think you have to have a lot of professional culinary expertise to work at a food media company. I think you probably think like, oh yeah.
I kind of thought to myself, like, I love food. I’m a professional journalist. I went to Northwestern, like, why wouldn’t you hire me? What’s the problem? But I, really, it took me a long time to like develop the breadth of experience that I do have in food styling and recipe development. And that’s all like, those are, people get degrees just in those things. Those are like very buttoned up professional trades. And so,
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (11:15.606)
Yeah, it was not easy to kind of make that jump, but that was why I wanted to do it. I knew I had the skill set for it and I knew I could do it. I just really had to expand my knowledge on the actual like recipe development, how to cook professionally, how to style food, how to make food look appealing on camera. Those are things that don’t just happen overnight. It takes like quite a while to do that. So it was just, yeah, kind of always my passion. And then I had to really like double down on how to actually do it for work.
At 26, you left the TV reporting job, moved to NYC. Unemployed. Unemployed. With the only plan of making food media your career. How did you get to the point where that decision was even possible to be able to be made? Yeah, so I was actually, you know, and I’ll give him all the credit in the world for this, but I was dating a guy at the time that we both went to Northwestern together and not that he was supporting me financially, but I moved in with him. So I had that, I guess.
safety net of, okay, I’m not going to be homeless. You know, I think that that was a big part of it. I was, you know, I’m not from a family that would could or would support me just moving to New York, unemployed and like paying my rent and stuff like, no, I’ve been fully responsible for myself since I left college. You know, I am self-made a hundred percent other than like my upbringing. And so, yeah, I think that was a big part of it is that I was in a very long-term relationship with somebody who
was very on their feet financially. if, God forbid, I wasn’t making money, my landlord was kind of my boyfriend at the time, or I paid him rent, but it’s not like, oh, need a couple more weeks. I’m gonna be on the street. So that was honestly how. Until you guys broke up. Yeah, and that’s why I left New York in 2021. Damn, okay. Yeah, because we broke up and I couldn’t afford to live here on my own anymore. Yeah, fair enough. yeah, and he, we had,
We don’t speak, we’ve been broken up for four years, but I think he knows and everybody knows that I would not have been able to do it without him as that like kind of safety net there. So it’s really hard to move to New York City without a financial safety net. Like if you don’t already have a lot of money or a family that’s gonna support you or something that is there to like get you through being here, it’s really difficult. And so that’s, know.
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (13:32.642)
being fully transparent, the only way I was allowed to do it. wasn’t my earnings, it wasn’t my family supporting me, it was a man that I was dating for like four or five years at the time that we lived together. And so that was kind of how I was able to start freelancing and like putting the pieces together for how I was building this career was kind of that safety net of like, okay, well, I’m not gonna be homeless, but this is still very stressful. It was like a very, very stressful and anxiety inducing time in my life that I do not ever want to experience ever again.
What got you to eventually be self-sufficient in New York City as a content creator? Yeah, so I did a lot of freelancing. was very like, I did projects for BuzzFeed Video on YouTube. I did projects for Food Insider. I was working at Local News 12. I was just doing, I was walking dogs in my building. was doing, if I wanted to get my nails done, I would buy a Groupon. Like I was like really like scraping.
nickels together basically to get by. And yeah. So is this your food stamps era? No, that was actually when I was a TV news reporter. shit. Yeah. So the salaries in TV news are so bad. My first salary right out of college was $30,000 a year for the whole year, which is less money than you would make as a manager of a McDonald’s. And yeah, it was so low paying that, you know, I could, I
could have used food stamps if I really wanted to, but I got really good actually at kind of budgeting groceries for the week and just like really, you know, I could have applied for any government assistance at that point and was with a very, very stacked resume and a lot of student loan debt coming from a very prestigious university and with a job that was incredibly competitive in my line of work as a TV news reporter. And like, yeah, I literally could have made more money if I just like worked at the local McDonald’s.
Yeah. And so that’s, that’s a big part of the news reporter thing too, is like for all this and all the like sacrifices and trials and tribulations, you’re making like no money, like literally no money at all. And then my next job, I got a raise to $34,000 a year. Almost the same amount that you made in one video. Yep. And that was for a year of like grind, not just like kind of like, Ooh, this is where you’re fine. like,
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (15:52.526)
and you would have to be on call. I would get called in the middle of the night on weekends if like, this sounds horrible, like, know, like a officer involved shooting happened somewhere and that’s breaking news and I’m on the on-call reporter on the weekend, I’m getting called at four in the morning to go and go report on it and do live shots for the morning news on the weekends. And that’s just part of the expectations. You don’t make more money for that. You don’t like make over time. That’s just part of your salary expectations for so little money that you literally like need food stamps if it’s not enough money.
actually can’t make it work. that was when I honestly, learned how to cook the most was I was like, I have like literally $50 for the week to spend for groceries. Like let’s make this happen at the grocery store. So that’s kind of when I started getting good at it. How do you live on $50 a week on food? I mean, this was, groceries were a lot cheaper back then. This was like 2015, 2016, 2017. So that was a big part of it. Obviously $50 then is not $50 now. But yeah, I would buy kind of like
a red bell pepper, an onion, like a pack of chicken breasts, like some rice, maybe some ground turkey. And since I was living alone, like say you get a pound of ground turkey, like cut it up into fours, freeze the sections. And that’s four portions of ground turkey for me. So I would just kind of have like a rotation of maybe four different recipes in my repertoire that I would make and have and cook at home and kind of
Yeah, just go back to it. had have meat in the freezer and stuff like that. And just every week buying like kind of the same round of like a head of broccoli, a red bell pepper, garlic, and a red onion. And you can make stir fry with that. You can make a a taco fajita bowl with that. You can make like a omelet scramble thing for the, and yeah, just kind of like, because I was one person, I could buy really a small amount and divide it.
and keep it to hold me over. A big treat for me that I would really allow myself if I was being really, really fancy was I would get Chipotle on Fridays. There was one across my office in Wisconsin. And if I was like, it was a good month and I saved a little bit of money, I would treat myself to Chipotle on a Friday. That was a big treat for me. You’ve come a long way. I know. So back to the New York City self-sufficiency arc.
