The Hot Seat with Mary Grace

Mary Grace opens up about growing up quiet and shy, being homeschooled until high school, and spending her best days at the horse barn. From there we get real about what it’s like being the oldest sibling, why people pleasing can be a legit red flag, and what she’s learned about boundaries. We also talk about future hopes, and the kind of life she’s aiming for in five years, including a season of staying home with kids.
The deeper core is her faith journey. She shares how hard seasons like her parents’ divorce and difficult relationships shaped her walk with God, and why she believes getting closer to God never disappoints even when growth feels invisible. We round it out with practical life updates, including what the WIC program actually does, how her apartment ministry works, a rapid-fire round, tattoo meanings tied to faith and family, and advice she’d give her younger self. 

If you like funny friend energy with honest Christian reflection, public health work talk, and real life direction, hit play, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What question would you ask if you had someone in the hot seat?

Transcript

Recurring Nightmares And Kid Fears

SPEAKER_07 0:00

Hey guys, welcome back to Just Us Talking. This week we have Mary Grace in the hot sea. Are you scared? Yes. I'm nervous. Don't be scared. It's gonna be so funny.

SPEAKER_05 0:13

But I'm also excited.

SPEAKER_07 0:14

We're gonna learn a lot about you because Kennedy's dad encouraged us to ask a more personal question. So Yeah, I was blessed with that opportunity. So this is for you, Mr. Oh my goodness. We bleached out that's okay. I'm Tyree. My the scariest dream, or I guess, nightmare that I had when I was growing up. It's a recurring dream, actually. I'm getting chased on a mini golf course by Scream. And that used to traumatize me as a kid. Yes, on the mini golf course.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Are you on the golf cart or is he on the golf cart?

SPEAKER_07 0:53

Of course. Of course.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Oh, I thought she was like in the golf cart. I was like, why are you afraid you're running away? You have the golf cart.

SPEAKER_07 0:59

We're on a mini golf course and he's just chasing me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Okay. That's interesting.

SPEAKER_04 1:04

My name is Kennedy, and my recurring nightmare when I was a kid was um that ants would like get huge and be like human-sized and then like come and attack me in my home because I used to kick over their homes all the time and abuse them, and I was like, this is what will happen to before. You're gonna get revenge. You're gonna get revenge. The girl who always yeah, and I used to love ants only as a kid, so that's also fine.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Hi, uh oh, I just clapped. That's that's a no-no. Hi, this is David, and as a kid, my it was a recurring dream. My scariest dream was I was in a hospital, like running away from Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean. And he always caught me at the end of the dream. That was the scariest part. No, he always caught me.

SPEAKER_05 1:50

You got caught.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

I never I could never run away from the street.

SPEAKER_05 1:53

Were you were you running super slow?

SPEAKER_01 1:56

It felt like I it felt like you're in slow mode.

SPEAKER_05 1:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:59

Yeah. Hi, I'm Morgan, and my scariest dream from when I was a kid is I was trapped inside of like a local high school. Being chased by the rug rat.

SPEAKER_06 2:19

Oh just very neat.

SPEAKER_08 2:21

No, I literally because I my brothers loved the rug retro and I hated that show. I can't remember what what the one blonde one's name was. Hated her. Angelica. Yeah, Angelica freaked me out for some reason. Or Cynthia. You're talking about the doll.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

What?

SPEAKER_08 2:34

Maybe it was both. I don't know. All the rug rats were chasing me. And they were all bigger than the other thing.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

That's where her hate for blonde people came from.

SPEAKER_08 2:40

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 2:42

Oh my gosh. We figured it out.

SPEAKER_08 2:44

I would always get down to this like one hallway and like run to the double doors and be like, this is the way out, and then they'd be locked. And then I would wake up. And they'd like they'd get me. Death by rug wraps. Every time it was recurring. I hated it. Death by rug wraps. No. Can we make that a shirt?

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Well, hello, I'm Gracie. Mine is not that interesting like you guys are. But mine was that I was in my front yard playing outside, and then I would get kidnapped.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

And then it's too real. No, listen, but then I'd be like, hey guys, can I just go say bye to my parents real quick? And then I'll go run inside, and then like I'll be right back. And then I go run inside and like bye, mom and dad. And then I just close the door and I don't actually go back out.

SPEAKER_06 3:25

You got it.

SPEAKER_02 3:28

You got it. I got it, Jack. And I was like, why would they not let me say goodbye? I told them I'd be right back.

SPEAKER_05 3:34

So you outsmarted the kidnappers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

They don't know I know this trick. They don't know this trick.

SPEAKER_08 3:43

They don't know this one. I can say vibe first. Should I talk to them or should I go inside?

SPEAKER_02 3:52

Well, I'd be like, oh, another one. Same kind of vibe. But I would be like getting kidnapped, and they're like grabbing me from the back and like pulling me backwards, and I'm like, into the car. Nice. Like, girl, that's a real life nightmare. Y'all are so funny.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Yeah, what happened to the fictional characters that we're afraid of?

SPEAKER_02 4:14

Sorry, I had no characters. It's real life.

unknown 4:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

It's a very rational fear. Like very rational.

SPEAKER_05 4:21

I'm Mary Grace, and my nightmares as a kid were it was kind of a tie between tornadoes chasing me, or like having a tornado come toward our house, and then having a dinosaur, like a big dinosaur, like come to I'm so serious. And then specifically, like the dinosaur like creeps down and it's just his eye in the window. Okay, that's good rough. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 4:48

That's gonna meet the Robinson scene. Yeah. I hate that I know that, but I watched it last week. Yeah, so maybe I didn't like that movie. I don't know.

SPEAKER_08 5:00

Because that's a good class.

SPEAKER_07 5:01

Because it's so good.

SPEAKER_08 5:02

And I'm gonna watch it this week. My Instagram story influenced all of you.

SPEAKER_07 5:06

And this is just Mary Grace talking.

