Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorced mother. She is my superhero. That's
why it's important for me to support women, to share their uniqueness, their personalities,
perspectives, and emotions about this world. In these difficult times in human history,
we need to bring the cultures of the world together. And when we listen to real people,
to real lives of women from other countries, we connect our humanity without our differences
or stereotypes, and we get inspired by their stories to live a better life. That's what this
podcast is all about. My guest today is Patricia Jordache. Patricia is a student at the National
College Carole 1 in Craiova, Romania. Her hobbies are dancing, poetry, reading books,
and psychology. Patricia spends most of her time in dance classes, but she also loves wasting time
going out with her friends. She is a social butterfly. She loves partying and meeting new
people. Patricia wants to become a choreographer and a dance teacher. She considers herself a
really patient person, and she loves making people understand what they find difficult.
That's why she will apply for two universities to study choreography and psychology. These two
fields represent her true self, and she cannot see one without the other. Patricia, how are you today?
Thank you so much for having me here. I am really good today. I had quite a long day at school,
but I'm really good now. I'm honored, I'm privileged, I'm lucky, and super curious about
you, especially as a social butterfly. So, let's speak about that a little bit. You, as Patricia,
what do you love most about people and meeting new people? Oh my god, that is such a good question.
Well, since I was a little kid, I always loved meeting new people, even though at first I was
a little bit shy because I always was in my head about what they're going to think about me and,
you know, being a people pleaser. But I started understanding that we are all the same, but so
different, and I am a Gemini. I love understanding people, I love meeting people, I love learning
new stuff about everything, and people are one of the few things that I think we can never learn
everything about. Everything changes with every generation that is going on, and you never
understand fully what people are about, so I think that is amazing. I love that, I'm a Gemini as well.
And to ask you even further, the fact that you cannot know everything about people, they're
always so deeper than people expect and so fascinating. Is this interesting for you,
because you're a person who gets bored easily and so you like something that's always exciting,
that keeps you curious? Or is it in a way to prove to yourself, oh my god, I used to be so much in
my head before, but now people are much nicer and they're not like, they don't know everything,
but we all have something to say and everybody's so interesting, so there is no reason to be in my
head? Or is it for your own self-development, when you discover different characteristics, traits,
how people behaved in different situations, and stories of overcoming troubles, that it inspires
you to grow different parts of yourself? Or what is it for you? Honestly, I think it's a mix of all
of the three that you just said earlier. I'm a really curious person. Since I was little,
I was always searching through my mom's stuff and going through my brother's things, because I always
wanted to learn more. I think there is nothing better than knowledge in the world. But it's also
for my self-development, because I think through people, it's when we learn the most. I think,
yes, through experiences as well, but those experiences through people have built me up as
a person the most. And about the fact that I'm realizing that it's not about me having to stand
out or me having to please everybody that is around me, but just being together as a society
and growing together and learning things from each other and respecting each other and being
in this beautiful community of humans that we are. But yeah, I think it's all of the three,
of the above. Thank you. And I'll play the devil's advocate a little bit. To understand,
you're a curious person. You love to always learn. Someone who never danced maybe in this
world will say, oh my God, dance, like after some years, what is the new thing you can do?
It's probably boring. How can you stay excited about it? It's not like the human body can fly
or do something unexpected. So for you, how can dance satisfy your curiosity, desire for
self-development, for discovering and learning if the choreographies or the moves are not infinite?
And after a few years, you probably can do all of them. I will give you as a contrast,
because people don't understand dance as much as they understand music. And it's like a song. It's
like the music industry. Everybody's talking mostly about the same things, about love,
friendship, breakups, stuff like that. But they're putting it in a different way every time. They're
putting it in their own perspective. And that's what I think is the most beautiful part about it
is because you see love from an artist's perspective, and then you see love from another
artist's perspective, and it's not the same thing. And it's the same about dance, even though there
are the same moves, but it still improves. It's still a different mix of different moves. And
dance also connects a lot to music. And because new music comes up every time, and new art comes up
every time, even sculptures, paintings, art is a continuous thing, it's like humans. And that's why
dance will always improve and will always be like music. It's a mix of different things. It will
never be the same. Even though some people might find it boring about, yeah, the moves are the same,
but as a dancer, you never get tired of it. And I'm really sad about the fact that dance isn't as
portrayed in our society as music is or as painting is, but I really hope I can change this.