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (18:12.844)
So you were freelancing a lot. And then did you have a moment where there was a big break, where a big chance was taken on you? Yes, 100%. So I was actually during COVID. So I was freelancing and really trying to just get any job. And like I said, walking dogs, doing anything I could to make a little money. Barely, I don’t even know how I was able to pay the rent that I was to my then boyfriend, but I did. We made it work. I...
COVID happened, so of course that like took all the wind out of everybody’s sails, all the momentum I had going was then gone and nobody was hiring anymore. But I took actually an online culinary course. like it was a certification, it wasn’t like going to culinary school, but that was kind of what I was realizing was that if I want to be at a food media place, I need to, at this point I wasn’t trying to be a content creator. I wanted to be a food media professional. I wanted to be like hired somewhere. Being like a short form video creator didn’t exist. The pandemic hadn’t happened, nobody knew about TikTok.
this did not exist. I wanted to be like a professional video creator at like taste made or Buzzfeed or like, that’s what I wanted. And so during the pandemic, I got this culinary certification. was still kind of like putting, you know, TikTok came about, everybody started posting food talk videos, Reels had just gotten invented on Instagram. And so I’m kind of messing around with it, trying to figure out how to do it. But while I was trying to mess around with it and figure out how to do it, so was every media company. Cause if you think about these places like
know, tasty, that didn’t exist for them either. All of a sudden they, you know, the business that they had lined up completely changed overnight with like the proliferation of short form video and how that completely took over our world changed everything. So Feed Feed where I worked was a food media company that was, like I said, trying to figure out how to make this work. And yeah, they needed like basically an in-house food editor, content creator. had
a lot of hats, but I did not have a culinary degree, which was kind of the main thing that you need to be a food editor at a food media company. And so they took the chance on me because of my media experience and on-camera comfortability. think that’s what they needed a lot of because there was a lot of paid activation. Say if a brand wanted a cooking video from them, I was the host for that. They needed a host. They needed someone who could do a lot. They needed someone who was like,
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (20:31.17)
hungry and like willing to try new things. And that was me. And so they did take a big chance on me and that changed my career because that’s where I really started learning how to do this. So that was honestly my big break and that was in October of 2020. So that was like, okay, we’re doing this. This is like, this is the job that I wanted. I’m a food editor now, like I’m doing it. But I realized pretty quickly how
much I had to learn as it pertained to like what I was mentioning before, recipe development, content creation, how to food style. It’s like not something that’s intrinsic at all. You have to like really learn how to do it. And there’s so many specifics and nuances. Like I mentioned kitchen tweezers earlier. Like you have to, if you’re presenting something for camera and are like even still images, just like a photograph, like you’ve got to be like meticulously putting a scallion and a chive that way. Like I had never done anything like that.
and I just had to figure it out as I went along. It was just trial by fire the entire time. And I will say I’m pretty good at that, like thinking on my feet and just kind of like making shit work and just like getting it done and getting it out there. So I was like really well suited for that type of just like flames, just go for it. So that, yeah, that’s what kind of finally made it real for me.
was like, okay, we’re actually doing this. This is happening. So I was there for about two years. I got promoted to senior producer after a while. I was running their TikTok from the jump. think I started one week later. They’re like, hey, do you want to run our TikTok account for us? And it had 1.6 million followers at the time. And I was like, sure. So I grew it a lot, honestly. I think I grew it like a million followers. And this was when it was really easier to grow on TikTok with viral videos.
And so yeah, was learning how TikTok worked. was learning how short form video worked. was learning, was meeting other creators and becoming like connected with food creators because we were all kind of at the same time, like what the hell is going on? Like what is happening right now? And of course it’s COVID. So everybody’s still working from home in their own silos. So a lot of digital connections that ended up, you know, becoming a big part of my life as time went on. And so I’m growing with this company as like learning how to do it in real time. We’re all figuring out how to do it. And
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (22:41.868)
it was working for them, for what I was doing in reposting other creators’ videos and also creating new content was working. And so that’s obviously when the lights bulb started going off of like, I can definitely do this for myself, I think. So that’s kind of when that whole brand of my story started happening. Yeah, yeah, I see. So without the job in the creative field, even though it maybe wasn’t paying much,
being a training ground for you to go out on your own, do you think you could have done this? No, and I think that’s probably the biggest thing that I got from being a TV reporter was that- Sorry, I mean the training ground working at Feed Feed. no, no, no, no, not at all. Like that created so much expertise, especially in the food space. Like I learned so much. I was such a sponge there where I was like, I had no professional experience. And I think what was interesting at the time, because it was so-
it was literally peak COVID was I wasn’t in an office with anybody. I was not in an office where like, yeah, we need this like brownie video for general mills. like, I have so and so in the office who’s teaching me how to do this. Like, this is how you film. I had to figure it all out by myself at home and you know, maybe slack a couple people for questions, but nobody was near each other. Like there was no hands-on option for me to figure out how to do this from someone else who had more experience with it.
