A Reflection on Podcasting

Today I have just released Episode 11 of the podcast I am a part of called Talk Magic to Me. It feels surreal that my friends and I made it this far! 11 episodes seems miniscule next to other podcasts who have dished out hundreds to almost 500 episodes. I can only hope we make it that far. Although 11 is a small number in that regard, it is a big number from where I'm standing. We started this project in February and now it is almost June! I hardly can recall why the months have slipped right through my fingers. While life tends to speed by anyway, this podcast seems to have put my life in overdrive.
Many good things have come from this podcast. The best part about it though, by far, is getting to have conversation with friends. Every week I get to watch a new movie and write my thoughts down for future discussions and it is awesome! I especially love when we discuss heavier topics (which may occur more with our new grubs section). Being able to put my opinions out there in a more approachable way is great. Another great aspect of podcasting is listener feedback. While we haven't received a lot, we already seem to have a few devoted listeners which is amazing. I can only hope that our podcast will be an inspiration for them as much as other podcasts have been for me.
While podcasting has highs, it also has lows. I know my fellow host Jen will agree with me when I say that podcasting is STRESSFUL! It is especially stressful when it isn't your job and it sucks up all your free time. I find that I am more often than not extremely tired and so all my waking hours are either at my job or working with the podcast. This has forced me to neglect many things that I don't want to neglect like reading, writing, and of course blogging. I've gotten better at managing my time but it is still tiring. I have become sick of editing to the point where I put it off until the very last minute. No wonder I am stressed. Once I sit down and commit to editing though I enjoy the job.
But at the end of the day, this is something I enjoy doing. I want to continue to have healthy conversation and talk about why Disney is so awesome with my friends and listeners. Who knows, maybe something great will come out of this one day (preferably a full time job or a trip to Disney World).
Between all of the highs and lows, podcasting has given me room to grow as a person and an artist.

The experience has given me many teachable moments that I want to share. The first is that I can't judge myself too harshly. After recording our first few episodes, especially the Frozen episodes, I would wake up the next morning feeling crappy and as if what I said during recording wasn't good enough. It's a sucky feeling and I still feel it every now and then and am still learning that I can't be too hard on myself. I have also learned that I can't judge other podcasts too harshly either. Before Talk Magic to Me, I would often be nitpicky and annoyed when a podcaster forgot to mention something or say a fact correctly and now when I listen back I notice my fellow hosts and I making mistakes or forgetting important info.
The next thing I have learned is that it is okay to be stressed. I mean...it is okay in context. I am stressed because I am trying to make the podcast great so there can't be anything wrong with that...right? It also teaches me to loosen up and learn from the stress. I now have to ask myself, what do I NEED to do and what can wait? Jen said to me a few weeks ago that podcasting is a labor of love. I would have to agree entirely.
Finally, podcasting has pushed me to be more creative. Coming up with fun games and grubs and writing the basic script is working a lot of your creative juices. I'm being pushed in a new way and I can see a big difference in myself already.
Ultimately, the experience has been good and I look forward to our future episodes and can't wait to see where the podcast takes all four of us!