I love that. And I can feel your passion. So I'll begin with this different question. You were in
your head before. What was the story that totally transformed you into a social butterfly? Does it
have to do with dance and the first moment you discovered, oh my God, I love this? Or is it about
people you met a new kind of people who are so supportive and positive, and they inspired you?
Or when you felt passion for something in the first time, maybe through poetry or reading some
really wonderful, passionate writer, you're like, I love this feeling. I wanted every single day.
Tell me more about that. To be honest, I know it's a really sad thing to bring up again, but I think
the pandemic was the switch in my head about being in my head because I have always talked a lot to
people. I have always stayed around people and the pandemic has closed down everything. And dance,
I couldn't do dance classes. I couldn't go to school with my friends. I couldn't see my friends.
We all know what it was like. And I think that was the moment where I realized that life is too
much to be lived in your own head and to always live to please everyone because that little thing
changed my whole perspective about it. Poetry has also helped me because I read a lot of,
mostly inspirational poetry that gives me ideas for choreographies and reading books too. But I
started these two hobbies while the pandemic. So I think the pandemic switched my brain up because
I have stayed a lot in my head and I realized that it's not enough. I mean, I started speaking
Romanian for a second. When you stay too much in your head, you realize that it's not worth
staying so much in your head if you understand what I'm saying. I know exactly what you mean.
And I'll ask you then also about the pandemic. It seems there are many experts who say teenagers
who grew up during the pandemic with so many lockdowns and staying away from people lost a
lot of social skills. They become very awkward. They become unable to have wonderful conversations
or communicate as well as they used to. And nowadays they're all the time on TikTok and
Instagram reels and they're not having those interactions that allow them to understand
people and to explain the depth of their souls. Do you agree with this? Maybe for you it was
different, but do you feel a lot of Romanian girls your age have become more awkward, less able to
communicate effectively? Maybe they communicate more and better being text to words and sending
emojis than telling a story in real life. Or like you, it told them life is too short, too precious.
We should bond with people even deeper. Well, I think I was the exception. I think I was one
of the few people that realized that we shouldn't close down and we should open up even more.
But I will set an example that is my friends who after the pandemic have closed down in them and
they couldn't talk about stuff anymore because they found comfort in staying alone and staying
with their parents. And maybe even I know it sounds bad, but sometimes staying too much with
your parents doesn't work out and they might get more problems from staying so much with their
parents. And it's pretty hard. The pandemic was really hard and it didn't affect everyone the
same. But yes, I think it has closed down teenagers and teenagers who, like me, who have been through
literally every lockdown ever. I think it has changed them because we now find comfort in being
lazy. We now find comfort in staying on our phones. Social media doesn't do any good to us. So yes,
I really think it has changed us. But I can't talk about it too much because I was the exception. I
was the one who saw the pandemic as a step over the bad things in my life. So yeah.
Thank you. You're really fascinating. I have so many questions and I'll begin with this one. You
said the poetry can inspire you with choreography ideas. Can you explain how that works? How does
it happen? Is it that it gives you an emotion and then the way that your instincts will translate
it into movement that becomes a choreography? Or is it something else? Maybe they speak about the
north, the south, the east, and you make those directions into the moves? Or how does it go?
That's a really good question. I personally get ideas from everything. And when I say
everything, I'm saying even if I see a bottle of water that is half filled, I could get an
idea about the choreography with a theme behind it. And my brain works really weird about dance
because it has been a really important part of my life. But poetry usually gives me, I like to
choreograph with a story behind it. Like let's say a love story or a breakup story or a sad story,
a family story and anything story. And usually poetry gives me the smallest bit of click that
makes me go, oh my God, that would be so great as an idea for a choreography. But it doesn't give
me exactly the moves. I think that's what you were kind of asking or maybe I got it wrong. Music
usually gives me the idea of the moves and how I would want it to flow or maybe how I would want
it to lock. But I get inspired from everything. I get inspired from talking to people. I get
inspired from images. I get inspired from poetry, books, water, air, soil, everything.
I love this. And I'm curious about how you experience the world as a kinesthetic person.
