This is an All Ears English podcast episode 1500.
What were you like at 15?
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In today's episode we reminisce about what it was like to be 15 in the US.
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Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
Oh my gosh, I am excited to be here for episode 1500.
Yay!
Crazy, that is 1500.
Guys, I cannot believe it's our, well, I mean, gosh, 1500 episodes.
Man, that's a lot of episodes, guys.
I know.
We've been podcasting for a long time.
But we're excited because the truth is, some of our listeners have been listening for that long, for that many episodes.
Wow.
For six years, listening to All Ears English.
So today is to say thank you to you guys.
Yeah, really.
Yeah, we are so thankful to our listeners.
Without you, we of course wouldn't be able to podcast.
We feel very special and lucky to be able to have such loyal listeners.
I mean when I see on Instagram and things like that, people saying things like oh, they've been listening for years, years or months or whatever it may be, whether you're an old listener or a new listener, we are happy to have you here and keep listening.
Oh, for sure, guys.
You are awesome.
And keep sending in your questions to us, right?
Send your questions to lindsayatallersenglish.com.
I love seeing those emails, getting your questions, and we do our best to feature your questions on the show because this show is for you.
It's not for us.
It's for you.
Absolutely.
Before we get into the topic for today, the 15 related topic, what do we want to ask our listeners to do to celebrate this episode?
Yes.
Well, we got to keep it going.
We got to make it.
Let's get to the next 1500, right?
So if you love All Ears English and you are a loyal listener and we are so happy to have you definitely think about someone that you'd like to share the show with.
So someone who would really enjoy listening to our show, share it with them.
Tell them about it.
Talk to them about why it would be helpful for them or why they would enjoy it.
I mean, Lindsay, how would you describe an All Ears English listener?
Like, who do you think they should share this with?
Oh my gosh, it's students who see the positive side of life and who want to have more joy when you learn English right.
So guys, our slogan is connection, not perfection.
If your goal, if your value is more about human relationships and connection, then grammar textbooks classrooms the traditional way.
Then invite them over to join us right.
That's that kind of person.
Also someone who is very self-motivated, kind of a self-starter, right, Michelle?
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Someone who really, really just wants to get things done.
They're not just like waiting and hoping that things will happen that are good for them, right with their English.
You are someone who you know wants to get you know, get learning, enjoy it, have fun at the same time.
Exactly.
It's like the difference between someone who goes after life or someone who waits for life to come to them.
That person who waits for life to come to them is sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture from a teacher.
But if you're an All Ears English listener, you know, you want to go after this yourself.
You want to achieve that fluency on your own.
You're going for it and you're excited and you're positive about it.
Absolutely.
I love it.
Okay, so awesome.
So Lindsay, I mean gosh, how do we fill 1500 episodes in and where are we going in the future for the next 1500 episodes?
We're going to very exciting places.
Yes.
No, we've got big projects on tap here.
We're looking to release the Android app in 2021.
We want to involve more with AI like Alexa, right?
So you guys can have All Ears English in your home more.
Oh, so many exciting things, Michelle, are coming down the pipe.
Yeah.
Excellent.
So yeah, you guys can expect a lot more, a lot more fun, a lot more education, just a lot, a lot more with technology, so many things going on.
So, okay, so let's just, I figured for 1500, we could just mention, what was episode 15, Lindsay?
Yeah.
Oh my gosh, good question.
We have to go back and look at it.
Guys, come back to All Ears English and type in 15.
Such a small number.
And so this was an episode I did with my former co-host.
And we were talking about how to bring native English speakers to you.
And it was a Wisdom Wednesday.
That was when we named each day of the week.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's funny to think about like how the actual show has changed, you know?
What kinds of things did we used to talk about?
Yeah.
Maybe having a wisdom Wednesday or a name days or other things and, just you know, adding on team members, having guests, all sorts of things, and how the show has changed in general.
It's like thinking about like your child growing up, you know?
Oh, for sure.
And the last thing I'm going to say about episode number 15 is that it was a four minute seven second episode.
Oh, my gosh.
So our episodes actually back in the day.
I like that expression.
Back in the day.
Back in the day, we did like five to 10 minute episodes.