maybe a small bit of guidance virtually from my colleagues at the time, but it was all just like, figure it out girl. Like we’ve got this video due on this day and you’re the talent. So like do it. That was pretty much it. And that’s, I think I really thrived in that environment where I was given a lot of trust and they really trusted me to just figure it out. And I think, you know, I won’t put words into their mouth, but you know, I worked there for quite a while. So it worked out. We got a lot of work done and we,
I learned a lot, think they learned a lot. We all grew so much in the industry. like without that really trial by fire and just like kind of really being forced to figure it out on my own, like for better or for worse, I would not know like the vast majority of what I know now. I would say that’s like a huge, huge, huge chunk of what taught me what I know now as it pertains to food content creation. Yeah, nice. So looking back, what beliefs about work and money do you have from your
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (25:05.782)
family and childhood that you had to unlearn to know that a different life was possible. Okay. So that’s a good question for my family and childhood. As I kind of mentioned earlier, both my parents are in the restaurant hospitality industries and that’s a very thankless industry. That’s not like a, you get your flowers when you do something good, you get a raise when you’ve performed, like that’s you’re working holidays, nights, weekends, and show up and like do it like that. don’t care.
Like that’s a very thankless and I think there’s a lot of, you know, different pieces of media and content out there about like, I guess the toxicity of the restaurant industry and movies and stuff that have been made about that. Even like the bear is a lot like that. Like if you watch the bear, that’s probably one of the big takeaways you get is that like, damn, you really got to love it to be in that. What’s the bear? The bear is a, like it’s an FX show. It’s really, it’s like Jeremy Allen White, Iowa Deberry. TV show or movie? TV show. same. It’s a really popular show about
chefs, like professional chefs. And like, that’s kind of the main take of it. Like they’re all like, basically it’s so volatile and it’s so, yeah, you have to love it so much. And so I think growing up, a lot of the sentiment that I got from my parents was kind of just like in the, in the workforce, like kind of, you got to eat a lot of shit. Like you got to like suck it up and like make it happen and like make a little money and kind of be miserable and just do what you got to do because that’s what having a job is.
And that is how it was for me for a long time at being a news reporter. It was like, yeah, you’re making no money. No one’s thanking you. No one’s patting you on the back. No one’s like congratulating you or giving you any type of accolades or reward for like busting your ass. anything, you’re not getting anything for that. That’s just what’s expected of you. It wasn’t until I kind of started working for myself and kind of like learning my value and like really having a lot of...
confidence in what I bring to the table as a professional that I’m like, no, like you should be compensated like so much more for that level of expertise if you have it. Like if you’re an expert in a field, you should be compensated handsomely for providing that. And like this whole, you know, being paid in exposure, bullshit, like that’s not gonna work. And so I think when I was trying to break into this industry, I would have done,
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so much free shit. I would have done anything for free just for the chance of like kind of meeting the right person or being in the right room or being shown to the right eyeballs. And then I don’t know if I’ve become now too spoiled on the other side, but it’s like, no, like, are you worth my time? Like, is this something that’s going to, you know, pay me or like benefit me in a tangible way? Because time is incredibly valuable and being like going through, you’re just going to burn yourself out if you’re constantly like,
giving, giving, giving and not feeling like you’re being rewarded for that. most of the, know, reward can mean a lot of different thing. can mean like money would probably be the main one, but then also like a tangible like, no, this is an actual introduction to an executive that you need to meet or whatever, but just kind of these vague like tongue in cheek, like, yeah, do this and like, or work really hard on that. And that’s gonna get you ahead at this job. Like, no, pay the people. Like, no, we can’t afford to like,
constantly be doing that. The cost of living is so expensive, especially in a place like New York where it’s like being paid in exposure is just not gonna happen anymore. So I think that was the biggest thing that I kind of had to unlearn that was instilled in me from a very young age, which of course is very important to have a work ethic. And of course at many different points, you gotta just put your head down and get the work done. And absolutely, but at a certain point you’re doing yourself a disservice by...
devaluing yourself and constantly just like eating shit and doing what needs to be done for an end if it doesn’t really actually benefit you. Yeah. I mean, it’s a fine line, right? There’s, I think about this a lot, either you learn a lot from something where you don’t get as much money, but as long as you’re learning a lot, it’s kind of worth it. Yeah. Cause you’re paying for an education. Yeah. Or there’s a clear...
leapfrog to high end paying clients. Yes. They’re the only times that I’ve seen it’s worthwhile. And I feel like when someone says to you, like I get it a lot if I’m DJing. you can DJ this event and you’ll get exposure to a bunch of great people. And I think to myself, so I do this for you for free to then get exposed to more people who want things for free. Exactly. It’s not really the target audience I’m going for.
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No, it’s true. And like it is a fine line because of course you don’t want to come out too far on the other side where you’re like, well, I only do this for 15 K or I walk. Like, mean, of course, once you reach a certain level of, you know, celebrity or whatever you are, like, of course you can charge that. But when you’re still like working on it, like you don’t want to come off too snobby on the other end. But if you don’t feel in your heart of hearts that there’s like a clear financial or otherwise opportunity benefit to you donating your expertise to something.
it’s not worth it. And that was something I had to unlearn because that’s something that I think my parents and your parents’ generation kind of was much more used to was just kind of having to like grind it out and eat it. And like a lot of industries are more prone to that where like I mentioned the restaurant industry where it’s like, yeah, you just kind of got to suffer and be miserable and like, ha ha, that’s your job. Like, no, we should not be this miserable. There’s no, like, can we normalize not being miserable in our jobs? Like, please.