Meeting Mary Grace In The Hot Seat

SPEAKER_07 5:21

So what how would you describe yourself as a kid?

SPEAKER_05 5:25

As a kid, I would say I was kind of quiet, shy at first. And I would like, you know, I may be similar to now. I'd warm up like as I got to know you, but I was kind of quiet and shy, but you know, always was nice, but it just I don't know, took me a little bit to warm up, I guess. What's something you miss about being younger? Uh something I miss not working. And that's the right answer.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

I feel like that's been the answer across the board.

SPEAKER_05 6:01

Not having a job. I also miss the time that I spent at the horse barn because I was literally there as much as I could be there. And I was homeschooled up until high school. So like That's the way to go. I would get my schoolwork done, and sometimes I would go to the barn and um hang out with the horses, help out with whatever they needed. So I don't know. I miss that a lot.

SPEAKER_07 6:28

Yeah, you don't you don't have the homeschooler thing. I don't have I don't seem like a homeschooler.

SPEAKER_05 6:34

You don't have the homeschool vibe.

SPEAKER_07 6:36

No. It was a combination. That's what David does though. Hey. No. I'm kidding. I can't, I get, I get.

SPEAKER_05 6:44

When I went in, it was terrifying. Like to go into public school for the first time in high school. You went to public school for the first time in high school?

SPEAKER_06 6:51

I went, I was saying when you said that's the way you go on. No, that's when I was high.

SPEAKER_04 6:56

That's like that's the worst thing. That's when you get it.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

That's when you like give back.

SPEAKER_05 6:59

I went into public school for the first time as a high school freshman. No, that's like my nightmare. For whatever reason I thought you said middle school. Soft long, yeah, sixth grade. That's that's a good works. That works, right? It was in Richmond. Okay. Yeah. Gotcha. So yeah, it was terrifying. But I made friends. I adjusted. No one ever no like people were like, you don't seem like you were homeschooled. And I was like, well I think because you had like a you had a big family too. Yeah. The so the social family is like was just my family. That's all I needed because there's so many of us. Oh good.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

What was the weirdest thing about you as a kid?

SPEAKER_05 7:40

Weirdest thing about me?

SPEAKER_01 7:41

Like, did you ever eat any bugs?

SPEAKER_05 7:43

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

I know you're a little I know you're a little marsh girl. So I'm a marsh girl.

SPEAKER_08 7:53

No. You're a marsh girl.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

A little marsh girl.

SPEAKER_05 7:56

What was the weirdest thing about me as a kid? I mean, I think I already said it one time, like in the last one of the last episodes, where I would like put extra light glue on my hands specifically so I could like peel it up.

SPEAKER_07 8:11

I don't know if that's a little weird. Like that falls under sensory issues. Sensory, yep. Yeah. Chat GPT might call something else, but I'm not gonna have children. Do I think that's a good one? What do you think your siblings should say about you as a small person? As a little as a child. What's that word? As a small person. My brain's not working right.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Guys, we're all working at 110% if you can tell.

SPEAKER_05 8:41

Well, it's interesting because I'm the oldest out of everybody. So dictator.

SPEAKER_06 8:49

Because that's what makes a dictator a dictator. It's being the oldest. The oldest out of everybody.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

I don't know why.

SPEAKER_07 8:58

I mean, hey, I think a case could be argued that the oldest daughters are the most bossy.

SPEAKER_08 9:04

But I would say it's like an oligarchy.

SPEAKER_06 9:07

But bossy presidency. A dictator.

SPEAKER_08 9:10

A dictator? Ah. I think dictator eldest home. She ran this.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 9:15

Mary Grace ran this home. With my siblings, like.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

Was an iron fist.

SPEAKER_05 9:21

I probably I probably was a little bit more bossy when I was younger. But I think as we got older, they I mean, we just I think that it was kind of the thing where it's like the oldest kid gets to sit in the front seat. They get to do like they never challenged me on anything because you need to teach them your place.

SPEAKER_07 9:42

Yeah. But I was never bad.

SPEAKER_05 9:44

I feel like I wasn't. I don't know. I might they might listen to this and say otherwise, but I feel like I wasn't like bossy older sister. I feel like I was kind of like a second mom and they didn't always like that. Yeah. I was like, guys, we can't stop fighting. Like stuff like that.

SPEAKER_07 10:01

Dictatorship. Dictatorship. Sure. Again. You can call that? One of your siblings has like this memory of like Mary Grace, like they're so bossy.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

No, no, they actually our special guest is about to walk.

SPEAKER_05 10:18

My youngest brother has the funniest memory of me. Like, because there was one time he was like listening to his. I don't know, we were trying to watch a show, and he was listening to his tablet or something loud. And I was like, you need to turn that down or go upstairs. And he was like, he kept doing it, and I was like, okay, you need to go to your room. And he and he like was walking up the stairs. It's like, she can't even tell me to do that. Like, just not even my mom, but he went anyway. And I was like, so yeah, they have a couple stories like that, but there a couple of them were justified. Like, there was one time where they kept fighting

Homeschool Roots And Growing Up Shy

SPEAKER_05 11:00

over who sat where in the living room. And I was like, okay, this is literally a seating place in the living room. We do not need to be screaming about this.

SPEAKER_07 11:10

Everyone sit on the floor. It was either actually no seats.

SPEAKER_05 11:16

Everyone sit on the floor. It got to the point because it was either the recl the recliner or the far left spot on the couch that they would fight over. Why would they fight over that?

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Oh, that's so real though. Those are like the premium. Those are like the best.

SPEAKER_05 11:29

And there was one time I was like, you know what? I've had enough, and I literally pushed the recliner out of the room and I stuffed like piled stuff on top of it so that they couldn't push it back. And they're like, oh man.

SPEAKER_08 11:43

As if they couldn't just undo what they've been doing.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

What did you put on top of there?