They were very short, but I felt like we couldn't really get into as much depth as we wanted to.
Yeah.
So yeah, guys, we get deep with our episodes now.
They are much longer.
And then that way, so the episodes are longer.
And yeah, I mean, gosh, we're just getting started and we're already longer than that.
Yeah.
For sure.
Yeah, we've already passed the four minute mark.
So we try to keep our episodes now to the 15 minute mark more or less 15 minutes because we know that's about the right amount of time for you guys.
If you're walking somewhere, getting on the train to work.
It's about the right amount of time.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So, Lindsay, I also wanted to have a really fun talk.
I was thinking about the number 15, about 1500.
I was thinking, where can we go with this?
And I thought we could talk to our listeners about what we were like at 15 and conversations about the number 15 and the age 15.
Oh my gosh, that's so funny.
A little bit, but I guess we can decide what we want to share.
Selective.
Yeah.
So yeah, yeah, really selectively.
So Lindsay, I mean, what were you like when you were 15?
I mean, I was a little less intelligent, I would say.
I think I was a teenager.
Teenagers don't have like a great sense of realism.
The one thing I remember about being 15 is that I hit a tree on skis.
Oh, really?
Yes.
So I grew up skiing.
I was a big skier from age three.
And I was skiing with my friend when I was 15.
It was like a January Saturday.
And I was following my friend.
She was so fast.
And I watched her and then I went right into the woods and skied right into the tree.
Oh, no.
Oh, my gosh.
That's so scary.
Yeah.
So I hit my head on the tree and then my hip off the other tree.
I don't know.
Maybe there was some damage.
I don't know.
We'll find out.
We'll find out.
But yeah, that's the biggest thing about being 15.
What about you, Michelle?
Oh, wow.
Well, nothing like that.
But let's see.
What was I like at 15?
Oh, my gosh.
Well, I was I was very into like boy bands, celebrities.
I did an Instagram story a while back about this, like. entertainment.
And that was kind of me at 15.
I did a lot of singing, a lot of theater.
Yeah.
Because you majored in theater in your bachelor's degree, right?
I did.
So at 15, I was in high school and I was, you know, with my theater crowd.
Interesting.
Kind of nerdy.
That's so fun.
The theater crowd has to be a super fun crowd, though.
There's always a theater crowd in every school, right?
And it seems like they're fun.
I don't know.
Oh, we had a blast.
You know, I loved it.
I loved it.
So I was in high school, probably thinking about my next steps already.
So I guess if I was 17 when I went to college, I guess I was probably already thinking about you know what was, what was I going to do next and where was I going to go to school, and things like that.
Yeah yeah, for sure wow cool, Yeah.
The high school days, you know we can't get them back.
It's the same about high school and college.
Anytime I would like call my parents and complain about my college campus or just complain about something about college life.
They would say you only have four years to be a college kid.
It's a very special time.
You know you have your whole life to live in big cities and do different things, but enjoy the time because high school you only have four years of it.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
And it's funny because at that time you think, wow, like that's so long, like what a big chunk.
And then you're like, now you're like, I think for four years, nothing.
It's nothing.
Yeah.
I've already been, we've, we've been working together since, for, for almost six, for six years now.
More than the time.
Yeah, more than the college kid's career, college time spent in college.
That's crazy.
Right, that's crazy.
So yeah, I mean, Lindsay, let's talk more about age 15.
Are you still friends with any people you were friends with when you were 15?
Yeah, I would say there's one.
So my best friend growing up and she and I are still, you know, we're still friends.
We're still connected.
Our families are connected from our hometown.
And I definitely will catch up with her multiple times a year.
She has a family.
I mean, but yeah, I value her friendship.
And she was definitely my best friend at that time, for sure.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm still friends with some people.
I mean, actually, it's funny.
Recently I've started getting in touch with some, you know, some friends from college that I hadn't spoken to in a while.
And even, yeah, like the other day, I sent one of my Best theater friends from high school.
Like we don't talk very frequently, but I sent him a happy birthday message.
And, you know, so there are people that I still keep in touch with.
And then there are the people from outside of my high school, which are my two best friends.
And, you know, our families are friends.