When you are inspired, how is it for you? Is it like an energy in your chest? Is it like
butterflies in your stomach that need to get out? Is it like you get into a scene from a movie in
your mind or you get like a metaphor that you are sailing in an ocean or riding a dragon or
whatever it is. And that to you is inspiration. What is it inside yourself that lets you know,
yes, I am inspired. This is the feeling and that propels you forward. I usually feel it in my
chest. It's in my chest. And then if I... I'm sorry, I will start again. So I usually feel it in my
chest. And if I can't write it down that second, the idea that I had, I will lose it. I'm the kind
of person who loses. If I had the idea and I can't write it in my phone, in my notebook, I have a
special notebook for this that I usually carry around everywhere or on a piece of paper, on a
napkin, on my hand. If I can't write it down, I will forgive it. I will forget it. But the feeling
is in my chest. I feel it in my chest. I feel my heartbeat going faster. And then I have to close
my eyes and be like, is this what I'm feeling? Yes, it is what I'm feeling. So yeah, that's a
really good question. I feel inspired usually through my whole body. And I have to get up and
go somewhere peaceful so people don't get my idea over and get over my idea, sorry. But especially
in my chest. And then I have to close my eyes and write it down. If I don't write it down, I can't
remember it for the love of my life. I really understand. It's almost like you need to give
birth to something and after you do it, you feel like that was so good. But if people distract you
during it, it's both painful. And then you're like, what was I thinking? That was so great.
What was it? And it's very frustrating. And to speak about people and energy, are you an impasse?
Can you feel people's energy? Can you as a dancer, for example, when you see someone dancing, you feel
how they project their energy in the world, how they're feeling in that moment. When you walk
around, you can feel when people have low energy, are depressed, are happy. And you can in many ways
collect those emotions throughout the experiences. Or you don't get right away the energy of a
person, but you need conversation and communication first, before you begin to pick up on their
on their energetic abilities. I usually feel the energy in a second from every person, every place
that I go to. If I feel a bad energy, I'm telling my friends, I'm like, oh my God, I don't feel like
this is safe for us. And they're like, they never trusted me at first. And they were like, girl,
you're crazy. Nothing is happening. Then something bad happens. And then they were like, oh my God,
she said something bad is going to happen. And I was like, I told you the energy isn't right. And
I think, yes, that came from dance. Because in dance, the most important part is your energy.
You have to be so fluid with your energy through dance. And that's what I have done for all of my
life. And I think that's where I got it from. And the energy of a person I usually get when I look
in their eyes, because truly, as poetry says, the eyes are the mirror of the soul. And it is the
truest thing ever on the earth. If you look into a person's eyes, you will see their true intentions,
their true energy. And I love looking people in the eyes. I love eye contact. I think that's how
you connect with people. But yes, through dance, I think I have got that ability of reading people's
energy instantly when I see them. I get a really good vibe, a really bad vibe, maybe not bad,
not good, somewhere in between. But I think it was also through the... I have always studied people
when I was little. I've always liked looking at their gestures and their manners. And I got
conclusions from that. But maybe I think from dance, mostly, I got this ability.
Thank you. And again, I have so many questions. I'll mention this. You said when you get inspired
for an idea for a choreography, you right away imagine the team for it. And you plan the future,
in addition to psychology, to study choreography. Why and how different is the experience of dance
when you're with a team compared to dancing alone, whether in public in front of a crowd or
an audience or at home in front of the mirror or anywhere? What difference and how is the experience
unique when you are with a group of people and you're all following a choreography compared to
you dancing alone, at home or on stage? That is an amazing question because nobody really puts it
in that perspective. Dancing, I will try and do a metaphor. Dancing in my room alone, it's like
being in my own bubble. I have my own energy. I have my own ideas. But in that bubble, I don't
grow as much compared to when I dance with my team, with my crew, with my friends, even with my friends
at a party. I get their energy. I get their vibes. I get their ideas. I get their feelings. And
that makes me an even better dancer because I start picking up from everyone the best part.
But when I'm alone in my room, I usually build up the idea. And then I start asking my friends,
what do you think about this? And then someone is giving up a better example, a better example,
a better example, and that makes it the best. I think teamwork is the best way something can
work. Nothing works better when it's done alone. Everything is better when it's done alone.
Everything is better when it's done together. And that's the difference. I don't grow as much
when I'm dancing alone in my room compared to when I dance with my friends or with my crew.
