Can you tell us about your podcast, which is amazing, Living on the B Side?

Living on the B Side, like you have said, is a podcast that is all about music, people and stories. It’s all about the power of music it has in our lives, the amazing stories and moments and experiences that can happen through music. And it’s absolutely incredible. The stories that come out of just maybe an artist or a song or piece of music that’s been created by somebody else, but has impacted one person in particular. That’s, in a nutshell, what the podcast is all about. It’s not just about me talking to other people. I also do solo episodes about my experiences from the past, present, and hopefully what I hope for the future as well.

So, music brings us a lot, doesn’t it? How did you come up with the idea? Or why did you start your podcast? How did it all sorts of come about?

We must rewind a little bit, a few years back, probably around 2016. And this is some people might call this a little bit spiritual or woowoo, but I woke up one morning, and all I thought about was Living on the B Side, I had no idea where it came from. No idea what to do with it.

I put it on a mental shelf because I thought it sounds really cool. And then as time went on a little bit, I realised, well, it’s got two meanings:

One is the B side of a vinyl record, which is sometimes not the side we listen to for anyone that does listen to vinyls.

And the other side that was ‘B Side’, because a lot of my friends call me B, which is easier than Birgit or Birgit and Living on the B Side.

So there is something there because I at that point in time went through the phase of discovering that I’m an introvert. And it always felt like I was Living on the B Side of life. And then it just clicked. So that’s how it came about and started off as a blog. It wasn’t a podcast, it was a personal blog that then came into a podcast. So that’s basically the beginning of it.

And you mentioned that you are discovering you’re an introvert. Can you tell the listeners a little bit more about that discovery and kind of what it means to you?

This is the stuff that defines us all and this is how we process everything until we probably pass away. Teenage years, tell me anyone that doesn’t have experience in the teenage years that define them. I want to meet that person. My parents divorced when I was 12. And back in those days, divorce wasn’t very common. There was a lot of prejudice already towards me that I wasn’t aware of. Which meant that I kind of walked through my teenage years feeling a little bit like an outsider, because I was shy to start off with, I didn’t speak a lot, I didn’t have many friends. Even though looking back now, I always made friends. But I didn’t have like, huge number of friends.

But I could never understand why I wasn’t like everybody else:

• Why was it so hard for me to go up and approach people and talk to them?
• Why did I get tired so quickly, I wanted to be by myself?

And that kind of carried itself through until about five or six years ago, when I literally discovered the term ‘introvert’. I’m like: ‘’Oh, my God, that sounds like me.’’

And then the whole process we obviously go through: Well, what does it mean for me? How do I fit in the spectrum of that whole thing?

And it really helped me to become more comfortable with who I am and accept that I am the way I am. And I’m okay in this world. And today, my definition of Introvert has changed again, which for me, it really is the way I manage my personal energy. That’s literally how I would say introvert is for me right now.

So when you discovered introversion or being an introvert six years ago, what was your understanding of it, then?

It explained to me why I don’t react the same way that other people do, perhaps that’s why I’m more quiet, why I get tired in certain social situations quickly, and how I process things too. That was another thing that helped me. You know, go okay, well, that’s cool. That’s cool. I am the way I am. And that’s why. And then obviously, there’s whole different. What’s the word for it? You know, I’m probably not the typical what people call the typical introvert. People probably don’t think I am because I do a podcast. I hop on your podcast, I could chat with people pretty easily. But throw me in a room with maybe 50 people. And I can already feel my energy going down. Yeah. So that’s to me, and then yeah, so it’s literally so back then it was really helpful just as a starting point. And I met other women who are introverts and just to see a difference in nuances in those women and then where do I fit in? So it was really helpful to have that starting point in that little community to kind of do that self-discovery. That really, really helped back then. Absolutely.

My (Philipa) understanding more of introversion now is that we need to recharge by ourselves. Whereas extroverts tend to recharge by being with people. Do you agree with this?

I guess that’s the longer explanation of it: introvert needs to recharge differently than extroverts. That’s really, in a nutshell, what it is and has nothing to do with us being antisocial. Or we just want to sit in a corner over there with a book and a nose in it. No, we’re very sociable people, you should see me on the dance floor. You know, you should see me at a concert. Nothing to do with that. It’s just when I go home, I’ll be like recharging for the next day. It’s just like, no.

If you want to know what you are like in different situations, and how to manage your energy in those situations, so that you can be at your best when you need to be.

Exactly right. Absolutely. And whilst you know, those kinds of labels, like you said before, they’re really helpful, too, for self-discovery. But eventually, I think don’t stick to that label, don’t be defined by it, use it as a tool to help you be your best version of yourself.