It’s not, I don’t know. I think that, and that was a big part of my news thing too, was I was like, I have worked too hard and like wanted this for too long to be this unhappy. Like this can’t possibly be it. This is not what I dreamed about was being this unhappy and like dreading going to work every day, which is like a pit in my stomach of just like misery, you know? Like that cannot be what I dreamed about.
That’s so sometimes dreams change and sometimes like the goalpost shifts. And in fact, the goalpost always shifts. But I think it’s a, it’s just kind of an ever evolving situation. And I think you really got to listen to yourself. And if you really feel like, again, I was, mentioned earlier in your heart of hearts that what you’re doing is like really bringing you that level of misery and anxiety and pit in your stomach. Of course, you know, that happens. Say you’re working on a shitty project or, you know, things happen where you’re not always going to be elated in your line of work. But if you’re constantly miserable and anxious and have this
hit of like misery in you, I think it’s probably time to go. Yeah. I mean, I know a lot of people and a lot of listeners will probably feel that way with the work that they do. So how do you set yourself up in a way that you can feel like you can take the leap? That’s the age old question is it never probably feels like the right time. Sometimes you got to do it scared. And that is what I’ve done a lot of. I’ve done a lot of doing it scared.
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And that’s really what it comes down to. And I mean, obviously you can prepare, can prepare, can like set yourself up as best as you can. Of course, having savings is probably a good part of it. I don’t think I had a single dollar saved when I left my job, but I think, you know, obviously setting yourself up as best as you can was, you know, financially or, you know.
infrastructure wise where, know, like, okay, well, you know, don’t want to sign a, you don’t want to be in the process of moving and then also quit your job. Like, you know, you would ideally be in like a pretty stable part of your life. Otherwise may say you don’t want to be going through the worst breakup in your life. And then you quit your job. know, like big shift at a time. Exactly. If can manage, if you, possible, if you have the control over it, I think one big shift is probably the best way to go. Because like I said, I attribute
So much of my even being able to make that shift was that I was, you know, at the time in a happy relationship that was very supportive. think doing any of those things without a support system is going to be really difficult. So if like, say your personal life is in crazy turmoil, it’s probably not a good time to do that. I think having a lot of support around you, whether that be from a partner, your family, your close friends, I think that’s really, really important and really key and friends that you know will have your back. like say, like, you know, kind of what I alluded to earlier, like, okay, shit, I really
I’m not making the money for it this month. Do you have a backup plan? Is there an option for you? Because like you really don’t want to be in a place where like you don’t have an option and you’re just like completely screwed. So I think yeah, a little bit of doing it scared, building the support system, having as much of a foundation as you possibly can financially and like ideally not having too much other chaos going on in your life if controllable. Yeah, for sure. So getting into food and food content as a career is...
to lot of people, not a serious career, right? So how did you hold your nerve when you got pushback from the people around you to do something serious with your time? How did I hold my nerve? I think I was just like kind of delusionally. Fuck y’all. Yeah, I was just very like delusionally confident in myself. And I think that was something that people really saw was that I really felt in my heart of hearts that I could do it. And it was almost like,
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Like I was wrong. Like when I left news and I thought like, I’m a TV journalist. I’m like a professional. I’m such a professional. I’m so smart. Like I went to Northwestern. Like I could totally like work at Buzzfeed or whatever. Like I can make content for anybody. It doesn’t matter who. Like I was wrong. I needed to learn so much more. But I think that like delusion and confidence kind of carried me through in a little bit in a way because I was kind of just very assertive in the sense that like I belonged in this room and it was a room that I really did not belong in.
And so like I scratched and clawed and elbowed my way into so many rooms that I like really had no business being in. And so I think being kind of on a bash it in that is pretty key and being really, sometimes you gotta invite yourself. Like don’t wait for to be included and invited and like thought about when so and so, like you really gotta push yourself into rooms a lot. And that’s what I did a lot of.
you know, of course in an ethical way, like I’m not saying like lie and like pretend you’re a different person, but like you say you have a friend who’s doing something at XYZ event, like invite yourself. Do you have a plus one? Can I come with you? I made my friend who I mentioned earlier brought me to Asia. I met him because he is a big food content creator and I DMed him in like 2019 and was just like, hey, can I shadow you for a day? Like, can I just see how you do this?
And a lot of times it’s uncomfortable and a lot of times people will say no, but I had a big phase of just kind of shamelessly asking for things like that. Can I shadow you for the day? Can we meet up for coffee? Can I come with you to work? Can I see how you do this? And you really have to kind of invite yourself into those rooms where maybe you were not invited or otherwise feel welcome. And I was a plus one to so many things before I was ever invited to anything on my own.
And even- York is a great place to be a plus one. Yeah, exactly. And, you know, ask your friends, if you have friends that are doing some similar things or in a space that you want to be in, ask if you can go ask. Like most times, like 90 % of events I’m invited to, I’m offered a plus one. I don’t even have anybody to bring most of the time, literally. Like I’m like, my sister can’t come. I’m like, okay, I guess I’m going alone. And yeah, just being not afraid to really be ballsy. I I was like really ballsy and kind of-
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I’m not pushy, but you gotta be ballsy and you gotta kind of like put yourself out there because I don’t think, I mean, if you think about it, say like you’re Adam, you’re trying to get into a new line of work, like who’s sitting around just like, you know who I bet would really be interested in these people is Adam. Like no one’s sitting around like scheming on how to help you. mean, unless you have like literal guardian angels in your life, most people aren’t sitting, like everybody’s so wrapped up in their own shit that no one’s like.
just sitting like staring into the abyss wondering how they can help all their friends and colleagues and peers and acquaintances. Like you have to ask. It’s not going to fall into your lap. You’re not going to just get that dream job one day. mean, maybe you will, but chances are like these opportunities are going to be because you really pushed into them. And that is what happened to me for even a lot of my freelance stuff. I had to follow up a lot and be like, Hey, do you guys have any work possible for me? Like, is there anything we can do? And I was doing work for such little amounts of money. Like
abysmally low amounts of money. And then, yeah, just kind of following up and that’s kind of how you have to be is you kind of have to be very like a bit assertive and ballsy and like very, I guess in my case, like delusionally confident in what I brought to the table. And I was literally making it up as I went along, like building the, what do you say building the car as you’re driving it? I was doing that every single day and yeah, just like faking it till I made it and I did. And so it’s a crazy thing, but you really got to.