Oh my God. I have at least three questions about what you mentioned. So I'll ask one.
You said you grow more when you're part of a team, when you get people's emotions, energy,
cultures, everything. What is growth for you? Because some people will think, well,
are you really growing? It's not like you're learning a new language or something like that.
So how do you define growth? Is it self-discovery for you? Is it opening and unlocking new
dimensions to your soul? Is it that something maybe you read about before and when you experience it
in real life, you understand it deeper because it becomes real and not theory? Or for you,
when you approach and feel, yes, I am growing. What is that experience? How can you communicate
and explain that? I think growth is purely mentally. To grow is when you realize that
you're better than yesterday. I have a quote on my wall that says, only compare yourself to your
previous self. And that's an important thing for me because I have always compared to everyone.
I've always been compared to everyone. And when I realized that I only have to compare myself to
myself, but to my old self, that's when I started growing because you start seeing your steps and
everybody grows so differently. And we have different paces. We have different ways to
approach things. So yes, growth, I think, is mentally. And I personally grow and I feel like
growing when I get more ideas. I improve my creativity when I'm staying with my friends
and they say something and I get an idea about anything. It doesn't have to be exactly about
dance, even about school or a song or about music or about anything. I think that's what growth is
when you become better than your previous self. I agree. And it feels alive. If you don't grow in
one day or a moment, it feels stagnant. There is no spark of the passion and the energy and the
excitement and curiosity about your potential and what you can do next. Because of that,
it's like opening yourself to life and allowing yourself to truly live it in a way that changes
you and changes the world around you and to ask you. You spoke earlier that you had people pleaser
tendencies and those don't disappear right away. But all our conversation, you were speaking from
a very confident, self-centered way where you're putting your own dreams and goals and plans and
visions first. So I didn't detect any people pleaser tendencies. Do you still have them?
How do they manifest? And how can you explain them? Do you have a meaning where it's both
doing things that are good for you, you don't sacrifice yourself, and you please others? Or
how did it evolve? And how are you about that now? Well, I have evolved from it. I'm not a
people pleaser anymore. I like to think that I'm not as much of a people pleaser as I was.
Because as a dancer, if dancers are listening to this podcast right now, we have always been
compared to each other. And we always had to, in the dance community, to make everybody enjoy,
accept yourself. You will have to destroy yourself to make everybody happy. And I don't
think that is not okay. And I'm really thankful that you're saying that you feel my confidence
through this because I have worked a lot for it. As I said earlier, during the pandemic, I have
realized the first step that you gotta do is realizing that you're a people pleaser. That's
the first step. You realize you're a people pleaser. And then you're like, what do I have
to do to not be? Because it ruins you because you live for everybody except yourself. And nobody is
going to be with you through this life except yourself. So you gotta live for yourself.
And I realized that I was a people pleaser and I started doing things that I wanted. I started
second-doubting myself. I started taking my own opinions first, my own perceptions first,
because I usually, when somebody would tell me, I don't think that color looks that good on you.
But I thought that it looked, I was like, oh my God, it doesn't look good on me. But deep down,
I thought it would. And I liked that color. So I would change up and I wouldn't wear that color
anymore. And maybe I would even throw the sweater away. But that's not good. That wasn't good for me
because I wasn't doing what I wanted to and I wasn't doing what I felt. So the first step is
realizing that you're a people pleaser. The second step is realizing it will be a really hard way.
I don't think I have fully healed from it, but I think I'm closer to being confident and
independent. And I'm really happy that you said that because it's something I'm really
working on. So thank you so much. Thank you. I feel you're an old soul and therefore,
I have a question and it has two parts. So please pay attention so that it's clear.
The first is you said you love eye contact. The eyes are the window to the soul. Do you love
and fall in love with people's souls? Is that the criteria when you choose friendships or
people you keep in your circle? If their soul is on the high vibration, if their soul is resonant
with yours in exactly the right ways where you feel, oh my God, it's like I know these people
all my life, even if you just met. And so it's about other people's souls and is that the biggest
criteria for you to have them in your circle? And what are your metaphysical beliefs about life?
Do you believe in fate? Do you believe in destiny? Do you believe we create everything?