SPEAKER_06 11:48

If you two brothers couldn't put the recliner back after you moved it. And we can't move it. We can't move that through.

SPEAKER_07 11:57

They put a plastic thing on top. She put a box of files on the plant. She put the laundry on top.

SPEAKER_04 12:05

Dang it. I can't touch that.

SPEAKER_05 12:07

Like we had it. I've had enough. I am moving this out of here. And I'm putting my note.

SPEAKER_07 12:14

I've had enough.

SPEAKER_08 12:18

Drag the recliner out one tissue.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

She got us again.

SPEAKER_06 12:26

Good luck moving that, guys. Try your best. The Hulk. I can't move it.

unknown 12:32

No.

SPEAKER_07 12:33

Let's just sit on the left side of the couch then.

SPEAKER_05 12:36

So now they're just fighting over the left side of the couch. There's a couple stories like that. Overall, not a big dictator. I don't think so.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

I don't think so. We're gonna get like a bunch of DMs from your answering like, actually.

SPEAKER_07 12:54

12 DMs. We need to call them up right now. Live live feedback. Live it on the pod. Tell them your story. Tell your trip.

SPEAKER_08 13:03

I have a far less like serious childhood clutch. Or not serious, not that those were like serious series, but like Mine serious. This is such a stupid question. It does require a precursor. Do you watch like the like big like triple crown races?

SPEAKER_05 13:19

So actually, I don't follow them. Isn't that like I'm such a fake fan? I should follow them.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

You're barping.

SPEAKER_08 13:29

But I prefer barping.

SPEAKER_07 13:31

What's the second part?

SPEAKER_08 13:32

Well, my actual question was gonna be which race is your favorite? Just throw it out there. Based off the name, I was gonna throw it out there. I don't know if we can answer that. That I wonder why. Which of the triple crown races? And you had to choose between the preakness, the Belmont stakes, and the Kentucky Derby. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

I'm glad you made that specific before anybody answered in the wrong way.

SPEAKER_06 13:59

Are you saying no one would take that the wrong way?

SPEAKER_01 14:02

Thank you. You got that.

SPEAKER_06 14:05

That's what David said.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

He said, I don't think you can answer it. Right before Gracie blurred out Asian. I was like, ooh, I don't know if we can uh answer.

SPEAKER_06 14:13

Oh god.

SPEAKER_08 14:15

She said Asian.

SPEAKER_06 14:19

It's like we got it for you, buddy. Hey, hey, mate. Look, I have a little bit of opera. Okay, nope, nope.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

No, we're not getting into that, Tyree.

SPEAKER_05 14:27

Do you have a favorite or not? Are you saying like just based off of the names?

SPEAKER_08 14:32

Yeah, sure. Based off of just the names of the Triple Crown. It's the prenus, the Melmont steaks, and the Kentucky Derby.

SPEAKER_05 14:38

I'm gonna say Kentucky Kentucky Derby. Yes.

SPEAKER_08 14:42

Correct. It is yes.

SPEAKER_07 14:44

I don't know anything, but that is my answer.

SPEAKER_08 14:46

I do love some Belmont steaks, but Kentucky Derby is the Kentucky Derby. David, put yourself together.

SPEAKER_02 14:52

What was your favorite like TV show or like movie as a kid? It was a Barbie movie.

SPEAKER_06 14:58

Do you want her answer? You're not in a hot seat, buddy. She's apparently the dictator.

Weird Kid Habits And Oldest Sibling Power

SPEAKER_06 15:11

She said Bob.

SPEAKER_03 15:23

All right, guys. Oh sorry.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

That was a that was a meanie laugh.

SPEAKER_06 15:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 15:39

Sorry, and true. Favorite movie. Favorite movie. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 15:42

So for TV show. When I was really little, Clifford the Big Red Dog was my favorite. When I was a little older, favorite movie, one of my favorite movies was Lion King 2. Definitely. I re-watched that one a lot. I like that.

SPEAKER_04 15:58

It's really good. But one and a half. Love one and a half. One and a half is so good.

SPEAKER_05 16:02

It was good, but not my favorite.

SPEAKER_03 16:05

We know why you like Lion King 2. We all like it.

SPEAKER_07 16:09

We know. We know. Was it my turnaround? Yes. When what was your like signature move on the playground? Oh.

SPEAKER_00 16:20

What?

SPEAKER_06 16:23

Signature move. Hey guys, watch this.

SPEAKER_07 16:30

You know, like you had your thing. Yes. You're going to like things that you would do on the playground.

SPEAKER_02 16:36

We've been in the playground all the time. But like every day?

SPEAKER_08 16:39

But in a public setting with a with a background of people.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Like, hey guys, watch this. I got my boxer.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_07 16:47

Okay, chat GPT. Say what you're doing. Said signature remote. But like, what is something that when you went to the playground, like, that was your like thing? Like, you were going to there first.

SPEAKER_05 16:56

Like I'm finding where they have like a little window so I can pretend I have a restaurant. Yes! Yes. And I'm whipping up them on a little bowl of mulch. Yes. So that's that was one of my first things I would do. Not a monkey bars gal? No. No. Me too. I mean, yeah. No. Sometimes, but no. Fair. Not all the time. She needs to provide. I needed to take care of the other kids playing. I needed to feed them their bowls of malt.

SPEAKER_04 17:35

What's something younger you would think is cool about you now?

SPEAKER_05 17:40

I would say my walk with the Lord. I think that that is definitely the best thing that has happened as I've gotten older. Amen, sister. My walk with the Lord becoming a personal walk and not just my family's faith. Yeah, because you know, when you're a kid, it's like I'll go, you know, you go to church because you're going with your family. And then when you got into like college and everything, you had to decide like, am I gonna go even though I don't have anyone to go with? Because I was not in a crowd of people that were going to church. So it was, I just think it's really cool that I've grown in that way.

SPEAKER_04 18:21

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

Oh no, I don't like it.