And so, yeah, I definitely...
There are a handful of people I still keep in touch with.
So it's always nice to have those friends from that time of your life and you get together with them and you feel like a little kid again.
Oh, yeah.
I would say that they really root you.
They root you in your life.
They give you that expression, like your foundation, you know, in the world.
It really matters in a sense.
I know a lot of our listeners from different cultures may stay in the same hometown their whole lives.
So they're very much rooted and connected in that way.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Definitely, definitely.
So I have another question.
And guys.
So the purpose of this episode is we're talking about 15, but we're also giving you guys conversation questions.
It doesn't have to be about 15 years old, right?
But it can be about any age, right?
Things that you can kind of ask people about maybe from their teenage years, like for this one.
If your friends was someone you could say something like did you fight with your parents when you were 15 Lindsay?
And over what?
Oh, yes.
Yes, I do.
I did.
I remember because I had a boyfriend who was older, a little older.
I was a freshman in high school and he was a senior in high school.
Lindsay.
Lindsay.
I know.
And so I remember fighting with them because they didn't want me to go to the movies with him.
Yeah.
So that was a big blow up.
Right.
A big blow up.
Good vocabulary word for listeners.
Fight.
Okay.
That is one thing that I fought with them over.
What about you, Michelle?
Yeah, I mean, that I mean, I didn't have that exact situation.
But there were a lot of.
You know, you're at this weird age where you like, feel like you're an adult.
And I don't know, I remember.
I don't know if I was 15.
But I so in the house where I grew up most of my childhood.
I remember we like right outside of my room.
I remember there was outside of the window.
There was the roof was I could actually go out and sit on the roof.
Oh, that's cool.
That's like in the movies.
I know.
Sometimes like I didn't sneak out, but I but I remember you know my.
I mean it's not safe to sit on the roof.
No.
And I remember once, like I went out and I snuck out to sit on the roof with one of my friends and my dad came in and he was not happy with that.
Oh, for sure.
And now I'm thinking like, oh my gosh, if I one day, my son ever sat out on the roof, I'd be like get off of that roof.
Yeah.
I mean it's physically.
Like I was saying in the beginning of the episode, when we're 15, we do stupid things physically.
Like we don't have a sense of our mortality, I think.
I think that kicks in somewhere around like 30 or so.
I'm not sure.
I don't think some people don't have it still.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We just take these huge physical risks and we just don't, it doesn't phase us.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I love it.
I love it.
Okay, Lindsay, do you have another question?
I mean, did you have any favorite shows or maybe movies at that time?
It's hard for me to think back to that.
It's funny.
You know, I think it's – and you know this about me, Lindsay.
I'm a very nostalgic person.
So unfortunately, in some ways, I'm still 15.
Okay.
Just because I like all the same stuff.
I mean, obviously, I love Friends.
Friends.
I mean, I still think that – i, i feel like all of these things are still new.
So i was like, oh yeah, that show friends, have you seen it like it's a new show.
Yeah, i think a lot of people have moved past friends, but not everyone.
I mean no, now it's apparently it's cool again.
It's cool again.
Who says Well, my husband works with a lot of kids and teenagers and he says that it's cool again.
But he said... Interesting.
Because it was on Netflix.
I will... Yeah.
I mean I will say that there's something about Friends that's comforting because like, for example, last Thanksgiving I think I shared this on the show I was at home with my parents at their home on the South Shore and
You know, there are all these there's the news on, which was stressful because of Donald Trump.
And there's all these like intense crime shows that we could watch.
And then there's just friends like it's on TV.
It's simple.
It's straightforward.
It's not to embarrass me in front of my parents.
And I liked having that on because it's just kind of tame.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Even though there are some embarrassing parts.
It depends.
But yeah, no, I love friends.
I mean, Seinfeld, all the things that I still like today, Backstreet Boys.
Yeah.
I would say, like I think Seinfeld comedy.
Guys, if you haven't watched Seinfeld, add that to your routine, your English learning routine.
I think Seinfeld comedy might just hold up over time.
I'm not sure about Friends, but Seinfeld, it may.
It's really good.
It's my opinion.
It's good writing.
You know, Seinfeld was a comedian.