Thick skin of course is a big part of it too, but you gotta be really willing to put yourself out there and like just be really confident that you’ll bring something to the table that they don’t know about. Who gave you that confidence? Probably my parents. As you probably can tell a first born child. Yes, a very first born child. And my dad had growing up always calls me or still does and has called me his masterpiece. my other.
Suck it, my other sisters. No, I think I was raised with a level of confidence that I can do anything I want to do. There was no, I mean, I’m so grateful to my parents for everything and how they raised me, of course, is a huge part of it. But yeah, kind of like that unwavering confidence that whatever it is that I want to do, I can do. The only thing holding me back from any of that stuff is me. You should and you absolutely can and should do.
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what it is that you want to do. Like there’s no, I’m lucky that I didn’t have parents that were trying to like pigeonhole me into some type of career or who, you know, say I told them I was shifting careers and they were kind of like, you know, oh, that’s not good. You know, I know you hear a lot of stereotypes about certain families and how they really want their kids to be doing certain types of things. Like they were always very supportive. And, know, of course they were a little concerned, you know, that I was quitting my job, of course. You know, I come from a pretty, family that encouraged.
encouraged ambition, so that was a big part of it. So yeah, like the encouragement of ambition, the work ethic that I was brought up with, and then yeah, I guess kind of that like unabashed confidence that like I am amazing and I can do whatever I want. And I am this masterpiece of a person who like deserves all the things that I work for. I think that was like the level of yeah, confidence that was instilled in me was from them. 100%.
It’s a very lucky place to be. know it really is. that’s like my biggest, you know, would say that’s my biggest privilege that I have parents that raised me that way and like an environment that fostered that level of ambition and growth and confidence that I know is a huge, huge, huge privilege that so many people don’t get with what, you know, how they’re raised or who they’re raised by. So I think that’s like probably my biggest, my biggest flex. Nice. So what point did you realize there was that this was no longer a hobby and it was actually a
serious business and what changed once you realized that? Yeah. So I was, like I said, working for the feed feed that went on for about two years and my own videos kind of started because I mentioned that consistency and how I was like really holding myself to like, I am posting this many times this week. Like I don’t care what it takes. I was posting on vacation. still post on vacation. I don’t, don’t think I’ve taken a full like, like say take a week off. course you enjoy it, right? Yeah. But you take, know, you take a day off here or there. It’s whatever it may be. I don’t think I work.
seven days straight very often, but I have definitely not had seven days off in years. I literally can’t tell you the last time. But I think, so being that consistent really started making my stuff take off. And that was in about 2022 that my videos started, like the algorithm was recognizing it. Videos were snowballing. You know, I was really kind of growing and yeah, I didn’t know what that was gonna.
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amount to financially, but then of course, once the videos start taking off is when you start getting the reach outs from brands and managers. like, oh my God, we want to represent you. Like, oh my God, we want to work with you. And I think, you you know how little money I had made in the past, but having brands come to my inbox saying like, do you want to do a video for us for $5,000, $8,000? I’m like, holy shit. I didn’t even know this was like, I knew this was possible, but I didn’t know it was like that. Oh my God. Like I had friends.
who were doing it and making good money, but I didn’t realize like, okay, wow, this is like happening to me now and like, I need to figure out how to do this. So it started becoming, you know, something that I realized like, shit, I can start making a good amount of money off of this. So I had a manager who I was working with off contract who was kind of like negotiating these deals for me, but at the same time I was still working at feed feed.
And I think it kind of got to a point where that’s technically when I got fired was because I was doing my own brand deals on my page. And I guess it was a conflict of interest because they were also a food media company. they let me go and I still freelance for them to this day. I just went from a staff position to a contract based freelance position, which is was obviously better suited for the fact that I was kind of trying to grow my own thing at the same time. But I did you the biggest favor possible.
Other than quitting my job and then firing me, yeah, best thing ever because I would never have done it on my own. You know, I was kind of like, okay, I need this salary, of course. Like, I don’t think this is, yeah, of course I’m getting offers from brands and I’m making a little, you know, 5K here, 3K there to get like, wow, this is great. I’ve never made money like this in my life, but I don’t think this is enough to like sustain. Like, holy shit, I probably would have kept my job still. I probably would still had it. And then of course not had the bandwidth or like the creativity or the like fortitude.
or honestly the fire under my ass to just like make it happen the way I did. So yeah, they fired me in November of 2022. And then of course with the holidays, I was crashing out crying constantly because I was like, you know, no off, no business is happening around the holidays. So I was just like, how am I going to do this? And then January, 2023 was like, all right, we’re Alexa what’s for dinner full time. And I made more money that year by like 10 times than I ever had in my entire life.