And the other thing I also think might be, I don’t know if it’s helpful for anybody listening to this, but one thing that I found helpful back then especially as a teenager, and still to this day, and hence my podcast is find something that helps you process all that, and for me, it was always music. I’ve always had music there to help me process the emotions. And it was like my comfort blanket, so to speak. But there’s probably other things. Some people love hiking, other people that just, you know, love nature, hugging a tree, etc. I wouldn’t go down the road of just eat food or whatever, because that’s a whole another thing. But something that’s does not like to use the word harmful either, but something that can just be there as a little bit of a sidekick. To help you figure that out. And not feel so lonely, perhaps, on the road.

It’s really sort of an individual’s thing. And that’s part of figuring out what works for us. And luckily, we both obviously figured that out pretty early on our journeys, which is amazing. And I wish everyone has that. Something like that in their lives.

Am I right in saying this, that your podcast is a big part of you bringing you out and into the world and making your mark? Is this you stepping into being more of you, if that makes sense?

Yes. And I honestly, it’s for me, it’s almost a little bit, I don’t like to say therapy, but it’s part of my growth journey that I’m trying to share with everybody. And like I said earlier on, it started off more from an introvert perspective. The solo episodes that I do touch on a lot of introverted things. But I also have guests on and for me, I just love it. It it helps me speak out, like what’s going on and using music and lyrics especially to make sense, and try to convey what’s going on in my world. And hopefully other people then can understand that and just seeing that there’s so many people who totally agree with what I’m saying and doing, and they experienced similar things. And they have amazing stories to tell where music plays such an immense part. It’s for me, it’s just the perfect combo for you know, my own growth, as well as hopefully sharing some useful titbits with other people as well.

Songs start to mean different things at different times. And that just shows that we all interpret music lyrics our own way, and it’s what they mean to us. Not, not what the song is meant to mean, in a way, isn’t it?

There’s this quote by Dave Grohl, and I can’t obviously say it the way he said it. But basically, it means, you know, he writes a song and he sings it. And then he’s obviously in a stadium and 70,000 to 75,000 people sing it back for 75,000 different reasons. And that’s a powerful quote. And I did a solo episode on that, too, where I actually went back and listened to a song that I love when I was about 12. And I looked at it and said ‘’What do I love about it today?’’ And that’s a beautiful way to see how you’ve grown as well. It’s so easy. You can just listen to and go ‘’Oh, okay. Well, I love the song because of this back then. And now it means this to me, and I still love it.’’ Which is a beautiful thing. That’s what music does.

We move on to chat about having a ‘song of the year’ (on top of a theme word), which in this case is ‘This is me’ from the Greatest Showman soundtrack and how that has impacted us both

it’s basically ditching the label and saying, This is me. Here I am. I’m doing my thing. And you know what? Whatever you think of me, it’s going to just bounce off me because I am allowed to have space on this earth. Like you said, it’s my theme song for the year, which I always do. I always have a theme song and it’s a theme word. I’m trying to incorporate in everything I do. And it’s beautiful to have a song because a lot of people just do the word and connecting it with a song, it makes it more emotional. More with ‘’it’’.

So you think knowing that that song is sort of there to support you this year in a way that you feel that helps you?

Absolutely. I’ve done it two years in a row now. And last year, I had Titanium by David Guetta because I just wanted to be like bulletproof and let things bounce off me. And this year, I thought ‘’Okay, I’ve managed that last year. And this year, I want to step into more of me and show the world more of me’’. Hence this new song and just seeing her not even in a movie. It really touched me and I thought yes, that’s what I want to live by this year. Absolutely.

Also, the beauty of having not just a word, but also a song when you put your playlist up and then you can see from where you were to where you are now and you can really, really proud of yourself because the emotions attached to the songs will still be there, but you’re not going to be so involved or in it anymore. You can just look back and go ‘’Yeah, I’m actually freaking awesome on all this. You know, I’ve come that far.’’ And you mentioned where I can go from you here and you are freaking awesome.

Just because a song was written with a specific topic or message in mind by the artist doesn’t mean we have to receive the same message from it.

I say you take Music as you need it. It’s your medicine, take it. Just because it was written about something else doesn’t mean you can’t take it and use it for yourself as a little help. And you know, that’s the power of music. I mean, it just blows my mind.

And that’s going back to acknowledging who we are and what is good for us and what things mean to us. And staying grounded in what it means for us and not being wave as you know, what it might mean to somebody else.

And that’s what we need more right now is people who get comfortable in who they are and authentic and not fake, not, you know, trying to hide away, it can be really hard to put yourself out there. Trust me, I’ve been there. I didn’t want to be on camera for ages. I didn’t want to talk like this for years and years. Even though one of my childhood dreams was to be a radio DJ. Here we go

Finally, what sorts of things bring you joy?

Music! I know this is very, very broad. But obviously music is my best friend. It’s my companion that I have through life.

And through music, I’m able to actually bring joy to others through my podcast. And that in itself is just incredible. I’ve never thought that would happen for me, even though obviously I dreamt about it. And now I’m stepping into it.

Head over to YouTube to watch the full chat between Philippa and myself on her ‘‘The Meeting of the Minds’ podcast. Plus more incredible episodes – both solo and guests!