SPEAKER_05 18:28

I don't like how we sat up for this one.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

No, I was gonna say, with you being a very devoted Christian, what was the hardest or most difficult time in your life with the walk with your walk in with the Lord?

SPEAKER_03 18:39

Mmm.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

Could have said that way better, but no, that was good.

SPEAKER_05 18:45

That was good. That was good. My most difficult time would probably be probably I wanna say like the start of it was probably when I don't know, like be a little bit of a deeper answer, but probably when my parents got divorced and then like into college, like towards the end of college, like mid to late college was probably when it was the worst, as far as like the hardest time for me personally, and yeah, the forbidden times, yeah. Well, yes, but it wasn't just college, it was also just not good relationships and things like that. So that was definitely the hardest time for me, and then but shortly after that was when my faith started to really grow. So it was kind of like once you've been at a lower spot, like the Lord being right around the corner.

SPEAKER_08 19:48

So yeah, nice, nice, yeah. What is something that you are feeling like really passionate about right now?

SPEAKER_05 19:58

Like what's like it could be like something dumb or like I really want to do this, like really passionate about right now I really want to learn just in general more things, but I don't want to go back to school. So I've been like, I want to, I don't know, like really interested in I mean other than my faith, like growing in my faith, that's the biggest thing, but like learning some like history again or learning like math again. I don't know. I feel like I've forgotten a lot.

SPEAKER_06 20:37

But you should have math out there before this.

SPEAKER_07 20:41

The other day me and Mary and Grace was like two o'clock in the morning. We were like about like we just wanted to learn math again, like basic math. And I was telling her about this equation that I do for work, like when I calculate the reports that I have to do. And I was like, bro, this is the only thing I remember from high school, but I know it. And she's like, well, show me how to do it. And I was like, on my phone, like writing out the equation.

SPEAKER_05 21:03

And we were both trying to solve it and it wasn't working.

SPEAKER_06 21:09

We did not know it.

SPEAKER_05 21:13

We were both trying to solve it and neither of us could get it. This is the only thing I remember from high school. We couldn't do it.

SPEAKER_06 21:22

And it didn't work.

SPEAKER_07 21:26

Because it always is comes in handy when you're in a situation you're like, oh, I know an equation for this. But when you're trying to think of like, oh, like what is something that I can use this equation for, it's like, I don't know now. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

If only we had a teacher in the room to teach us again.

SPEAKER_08 21:43

Yes, Gracie, you know. Look, let me tell you what, if you want to know a history buff, Gracie. She loves her history.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

History?

SPEAKER_05 21:51

I love learning about history. So, okay, I'll say um another answer is I love learning about different cultures, and so history. Kind of ties into that. But specifically, I'm really passionate about learning about Israel right now just because I want to go to Israel one day. So I just got like a book about like where a pastor like did a little tour of it, and so I'm like reading through that. So I love learn learning about different cultures in general.

SPEAKER_02 22:20

What do you do for work? Because honestly, I have no idea what you do for a job. And what like other jobs have you had in the past if you've had me?

SPEAKER_04 22:28

Well, the job history. Yeah, no idea. Go through your job history.

SPEAKER_05 22:33

Do you want me to start with what I do now? Or do you want to do that? Work your way back and then come forward. Yes.

SPEAKER_08 22:39

Does that make sense? Yeah. Isn't that not what I said?

SPEAKER_01 22:45

No.

SPEAKER_06 22:47

It is. It is. No.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

Don't lie to her.

SPEAKER_05 22:51

Don't lie to her. So first job was actually at the horse barn. So couldn't afford lessons. So I would work in exchange for to be able to ride. And then eventually I would like stop riding as much and I would just get paid for the work that I was doing there. So that was my first job. I think my second job was at a daycare. And I did that like in the summer between freshman and sophomore year of college. And then I worked at Kroger and I was like the pickup person. So like doing the deliveries and taking them out to the cars. And then I worked at Publix and I was a customer service person. And then what was after Publix?

SPEAKER_08 23:48

Get that pubs up. Yes. Get that pups up. I would. What Publix tear in Bisoo? So that'll make you growl.

SPEAKER_06 23:59

That'll make you growl. That'll make you growl.

SPEAKER_05 24:04

Oh Marsh Girl. After Publix, it was working at the church. Okay, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

That's now you were Marsh Girl, you were church girl.

SPEAKER_05 24:13

Church girl. I was working at the church part-time while I was finishing up at VCU. Nice. And so that was and then from working as like their admin assistant. And then I went from that to the residency with our church. And then from the residency to my job now, working for WIC. So I work for the WIC program. Do you guys know what that is? So it's a federally funded program that provides supplemental nutrition benefits to women, inf infants, and children who qualify. So there's also not just like the food benefits, but also like a lot of nutrition education, breastfeeding education, and support. And so it's a really cool program. I've enjoyed it. I've worked there for almost two years, and I enjoy who I work with. I've learned a lot, actually. So that's where I'm at now. And then I have also been doing at the same time as I started with WIC, I started Apartment Life, which is an apartment ministry that I do part-time in addition to WIC full-time. And I like put on monthly events for residents and like do check-ins and uh welcome and renewal check-ins and try to do like acts of care, stuff like that. So that brings it up to now.

SPEAKER_07 25:39

Nice. There we go. Which one has been your least favorite?

SPEAKER_05 25:47

Oh, I forgot. I also worked when I was at JMU, I was in a call center.

SPEAKER_07 25:51

Like that's favorite. That was definitely because you thought about it.

SPEAKER_05 25:56

As soon as you said least favorite, I was like, wait, let me pull that one back out. Because I had to call people and ask for money to donate.

SPEAKER_07 26:06

I would literally hate myself.

SPEAKER_08 26:10

Hi, my name is Mary Grace. Please, please, please, please, please.

SPEAKER_05 26:14

You've already spent so much money. Because a lot of times it was alumni or alumni parents or parents of like current students, and I'd have to call and be like, so you've already given us so much money, but would you like to give us more?