Do you believe we're all one soul that is trying to discover itself through the communications of
people together or different souls and each one has a lesson for every other soul that
we need to learn or is the world like a place of manifestation or how is your perspective
on the spiritual and metaphysical side of the world? So first, the souls of people
and if you fall in love with that. And secondly, the soul of the whole universe.
Those are some beautiful questions I have to add. For the first question, yes, I do fall in love
with the souls of people, but also with their minds. If the soul and mind ratio isn't right,
I can't find myself being truly trustful in that person because being good, being kind is good,
but you have to be smart to kind of be in my circle because I don't want to sound arrogant,
but if I can't learn anything from you, then I can't keep you in my really close circle. Yes,
I will keep you as an acquaintance, but I won't keep you as a really close friend. But I think
the most important part, yes, it is the soul. It is how kind you are. It is how warm you are
because the one my pet peeve in people is when people are mean because this society is pretty
mean and I hate this. I hate this. I love people that respect each other. I love people that are
loyal. I love people that are kind. I love people that are warm. So, yes, with my friends and all
of my friends that I love truly, they are really kind souls, really good souls that I vibe on
different levels. I have some friends that I vibe for parties and for going out or talking more,
but I have some friends that I vibe for my more quiet part of my soul that I have to just sit
with them, have a cup of tea, drink something and then we're good. Different vibes from different
people and that's why I can't quite keep a perfect friend group because I usually have friends from
different friend groups that I get along with them because I think keeping a friend group is
really hard because not everybody vibes with each other. And for the second part of the question,
I'm a really spiritual person. I really believe that the universe has put everybody here for a
purpose and that purpose is to learn all the lessons that this life has to give us and those
lessons, I feel like their faith exists. I think that destiny is a big part of the universe. I
think some things are destined to be like I was destined to become a dancer, but free will is an
important part in those lessons that we're learning. I don't know how to explain this.
I see it as a line with checkpoints. Those checkpoints are the lessons that we have to learn
and in those checkpoints, we have the free will and from that checkpoint, it can go in so many
different ways, but you just got to do those checkpoints. It depends on the lesson that you
have to learn from your soul, from your mind, from your body, from your anything. But yeah,
that's my belief. Thank you and I agree 100% and you're really wise. I like this perspective
that you have. You spoke about how dancers have this big comparison where people compare them to
each other, where they're constantly compared not to themselves, not to how they were yesterday
and if they progressed in a kaizen way 1% a day to become better. Do you feel that girls your age
because of social media and them seeing photoshopped perfect photos and lives of girls from all over
the world, they might have their self-esteem and confidence destroyed where they feel, oh my God,
I cannot be as beautiful as that girl. Nobody will love me or no matter what I do, I cannot be
like that celebrity going from Ibiza to Hollywood to party in a private jet or whatever.
Do you feel social media is destroying the self-esteem of a younger generation or do you
feel many are more and more aware of the toxic potential and they use it to find other good people
to create their own groups of wonderful human beings and try not to be sucked into that
comparison that destroys their mental health? Even though I would love to believe that social
media brings us together, I don't think that is what is happening because we like to
think that yes social media is really good. It gives us this idea that yes people edit but we're
all bodies are good and yeah but I don't think that is what's happening because yes social
media is really toxic to young girls because I would give an example, my cousin she is 10 years
old. She was looking in the mirror staring at a picture of a celebrity crying her eyes out that
she had a little bit of tummy and that celebrity didn't and she really loved that celebrity and I
looked in her eyes I think she's one of the most beautiful people I've ever met. She's one of the
kindest souls and I almost started crying out thinking that that's what social media does to
every single one of us. If a child is crying her eyes out because she has a little bit of tummy,
I don't think that social media actually brings us together and even though I would love to think
that and I think we could change it but we have to change as a society to change social media but
yes social media really brings their self-esteem down as deep as the Pacific Ocean
and I don't think that is good. Thank you so much Patricia, this was my privilege,
my honor. Such a wonderful way to understand you, to learn from your perspective, to explore your
mind and mindset and I wish you to become a super cool psychologist choreographer with your own
unique approach. I wish you happiness, I wish you no more pandemics and lockdowns and to live life
fully and most importantly I wish you to always take careers passionate and live in happiness.
Thank you again. Thank you so much, it has been my honor and I'm so grateful to be here and to be a
part of this beautiful project that you're creating and thank you for inspiring little girls to be
like this. Thank you so much.