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So it just kind of like, yeah, was like that shove out the nest was huge for me. And yeah, that fire under my ass and then kind of having that like, okay, we’re doing this. Like this has to happen. Like we don’t have a choice. And yeah, that’s kind of how it finally worked was then it just kept coming. We kept doing it. I jumped around from different managers and with a company now that like, gets me good rates. And then you just kind of keep it going and you just.
I don’t know what’s happening any day. Like I literally don’t know what’s happening next month. I don’t know anything that’s going on still. It’s been like this my third full year of doing it and it still makes so little sense to me. We’re doing it scared like every day pretty much. That’s kind of what happened. So you said January, 2022, 2023, January is when I started like full-time Alexa for dinner. So in January, 2023, why didn’t you choose to just get another job? I was looking, I was interviewing. couldn’t get another job? I was, yeah.
I mean, I guess I could have if I like, I did try, I did try. interviewed even still as I’ve been full time, Alexa, what’s for dinner? I’ve probably done like a dozen plus job interviews just because it’s a very anxiety inducing space. I mean, the great thing about it is that there’s no ceiling to how much money you can make. It’s not like you have a salary. Like you can just keep making money. There’s no end, but there’s also no floor. And- Well, the floor is zero. Yeah, the floor is zero or you’re in like a lot of debt. You could make no money, you know?
And you just really never know. So that’s something you have to grapple with every day of like, what should I maybe just get a job so I don’t have to like freak out about this all the time. So yeah, I’ve always whenever like anything I see anything that’s a good fit or I hear of anything or like I get reached out about something that’s a good fit. I always interview because if push came to shove and it really worked out for me to have like a proper job again, I think I would. So, but I don’t know when or what that would look like or like. Probably going to be further and further away.
from something you’ll ever end up doing it the way you’re going? I hope. Yeah, because I like this a lot. But it’s always scary. Every day is scary. So yeah, I’ve always been interviewing for jobs. But yeah, I just wasn’t getting them, and it wasn’t working out. And luckily, I just kept making money doing the not having a job thing. And yeah, like I said, I never turned down a job interview in that whole time. they just, I mean, the universe said, don’t worry about it, basically. So I didn’t get them. I didn’t turn down any.
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I just didn’t get them and then I didn’t need them. So that’s good. So if, if one of my listeners is sitting in a safe and soul sucking job and has a dream of turning a hobby into career, into a career, what is one of the uncomfortable, but honest actions you would want them to take in the next week after hearing this story? I want them to find out what their out is. Like, do you have an out? Find out what your out is. Is it?
that you need to break a contract? Is it that you need to wait till the end of the year so that you can get your bonus? I think you need to realistically find out what and when your out is. And is it something that is doable? Like start setting up your action plan. Like, okay, so I don’t know, I’m just making this up, but like say, you know, I get my bonus at the end of Q1 or like Q1, my benefits period ends. So that’s a good time or whatever it is. So, okay, so we have until March.
What happens? I need, is that also when my lease is up and I need to be looking for a new apartment, that’s probably not a good time. Like make a roadmap to what that looks like, you know, or my contract is up in June. So I’m going to stick it out until June and then we’re going. What is your out? What does it look like? What do you need to do to get an out? And are, do you have these other pillars in your life set up in a way that you’re not going to be like literally in shambles as you try to like pursue another line of work?
Like, do you have the support? Do you have like a bit of a financial cushion? Whatever it may be, like start planning me out and finding out when it is. Like, it’s never gonna feel like the perfect time, of course, but say there is a moment, like you have a contract ending or you get your bonus and then that feels like a good time or whatever it may be, just try to figure it out and start like road mapping what that looks like. I think that’s what I would do. And I didn’t, you know.
I didn’t do that. I had to just basically kind of like beg to be set free and then move to New York unemployed. But ideally you would have kind of like more of a plan and an ability to do that. I think you’re in a really good place. Say if you’re on like your partner’s health insurance or you’re with a partner that has health insurance, you’re in a great place. Like figure out what these other like important elements are to being able to handle this. Like you don’t want to be like uninsured, broke, unemployed and going through a breakup and
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estranged from your mother. You know what mean? Like you don’t like you don’t need to do all of that. So hopefully you have these other pillars of your life that are like going to be able to support you in this type of a transition. Just quickly, though, I love doing this podcast. If it’s positively impacted you in some way and you would like to support us, please subscribe. By subscribing, it allows us to build a much bigger base of listeners, which results in better guests, better production and a better show overall. Alternatively.
Please take a look at the affiliate links of the products that I use and love in the comments below and consider purchasing using those links. They’ll give you a discount and they’ll also provide the podcast a small kickback. These are two very easy ways for you to support us as we continue to grow the podcast that we absolutely love doing. Thank you for your support and now back to the episode. Wrapping up, I like to just explore the philosophy of life with a few questions to every guest.
What’s a view that you have that would either make people scratch their head or potentially get angry? I think being late gets much worse of a rep than it should. And I’m a perpetually late person. And I know it’s not professional. And I know it’s not ideal. I just, to speak on behalf of the perpetually late person, I think it’s a mental illness that we
And I don’t think I should be bullied for it. I don’t want to be late. I don’t. And I would like to speak on behalf of all late people. You were late today, but I was late today also. Yeah. I would like to speak on behalf of all late people and saying that we never want to be late, but it just always happens. you, and I guess what it comes down to is time management in general. Sure. I think late people need to be given a bit more grace because like,
Who cares? Like you waited at a restaurant for five minutes, like you’re fine. Like what is the problem? Like I have certain, and of course professionally, like I don’t think this is good professional advice, but in life, like let’s all just like relax. Like let’s just take a beat. You know what I mean? Like there’s so many things to stress about. Like meeting your friend at 730 versus 745 should not be the straw breaking the camel’s back.