SPEAKER_08 26:26

You absolutely are relying on the federal government to support you.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

You and your chime card.

SPEAKER_08 26:35

Do you want to give us money that you cannot get back?

SPEAKER_07 26:38

I know your parents hate me because of that parent plus loan, but hear me out. Hear me out.

SPEAKER_05 26:45

I'm also a student. Definitely least favorite. It was a little stressful working as a customer service person at Publix 2 just because like the line could get

Playground Personality And Favorite Childhood Media

SPEAKER_05 26:55

super backed up, and then you're dealing with also the the customer service person had to put all the tills in the registers in the morning, and you have to make sure that the back room balanced before you left. So you'd have to balance all the money before you put all the the tills out. And then when you I didn't usually have to close, but when you close, you'd have to like make sure everything balanced again.

SPEAKER_08 27:17

So like if each individual register, like if the person working at that register was like really off with their count, you'd have to go in to like rectify.

SPEAKER_05 27:25

I'd have to figure out what was wrong. Like you'd have to be like criminal. Yeah, you'd have to figure out like how much was missing, like try to figure out where and you'd have to count like the lottery tickets to and you'd have to sell people lottery tickets at the customer service.

SPEAKER_07 27:42

Who's buying lotto tickets at public?

SPEAKER_08 27:44

A lot of people afford to go to public, so you don't need to. You don't.

SPEAKER_05 27:49

You're good. You're good. You don't need that. And then you'd also have to just count the so you'd have to count like the lottery tickets, the cigarettes, all of that. What? What? Yeah, because they have the cigarettes back there, so that's people would come up and buy a cigarette, so you'd have to cut it. It's not the kind of clientele that public has. Publix customers don't see it. Maybe it was the public's where I was.

SPEAKER_07 28:13

It's all making sense. It's all making sense. It's making sense now. What was your favorite one?

SPEAKER_05 28:21

I mean, working with the horses, nothing can beat that. That didn't that wasn't the best financially, but that was the best in general. That was the one that made me the most happy. Wasn't the wasn't making my pocketbook happy, but my pocketbook happy. I pulled that one out from speaking of, what do you want your grandma name to be?

SPEAKER_02 28:54

Lloyd.

SPEAKER_05 28:55

And my grandma does say pocketbook, so that's where that came from. I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 29:03

You look like a G G, like you'd be a G G. Gigi G.

SPEAKER_05 29:06

I was thinking like Mimi. M G G.

SPEAKER_00 29:10

Wait. Wait, wait.

SPEAKER_05 29:14

I was thinking maybe Mimi, but I think my stepmom wants to be Mimi, so I don't know if I can also. Right.

SPEAKER_07 29:22

Well, I mean, by the time you're Mimi. I don't know. No, I mean, like, nobody's gonna be calling. Like. Anyways. We cannot recover that.

SPEAKER_06 29:36

Mimi and Green. No, but guys, I mean It's not the Kelly Oswork. No, but like, you know what I mean. No, but like. Yeah, that's great.

SPEAKER_07 29:46

I like Mimi. I don't know. Glam. Glamom.

SPEAKER_02 29:52

I've never heard that name before. Glam.

SPEAKER_08 29:54

Glam. That's my glam.

SPEAKER_02 29:56

You did like poppy. Poppy? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:00

But like the soda. I thought they did that for the grandpa, usually.

unknown 30:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 30:11

So I really.

SPEAKER_02 30:22

There's a girl on TikTok that I found in college, like my sophomore year of college. And she was so southern. Like southern school. Like, no, she was not in college. She got pregnant. No, like that. Her husband is blue-collar. She got bright blonde hair. She got Georgian. Yes. That's what I've got grandma. I'll show you a picture of her in one second. Anyway. Oh, her son's name is Slade. Like S-L-A-D-E, not Slade. I know.

SPEAKER_07 31:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:02

I know. Anyway, anyway, anyway. Anyway, she calls her grandma Chew Mama. Chew Mama? Chew. C-H-U-M-A-M-A. And so. Yeah, I'm going shopping with my Chew Mama. So naturally, in our dorm, me and Morgan became the Chew Mamas. And then we had our little Chew Babies. And so we had Chew Babies. And so when we just got married in this past weekend, we love you, Julia. Chew babies. Me to honor. Audrey, you're listening.

SPEAKER_08 31:26

We never heard that before. We told them we chat about how. We did. But Chew Mama. That's chewed.

SPEAKER_07 31:32

Never.

SPEAKER_05 31:33

That's my stepmom wants to be Mimi, and I really want my dad to be Papa. Wouldn't that be so cute? Mimi and Papa. Mimi and Papa.

SPEAKER_08 31:44

I will say my mom's going by Mimi for my NF. Okay. And it is very fitting. It's always people that are very like calm. So I'm like, I feel like you do Mimi. Okay. Very cool.

SPEAKER_07 31:53

You can have both Mimi's. Two Memes. Yeah. Two Mimi. Two Mimi's. Double Mimi. Me, me.

SPEAKER_08 31:59

Mimi me. You just add another me every time.

SPEAKER_06 32:10

Mimi me. Me, me, me. See? It's a different thing. I can't. All right.

SPEAKER_04 32:24

We are just move on. This is gonna be the chime card bit all over again.

SPEAKER_06 32:29

The thing is, I can just talk about anything for any span of time. Give me a bat, I'm gonna beat a horse. Before you know it, it's been an hour we're talking about beanies. Oh my goodness. It's even that. It's me. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 32:47

Alright. What is your biggest red flag and what is the biggest red flag for other people?

SPEAKER_05 32:53

Hmm. Yes. Well, I would say my biggest red flag is that I have a hard time like telling people no, or just like not wanting to hurt people's feelings, which can sometimes get me in trouble and has gotten me in trouble.

SPEAKER_04 33:18

Yeah. It's okay. That's what we're here for. Yes. If you want to talk to Mary Grace, you have to talk to us first.