He's a good comedian.
Yeah.
Oh, well, he's the best.
I love him, too.
I love both of those shows.
Lindsay, what about you?
What were some of your favorite shows or movies?
Oh, my gosh.
I don't even remember.
I don't think I watched... So in high school...
I don't even know, Michelle.
I don't know what I watched on TV in high school.
I know when I was young, I watched Saved by the Bell.
And then in college, I guess we had a few shows, but I can't.
Felicity was a show that was on.
But in high school, it's kind of like a blank spot in my mind.
I don't know.
I have no idea.
I did an Instagram story a while back and I think it was towards the end of November where I talked about Saved by the Bell being one of my shows.
Yes, I love it.
Oh, my gosh.
I love it.
Yeah, and then, all right, should we do one more?
Yeah, I like this question about what did you really want at 15?
Because this one lets you get a little deeper with the person.
You know.
So if you're going to take today's episode and make use of it with your connections, you know you're going to want to sit down and dig in and get to know someone, talk about your past.
This next question would let you go one level deeper.
So let's do that one, Michelle.
All right, Lindsay.
So what is the question?
So what did you really want at 15?
This is really interesting because it gets into the person's psychology.
Well, at 15, I was dying to drive.
Yes.
I mean, that's all I could think about.
I remember I failed my first learner's permit test.
Oh, you did?
The written part.
And I think I didn't know what a yield sign was.
And I felt that I was so heartbroken.
And I remember I was so upset.
And like I remember my mom having to comfort me, saying you know, at some point in time this is going to be a memory.
And And now.
Oh man, if I could be that age again and just be dealing with you know those kinds of things, that'd be great.
So, but other than driving, I really wanted to be like a famous singer, famous actress, things like that.
And yeah, my interest changed over time but I still, you know, enjoy performing and things like that, if I ever get a chance.
That's interesting.
Yeah.
I mean, for me, what I really is going to give our listeners a lot of insight.
And this is the last one here before we finish up, guys.
But it'll give us a lot of insight into American culture.
Yeah.
As for me too, at 15 or, I guess, 16 what I wanted?
I was the first among my friends to have a car and to drive, because I was a year older than them in grade.
I was the last.
Yeah.
Okay.
So the opposite experience.
I was the one with the car.
I had an old Volvo and I wanted to drive everyone around.
Like I wanted to be the one to go pick up all my friends, blast the music, drive around town.
It was like my, my ideal evening, my ideal Saturday night.
Yeah.
You can see a lot of teenagers lives revolve around getting that license in 16.
And then you have this sense of control over your life in a way.
Yeah.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah, it is.
It's an amazing feeling.
Very exciting.
It's amazing.
Yeah.
So, Michelle, what's the takeaway for today for our listeners?
How should they use this episode?
Well guys, if you're really like getting to know someone, I mean, maybe at least I wouldn't say these are like necessarily small talk questions.
Right.
Although they could be in some ways.
But these are really good conversation questions to have a conversation with somebody about what they were like as a teenager.
I mean, people like to reminisce and talk about themselves at different ages and I think the teenage years are especially fun because they're kind of Kind of embarrassing, kind of silly.
And so it's fun to talk to people about them.
So you can try out these questions with a friend and think about how you have changed you know over time, since you were 15.
Also, how you've changed as an All Ears English listener.
We were talking about our show.
How have you changed as a listener since you started listening?
I mean guys, even if you haven't listened to all 1500 episodes, definitely think about it how you have changed as an All Ears English listener and as a person since you've started listening right.
What's been going on in your life and what do you hope will happen soon?
Well, that's a great question, Michelle.
So guys, come back to the blog.
Let us know how you've changed since you started listening to All Ears English and make use of today's episode.
Use these phrases the way we phrase the questions to go one level deeper with someone.
You know, when someone can share with you who they were in their teen years or their 20s, you can build that connection that we all want.
And that's what we want you guys to have in English, okay?
Awesome.
And guys, remember to share All Ears of English with a friend.
Yes, for sure.
Okay, Michelle, thanks for hanging out today.
All right.
Here's to the next 1500.
All right, also, see you soon.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to all ears English.
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