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on your day. So I think lateness needs to be given much more grace. There’s a concept in Thailand called Thai time. Okay. Where basically everything’s a loose amount of time. Like you say you’re to meet at eight o’clock, it could be eight 30 and everything just happens on its own leisurely Island time. Yeah. Like what makes the most sense for you in that moment? Like, okay, yeah, we said eight but like, you know, I really needed to finish this one thing up. Like,
Is it going to be the end of the world if it’s nine? Like, it’s just not. Nothing is that deep. Like, I think we should all just take a breather and everything’s going to be fine. What’s one of the biggest things over the last few years you’ve changed your mind on? I think that the societal pressure slash societal norm of needing, not needing, but it being
normalized slash like encouraged to be like married and settled down by your early thirties is horse shit. And I probably wouldn’t have thought that earlier. You know? wait, wait, hold on. It’s too early? It’s too, way too early. Oh my God. What am I a child bride? I’m 32. Are kidding me? No, I think that, you we, I don’t feel like my frontal lobe is developed and I’m 32. Like.
Like, I, like, we’re not good. Like, why do you have to be good to raise a family? Because like there’s so much. When is that? When has anyone ever been good? No, that’s what I’m saying is like these people that are rushing into like marriages and kids and all that with like out feeling like super secure in themselves and like.
finding yourself or whatever it may be. Like maybe that takes forever. Who knows? don’t have to try. think finding yourself and not holding off relationships till you find yourself is like a massive trap. holding off. Not really. Relationships are fine. I’m talking about like kids. I’m talking about like building, like molding new lives when you’re like, when you barely like your husband and you’re like, like already bored of your life and everything that you have going. And now like that’s carrying on to these like this.
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or other generation and like you don’t even really like them that much. I’m rejecting. That’s the problem. So you hate your partner. You hate your partner. You hate your I love my partner to the point where I’m like, I just want to give you children because this is sick. That’s great. This is so great for I that’s the case. So like such a low percentage of the time, I think so many people get forced into it because it’s like, Oh my God, I’m 31. Like, and I’ve been with this guy for five years. Like I guess, yeah, that’s what we got to do. Like, no, you don’t.
You really don’t like what like travel, enjoy each other. Like I’m pro like being alone. You’re in love with someone, of course, stay in love with them. But I don’t think like because you’re in your thirties or early thirties, well, like thirties is different. think 35 and below, you should not feel any pressure to marry and have kids.
Unless you, there is a risk of autistic children above a certain age though, right? Yeah, of course. But that’s why you freeze embryos. So that’s, that’s the sweet spot. That’s, that’s the part The sweet spot is you freeze your embryos if you’re financially able to do so. That’s a huge blessing, of course. If not, just knock them out as quickly as possible. I don’t know. Yeah. So I don’t have the answer obviously, and I don’t have my shit together at all. I don’t think need your shit together. I think that I have gotten to the point where in the last few years, like feeling like, okay, I’m
I would have thought when I was 25 that if I was 32 and single as all shit, that I would never have thought that in my wildest dreams. I’d like, oh my God, do I need to be put into a home for wayward girls? But no, I think that as now that I am in my 30s, whoa, we need so much more time. it was so normalized growing up to be like, yeah, by the time I’m 30, I want to have a house and three kids and I want to be married and have two dogs.
and then you moved to New York. Yeah. And I’ve barely done shit and I’m 32. I have so much more that I want to do like as myself before I like am beholden to like ungrateful kids. I think the reason that you think they’re ungrateful and that you kind of hate them is probably half the problem. No, because they’re always ungrateful kids don’t get They don’t get it until they’re 60 and they’re like, ah, you know what?
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (54:48.296)
Exactly. The kids aren’t going to like be grateful. Do they have to be grateful for you to do it? I would like the accolades. Give me my flowers. Yeah, I would like the recognition. I mean, I see I have friends that are raising babies and it’s insane and amazing and beautiful. And like, I love these babies and I love these friends. And I think that, you know, for when it feels right, it feels right. But I think too many people rush into it because of the societal pressure of being in your thirties.
That’s what I think too big of a percentage does versus like I’m genuinely in love with this person and genuinely want to start a family and genuinely feel like I’m ready to do that. I don’t know, cause I’m not in all these people’s heads, but I would, I think that’s way less people than it should be. I think too much of it is like, I’m 30, like let’s do it. When did it get so complicated? Like this, didn’t used to be this complicated. Like no one was, no one was like, you know what?
I’m 22 and I just met this guy, but I need to go to therapy for 10 years and figure myself out before I have a family. And look at us all, we’re all okay. Are we? No, I think we are. No, we’re not. We’re very mentally unwell. Is it because of this or in spite of it? I would say potentially it’s in spite of it. That we’re all mentally unwell? Like we’re mentally unwell for different reasons than...
I think we’re mentally unwell because we’ve through 17,000 unprecedented historical events in our very brief lifetimes. I we haven’t, we haven’t gone through any major world wars. Have you heard the timeline between like the late 20s? world wars, but there’s been a ton of wars and a ton of like Not in your direct like... No, of course not. But like from 9-11, like through to all this shit and COVID, like all this stuff happening, like I think that would wear on anybody. And so I think, and this is like not stupid because I was not.
there and I was a child, was eight years old when 9-11 happened and I did not live in New York, but me and my therapist have genuinely worked through the trauma that 9-11, which happened in a different state, has impacted on me. I became like a very severe like hypochondriac and like very scared of catastrophes and like things like that. I was eight years old when it happened and like you see those images, of course that’s going to like sit with you. So my entire life, even to like, I’m medicated still to this day for being like a hypochondriac and like scared of catastrophes and disasters and stuff like that. So.