SPEAKER_01 33:23

You gotta go through it.

SPEAKER_07 33:24

Thankfully, I'm not that nice. I tell Mary Grace, don't do it.

SPEAKER_05 33:30

Don't respond. Biggest red flag in other people. I really don't like when someone is like combative or they're just like I don't know. They just make they just make things awkward for everyone else because they're like, we'll quickly start arguing something or you know, just chill out and nobody else is this upset right now. Like just calm calm down. Like I don't know, when people are just always looking for a fight or just very combative, and I don't know. I I don't like that. I don't like that. I I just think it's not that serious. So I agree. That's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 34:17

Murger, what you're tied to.

SPEAKER_05 34:20

Oh boy. I think I I feel like I've been very clear on this.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

I think I agree. Again.

SPEAKER_05 34:30

I feel like I've been very clear. So I feel like lumberjack farmer hybrid is kind of the best way I have described it before.

SPEAKER_07 34:46

The the the Brawny's paper paper towel guy. The brawny paper towel guy. The brawny's paper towel guy.

SPEAKER_01 34:54

So, like, looks-wise, we got that covered. What about personality?

SPEAKER_05 34:58

Personality definitely have to make me laugh. Somewhere. God make me laugh. So I really like someone who's kind of goofy, like a little silly. Like, can can be serious. Just a little like just not, again, not taking things too seriously, can just be silly

Faith Becomes Personal Through Hard Seasons

SPEAKER_05 35:20

and goofy and not take himself too seriously. And but yeah, I think that's a big I mean, obviously, a believer, someone who loves the Lord, is a must. A spiritual leader, that's a must. But you have to be able to have fun. Like, you gotta be able to be a little spontaneous, go on a random adventure, just have fun. Like, can't be serious all the time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 35:54

Okay. If you got arrested, and what would it be for? Like, what would we think you got arrested for? Like, you call us and you're like, hey, I need you to come by the way out. What would we assume you think?

SPEAKER_05 36:09

That's a great question. What would you guys think that I got arrested for? I mean, oh going under the speed limit.

SPEAKER_08 36:20

Actually, that's cruel. That's actually the complete opposite.

SPEAKER_05 36:24

I was gonna say speeding. If you guys would think if you've ridden with her, you know.

SPEAKER_01 36:29

I've never driven. That 94 can fly.

SPEAKER_05 36:31

Okay. I was gonna say up. She got pulled over. Uh downhill, it's a little bit. Oh, that's right. I forgot you talked about that. She got pulled over again. That's what my mind maybe shop shoplet. I well, not not anymore.

SPEAKER_04 36:46

I think that's polished per se.

SPEAKER_05 36:49

Not anymore. Maybe in my past life.

SPEAKER_04 36:51

Hey, what? Assault. Assault. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 36:56

We cut that out. She finally snapped.

SPEAKER_01 36:59

No, it's not. It's not funny. That's funny. It's not.

SPEAKER_05 37:02

No. What would you guys think that I would get arrested for?

SPEAKER_07 37:06

I feel like it would be something like super small, like an o like, I don't know. Like just something small, super insignificant, like, but like very serious. Like you forgetting to pay your taxes for like a long amount of time. You're not showing up for like jury duty.

SPEAKER_08 37:26

Something that can easily happen, but really seriously tax evasion.

SPEAKER_07 37:30

No, no, when I say that, because the call is coming from inside the house. And I know we're the same person. So I forgot. Guys, check on me. Check on us. Check on us.

SPEAKER_05 37:48

No, I feel like that would be it. It'd be like, I forgot to do something that I was supposed to do.

SPEAKER_07 37:53

Like pay your car registration or something. It's like a nine years.

SPEAKER_08 37:59

I was thinking like accidental trespassing. I don't know why. Like I feel like you'd be like, guys, let's go this way. Like a shortcut. Or like, hey, like, and this is how you get here. I know, like, man, you can't be here. You're like, what? Excuse me. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_05 38:10

That is actually so fair because I'm the worst person with directions. And so my favorite app on my phone is the GPS. Like, I can never not have it, no matter where I'm going. Because I I'm always, I just don't know where I'm going. So that could easily happen, I feel like. Be fun. Yeah. So fair. Directionally challenged. That's for sure.

SPEAKER_02 38:35

Where do you hope your life is going to be in five years? Good cue, good cue. Fight your plan, fight your foot. Five. We actually know.

SPEAKER_07 38:44

We've discussed this at Nauseum. The Brownie Paper towel, man.

SPEAKER_05 38:48

The Brownie. That's a brown of the future.

SPEAKER_06 38:52

We're gonna wipe her up.

SPEAKER_05 38:55

I that would be the ideal. Like to have Brownie Paper Town Man.

SPEAKER_07 39:02

Hit us up. Hit us up. Who got the girl for you? Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_08 39:08

Who is that drawing based off of?

SPEAKER_05 39:11

Who's the inspiration for that? The model for that.

SPEAKER_06 39:15

Who posts for the paper towel? Who posts for the paper towel? The office episode, yes.

SPEAKER_01 39:23

You find out he died.

SPEAKER_08 39:27

Drawing paper towel.

SPEAKER_05 39:31

No, but that would be that would be ideal is to be married and have a couple kiddos. That would be my that's really what I want to do if I can is be a stay-at-home mom. At least when they're like really young. So I'd love to be able to stay at home with my kids. And then home well, I've been thinking about maybe doing homeschool slash a co-op type of thing. So I don't know. Not not the straight up homeschool that I got, but something like a little bit more interactive. In between. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 40:10

In between.

SPEAKER_06 40:11

A twist.

SPEAKER_07 40:12

Were your parents good at math?

SPEAKER_05 40:14

Did I teach you good math? The curriculum that they bought did. That's so good. They bought a curriculum and I watched a DVD of someone who was good at math. They're really good. They were really good. She's really good. Mr. Steve. She's profound. Mr. Steve. I think his name was Steve. He had these, I forget the name of the curriculum, but I they were good. I learned what I needed to. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 40:46

What is the cringiest thing you've done on your social media?

SPEAKER_05 40:49

Oh, no. Oh gosh. I used to. I think I talked about this before too. I used to just do way too many filters and way too many borders on my pictures. Like the bleached out filters and then the borders. Yeah. So bad. And then the captions were bad too. Just really cringy captions. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that you can't see any of those now.

SPEAKER_06 41:23

I think that they've been archived. You've archived.

SPEAKER_05 41:27

I think that they have all been archived, so you can't see them. You can't see them.

SPEAKER_04 41:32

Good. Mm-hmm. Okay. Now we're gonna do the rapid fire, this or that. Okay. Question. So are you ready? You can't

Curiosity Goals And Learning About Israel

SPEAKER_04 41:40

pass on any of them. Okay. We're not passing anything. We're not passing anything. Okay. Sweet or salty, we'll just start out with the hard one.

SPEAKER_06 41:48

Apparently, this is the hard one for everyone. Everyone says everyone says pass.

SPEAKER_05 41:54

Salty. Oh.

SPEAKER_04 41:57

Pancakes or waffles? Waffles. Oh. Early bird or night owl. Night owl. Pizza or tacos. Pizza. Movie or book. Movie. Really? Dogs or cats? Dogs. Living in the country, living in the city. Country.

SPEAKER_06 42:18

Easy.

SPEAKER_04 42:19

Eating dinner at home or going out for dinner.

SPEAKER_00 42:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 42:29

Oh. Hey, you can't have a high you can't have a hybrid. You can't say going out but eating at home.

SPEAKER_06 42:34

You can't say the situation.

SPEAKER_05 42:38

I'm hoping my answer will change soon, but eating out.

SPEAKER_04 42:42

Eating out. Okay. Spring or fall. Fall. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate. Yep. Ocean or mountains? Ocean. Ocean. Mini golf or bowling. Ooh. Good one. Mini golf. Hmm. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 43:00

Good job. This or that questions on Pinterest.

SPEAKER_06 43:03

I'm just looking at my phone. Where else? Broken paper towel die. Write that down. Dinner out, mini golf.

SPEAKER_07 43:10

I was gonna say mini golf. Like these are the questions asked on a date. Dinner in is great. I would like to do dinner out if there was a man in the picture. Right.

SPEAKER_08 43:20

Right. Dinner out brought home, peak. Dinner out that I'm not sure. Dinner poor?

SPEAKER_05 43:25

Yeah. Dinner out brought home with a movie. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 43:32

Yes. Yeah. A little show to watch.

SPEAKER_05 43:34

I said mini golf because usually they're outside, and if I can be outside, I would prefer to be outside. But the game itself, probably bowling.

SPEAKER_08 43:44

I don't know. I don't know why. I just have a feeling that you would like slings with strikes. I don't know why. Yeah, you seem like a lot of things. I think we all need to go bowling. I think we should go. Podcast outing. We need the vlog. Podlog.

SPEAKER_01 43:55

We need to get that story.

SPEAKER_08 43:57

Story. And I think we're doing serious ones to close it out.

SPEAKER_01 44:02

Oh, serious ones?

SPEAKER_08 44:03

Oh. Right after the rapid fire? Yep. Okay. The rapid fire rapid. Sorry. That's what I was thinking. I was like, right here. Who's your favorite symbol? Just because we have. This is also rapid fire. Rank them. Rank them. That is insane. I fear I cannot. I love it. You say no, but then mouth it to us. There is something.

SPEAKER_06 44:32

I can't choose.

SPEAKER_05 44:36

She knows the name of

Job History From Horses To WIC

SPEAKER_05 44:40

she just said. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_07 44:42

So Mary Grace's siblings, if you were listening, there was a right answer. No. I know it. No.

SPEAKER_05 44:48

No, there's just, I didn't know that she knew his name. Oh, it is. Don't say that. It is. Or her name. His or her name. I love them all. True sister. They just are all so amazing in different ways. They just have, I don't know. Like I could go on and on about the the things that I love about each one of them. So that's a hard one. So sweet.

SPEAKER_01 45:15

Cringe.

SPEAKER_08 45:17

David's like barf. David's like the TMZ of this podcast. Give us the drama.

SPEAKER_04 45:28

Okay, serious, serious, serious.

SPEAKER_08 45:30

So, what is one goal that you have, I guess, for the year, or like one like attainable thing that you're like, I want to do this in the near future to like improve my life, or like something I've always wanted to do. Or like something like that.

SPEAKER_05 45:44

Yeah. Good question.

SPEAKER_08 45:46

Or I guess something you're working on too could be a way to phrase it.

SPEAKER_05 45:49

I've had this goal for a couple years now. I feel like, and it's to read at least five books. I don't think I've reached that goal yet. So it would be a great year to try.

SPEAKER_08 46:03

Very good. Ever.

SPEAKER_05 46:06

Just in no, just in the year. Not even, not even like, oh, oh, over the summer I want to read. No, in the year.

SPEAKER_08 46:14

Look, that's my goal for the year on Goodreads, because I put like 20 last year, where I'd won. Two, maybe. I was not reading that much. I was like, who makes it?

SPEAKER_01 46:23

Some people can just like read like 20 books in like three months. Yeah. It's weird.

SPEAKER_05 46:29

Tyres can do that.

SPEAKER_08 46:30

I'm out of my reading era like this year for some reason. So apparently. We'll walk in together.

SPEAKER_01 46:35

Aliens have a ray gun pointed at the earth and they're like, we need somebody who can read five books in two months. Tyree's the guy to call, apparently.

SPEAKER_08 46:42

Call on me. Sorry, continue, but continue.