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (57:07.032)
that I think really stemmed from 9-11. Like I remember being at Disney World like a couple of years after 9-11 and when there were fireworks, I had a panic attack and cried because I thought it was bombs going off. And that’s a child, you know? So I think a lot of it has to do with like world circumstances, but then societally with like dating marriage children and all that, that’s a whole other thing. But I think our generation is uniquely fucked up because of the unprecedented circumstances that we have had to bear witness to not both.
television, social media, phones, like we have access. We’ve just, we’ve gone, we’re the only generation where we’ve gone through, we’ve had the shift between internet to not internet, sorry, no phones to phones. Yeah. Where we, we remember both sides, like the Gen Z’s and millennials. They only had it. And then the Gen Y’s and Boomers were really much before it.
Yeah, no, so I think that having constant access to all these crazy unprecedented things happening all the time and questioning your own existence and place in the world is probably what drives a lot of the mental health issues, I would guess, among our generation. I’m not a sociologist, but that’s what it feels like. It feels like having this constant existential crisis of what am I doing, what is happening.
All that I think is kind of what drives a lot of that in my personal opinion, but I’m not an expert at all. I I think things did just get aggressively more complicated for us and what we used to have as the framework of how a good life could turn out just isn’t the deal that we get anymore. Like you go to college, you go to a good college and you earn 30 grand a year. Yep. It’s like, the hell is that? Yeah. think, I think as you get older, the- that’s a newish phenomenon though. That’s not-
You know, you would one family in the fifties would one job would look after a whole family of four kids comfortably. You wouldn’t do anything crazy, but you’re like, okay. We’re fine. You’re not fine. You need to do 10 other things and be making so much more money to even live comfortably. So then it takes out like the wonderment of just, I don’t know, I guess capitalism in general, we’re just like, yeah, you go to college and then you get a job and then you’re great. Like, no, you’re literally not. We’re still struggling so much. So I think like,
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (59:26.296)
the wonderment of what happens if you do all these things right, disappears. And then you’re like, no, that was all bullshit. So that’s probably a part of it too. Honestly, I think that’s a big part of it. I getting a job is a scam, going to college is a scam. It kind of is too, I agree. Like you said, if you 10x’d your wage without a job, well without a job and without something tied to your degree. Yeah, 100%. And you learn more about
You learned more about the industry that you wanted to go in through an online course and just hustling than a degree. 100%. Full stop. I know. It’s crazy. It is. Is there anything you’re excited about at the moment that you would like to let the listeners in on? Yeah. So all my content right now is short form video, which is, you you find on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube shorts, et cetera. But I think a lot of people like longer videos, especially for cooking and recipes. So literally,
Yeah, coming next year, I’m going to have my first ever long form YouTube cooking videos. So they are going to be, you know, we’re still working through the kinks of how that’s actually going to happen and what like the format is going to be, but it’ll be like long form breakdowns of trending food content and how these trends are relevant and how they started. And I think that’s kind of what I’ve become known for in this food media space is like, you know, trendy foods and like what’s happening in food media world and
Dubai chocolate, you all these things and like, how did this start? How did this happen? And I think I have a lot of expertise and knowledge on that subject, which doesn’t really come through in my short form videos at all. yeah, long form, like trend focus, trend breakdowns and like trials and explanations of how to make these things or like this hack was actually very worth it. This actually helps in the kitchen or like this one was kind of just silly and for fun, you can make it for the holidays if you think so, but whatever. yeah, long form, extended cut.
recipe videos with a focus on trends and the history and honestly like reporting on said trends. Cause I have a lot of experience in that as well, like the reporting aspect of it. So a little bit of a journalistic lens, longer recipes, more breakdown, more explanation, more me than just like the 22nd Instagram reels that you get. So yeah, 2026 baby. Nice. happening. Nice. And where can people find you and that if they’re interested. So everything’s going to be Alexa, what’s for dinner.
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (01:01:52.179)
So instagram.com slash Alexa, what’s for dinner, youtube.com slash Alexa, what’s for dinner, tik tok.com slash Alexa, what’s for dinner. Just all that. Got it. That’s actually the name of my LLC as well. So the IRS can find me that way. However you want to find me, that’s where you go. Nice. Nice. And my last question for you, wrapping this up is why do you think we’re here? What do think the meaning of all of this is? Life? Yeah. Cooking. cooking? meaning of life.
I don’t know, I didn’t ask to be here. just kidding. I mean, can tell from the way you answered the family question before. No, the meaning of life is that we are all here to...
Metwally — That One Time Podcast (01:02:40.366)
I think connect with each other. I’m a very extroverted person, so I find my secret sauce when I’m around other people and talking to other people. Even other animals, think souls connect. I have a cat soulmate who’s no longer with me, unfortunately. I do, I have a tattoo for her, my cat of 10 years. passed away this year.
But like, yeah, I think that we would be nothing without connection. And I think that connecting with other people and other beings is kind of what gets me through. I don’t think I could do anything without that. And yeah, I think that’s the meaning of life is to be together and to find peace and harmony with each other, whether that be people or creatures and yeah, live in harmony as best as possible with others. think that’s, yeah, that’s my answer. Connection. Yeah, that’s a good answer. Thank you.
Alexa, thank you. You’re so welcome. your time and yeah, good stuff. We nailed it. And if you enjoyed this episode, please go to YouTube and search that one time with Adam Metwally. Click subscribe and I will see you next week.