SPEAKER_05 46:46

Yeah, I think that's I think that's a good idea. I think what I'm really trying to work on to is just getting like a healthier schedule, like in general. Just better sleep, better time to rest and recover. Because I just feel like I'm kind of going, going, going all the time, and I'm always tired. So want to change that. So yeah, just getting a healthier self-care kind of routine going. That's another big one.

SPEAKER_02 47:22

What does your tattoo mean?

SPEAKER_05 47:24

Oh, good question. Which one? I mean, she's a multi-tat. Tattoo tour with Mary Gray. I only have two. But um now. I have a cross behind my ears, so that's from my faith. Obviously.

SPEAKER_01 47:43

She pointed up to the big man.

SPEAKER_05 47:46

Yeah. So, but yeah, the compass tattoos. So I got this for my siblings actually. And also, I've always loved compasses, just weird fact. But um, I was like, how can I put these together? But I actually could not find any compasses with a heart in the middle, like when I was searching years ago. So I drew this and they brought it to life, which I really like. So the heart is, you know, for love, and then the four dots on the two on each side. That's my four biological siblings because I have four step siblings too. So they're the my four biological siblings, and it's kind of like wherever we are, we're always here. We're always together because I'm very, very, very close with them. I love them so much, and it was really hard to move. Even though I'm only two hours away, it was hard to move that far. And when I just even when I went to college and like I don't know, not just moving here, but just being away from them in general was hard. So this is kind of just like wherever we are, we're always in each other's hearts, very cheesy. But I I love it. David says, barf again.

SPEAKER_07 49:09

Do your siblings have a tattoo too? Like a family.

SPEAKER_05 49:16

Well, my sister told me one of my sisters told me, she's like, Yeah, I would never get that on me. So she will not be getting this one, but she'll be getting tattoos on her magic. She'll get something else for siblings.

SPEAKER_08 49:32

Let's get little podcast mics for us.

SPEAKER_05 49:33

Yeah, that would be so fun.

SPEAKER_08 49:38

To be clear, David.

SPEAKER_05 49:41

My stepbrother has tattoos, but I think he and I are the only ones. I think my other siblings want to get tattoos, they just don't have enough money or are not old enough yet. Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_08 49:56

Invalid.

SPEAKER_05 49:57

Tattoos are expensive. Very expensive.

SPEAKER_07 50:01

Okay, maybe last question. What is advice that you would give your younger self? Younger Mary Grace.

SPEAKER_05 50:12

I think I would say like definitely, even though like things are hard, you're never gonna be disappointed or let down the closer you get to God. Like, He is always like the best thing to keep striving towards, because sometimes you don't always feel like, am I growing? Like, is God there? Especially when you're in the middle of stuff, especially when you're a kid. So just saying that like you're never gonna be that it's always he's always something good to go after, and then also to just give myself grace, like to not take things too seriously, to just enjoy life because I feel like growing up I was just very much assumed an adult role as a kid, and so I think to just have more fun would be like try to look for ways to have fun and to relax and enjoy life would be another thing. So yeah.

SPEAKER_07 51:34

Very good. Yep, very good, very good. Yes, how do you feel now? Yes, post hot seat. I feel good. You guys asked you guys asked good questions. That was good. Good, good, good. Is there anything else you want to get off your chest while you can? Why can't any more so? Any urban pants? Yeah, go ahead, go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 51:57

I'm sorry, I have not.

SPEAKER_06 51:58

Well, then it's coming soon. No, you better stay safe.

SPEAKER_00 52:03

When you live with her, it could this could happen in your own home.

SPEAKER_06 52:07

No, no. Watch it.

SPEAKER_05 52:09

When you less expect when you least expect I was trying to think of my most embarrassing story as a kid, though, because did he ask that?

SPEAKER_07 52:17

No. That is a requirement. Go ahead and fess up.

SPEAKER_05 52:21

I when when I was, I think when I was like in kid church and we had our snacks, you know, when you sit down with your gram crackers or your animal crackers and your lemonade, I was sitting at a table with a bunch of other kids while they were doing the lesson or whatever, and I had, I guess, lemonade in my mouth, and I sneezed and it went all the way across the table. Yeah. No, that was when you were a kid. That's when I was old. I don't know how old I was.

SPEAKER_07 52:54

I did that last break. You're like, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 52:58

That was one that stuck out to me.

SPEAKER_07 53:00

So not in the the the blue on blue fit.

SPEAKER_08 53:08

The silent shake of the head.

SPEAKER_05 53:10

She see, I was I'm trying to suppress those memories. But gosh, the outfits were bad. The Bermuda shorts.

SPEAKER_07 53:24

Excuse me after. Those are the weird ones. The weird ones.

SPEAKER_01 53:30

They're always like a hot pink color, but they're like almost uh pink and brown.

SPEAKER_07 53:36

The pink and brown with the bobby jacket. No, I said um.

SPEAKER_01 53:39

Um, um, um.

SPEAKER_06 53:43

And on the phone. Those are so hot. What? David.

SPEAKER_01 53:49

What do you mean, David? I didn't say that. I swear, this happens every week.

SPEAKER_08 53:59

We need an animation of the David's Rage mirror. The mirror, mirror?

unknown 54:04

Mirror.

SPEAKER_01 54:05

Mirror. Oh, mirror, oh, why would you say mirror? That's so weird.

SPEAKER_08 54:10

It definitely hit the same one you did it, David. It's like, oh god.

SPEAKER_06 54:15

Oh my gosh. It's okay. All right. Very great. Thank you so much. Thank you. You're welcome.

SPEAKER_01 54:22

Good job.

SPEAKER_02 54:30

Thank you so much for listening to Jess Us Talking. Follow us on social media at Jess Us Talking and on Spotify at Yappers Unites. Same thing on Instagram. It's actually Yappers Unites. I just gotta catch you now. Thank you so much for listening. All about Mary Grace's life. Anyway, peace out.

SPEAKER_01 54:57

All right. End recording.