Climbing Your Way Through the Trees, Literally, with Climbing Arborist, Kayla Mendez

哎 Hi, this is Dr. Osses Alivar with another episode, The Way to College podcast. And wow, I never imagined where the podcast would take me. And I've said this many times, but it really like just this network of people continues to be willing to expand. And many of you, I've shared how I find guests. And oftentimes people reach out or guests are recommended to me. And today's guest is actually one of those individuals who's recommended to me by my wife. And she was one of my wife's high school students. And I think, so my wife came across her social media profile and she said, hey, you need to, I think you need to interview her because she is doing, is totally doing something that I never would have imagined or ever would have expected. And I thought, okay. So I looked at the social media profile and I was like, wow. Oh my God. And it was like this video and kind of like, you know, music video slash like, like work video. I don't even know how to describe it, but it was pretty incredible. So Kayla, would you mind introducing yourself for listeners and viewers out there? Sure. Yeah. Okay. So my name is Kayla Mendes. I am a climbing arborist and business owner based out of San Antonio, Texas. I co-own a tree service company and I have for about eight years now with my, yeah, it's been a minute. It's a fun combination of entrepreneurship and adventure. There's a lot of thrill seeking involved. I'm originally a graduate of Ed Cowjaw, high school. I believe I'm the class of 2010. Geez. Yeah. I'm the class of 2010. And I left once I graduated, I left to attend Trinity University here in San Antonio. For the recommendation of your wife. And I never left San Antonio. I've been here ever since. And I think most people don't write. They love San Antonio. It's a beautiful city. It's so much to do. But I imagine most Trinity graduates don't, like they don't imagine themselves, I'm going to go to Trinity, right? Which was one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country. And then I'm going to be an arborist. Right. Right. Okay. So, Kayla, with all my guests, I ask if you had to identify a starting point for your educational journey and education, I think education properly. Not just like a classroom, but one of those moments where I'll never forget that moment because it was really significant because I learned a lot or something. It was like this pivotal moment in my life. Where would that, what is that moment for you? Sure. Let me think. So, starting point for the educational, I mean, instinctively, I wanted to say like my educational journey started when I left home and was, took off her school and was thrown out into the world on my own. But there is actually one moment that stands out and it was towards the tail end of my senior year at Trinity. I took this random, wasn't supposed to be in this class, this random class on entrepreneurship. I wasn't supposed to be in it. I didn't get into another class and I was just scrambling to fill a schedule and I joined this one, which I believe, if I remember correctly, was an experimental class. It was the first time they ever offered it. I joined and before that class, I think I had been going through the motions of school, getting good grades, committing to a field of study that I didn't necessarily love, networking, getting the degree because that was the expectation. But when I joined that class, I think that's the time where it's like I came alive and I realized because I was surrounded by other people who wanted to start businesses and they found, you know, areas like voids and markets and they wanted to fill and they were super ambitious. That class is where it changed for me, I think. I knew that I wanted to work for myself. I didn't know what I'd be doing though. I just knew that one day I wanted to own my own business. I think I've always been like a dabbler and as I was nearing graduation, the idea of committing to a job and being indoors and getting stuck in traffic and going to and from work and all of that sounded very daunting to me. I wanted adventure and I saw entrepreneurship as my way. I'm going to find something I can do and make money in doing it. I didn't know what it was at the time though but that class, that class I think changed it for me and that was a class like I said I wasn't supposed to take. It was the last semester, senior year. Wow. Yeah. Okay, so I have a lot of questions now just to answer Matt. One is more of a comment and it's just, isn't it funny, kind of when we least expect it and we're not looking for it, we have those moments. It's kind of like when we don't plan for it, you just kind of, you know, I imagine you go into this class and I don't want to put words in your mouth but when you're going into this class, you didn't go in hopefully not thinking like just, you know, a giant sigh, I've just got to get through this but maybe more open-minded. Let me see what this class has to offer. How did you go into it? I'm one of those people who like, I take every opportunity, right? And when I join my class, I'll say, all right, let's see what I can pick up from this. I was super open-minded, you know, I was receptive to anything I was going to learn. I mean, I'm paying for this education in Trinity and Chiefs. So, you know, I got a maxima and, you know, I can actually pinpoint not just the class but one of the last, I told you this class, this was a new class and the professor didn't exactly know what she was doing. And towards the end, I get things to fill time. She was just bringing in grads who were out there in the world starting their own businesses and that's really what it was towards the end and this one chick stood out to me. She did a, from one of the class classes, the professor did a panel and there is this chick from Columbia, a rider like bright chicks, super outgoing, full of life and I remember her saying, oh, I lied on all of my resumes. She's like, you know, sometimes you have to fake it till you make it, right? And she's like, just don't, she's like, they don't follow all the rules. She's like, just fake it till you make it. It was actually her, like she influenced me. She was beautiful. She just stood out and she was doing really well and she was very open and authentic about the fact that, hey, I kind of lied to get to where I am today, but that's sometimes what you got to do. And I know, I know, I don't think you should don't do that. Well, I'm not giving advice, but she, she left an, I've never forgotten her. It was, she like, she, she left an impression on me and I think she had a huge influence on how I treated life after that. That's not right. So it sounds like, and I apologize if you hear a dog in the back, but we have a lot of dogs. So do I. My wife's trying to entertain them. She sounds like, and I, so I still teach part time and I coach students through like career advice and career planning and I tell them, don't lie on the resume. But I think if anything, it sounds like what you could take away from that experience. Certainly, I think if I was in that moment or in that, in that space, just the fearlessness to kind of be so bold and to just say, like, you know, I've, I've lied and it's worked out and, and kind of just owning it. I don't know. I, I think that's kind of cool and, and props to her for saying that. But so let me ask though, you've got to take this class because, or you don't have to take this class, you have to take it, but because you've got to fulfill some credit, right? But it wasn't the class you were originally supposed to do. Right. What were you majoring in at that point? Urban issues and public policy. I thought, and that, that, and I never knew what I wanted to do. When I got to Trinity and, you know, you're surrounded by the best of the best. And I didn't necessarily feel as though I was prepared compared to some of these students. Like it's, it's a global, it's global competition. I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing. All of these kids, man, they had plans. I'm going to be a doctor. I'm going to be a lawyer. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that. And there was me. I didn't know. I, I, I didn't know what I wanted out of life. And I was so intimidated by everybody knowing, seemingly having it figured out. Right. Yeah. And I was just, uh, I chose my, um, major, my, my field of study because I had to choose something by like sophomore year. And I just gravitated toward classes. I enjoyed, um, I liked writing policy memos. I was pretty good at that. Um, I was, I, and I was kind of involved locally, uh, uh, politically. And, um, I was very active and it just made sense. Now, did I do anything with that? Well, I'm an urban arborist. Sure. Maybe like there's urban planning involved. Sure. Okay. But, um, it was, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I just didn't know. And so I went through the motions and I chose something. Urban issues and public policy, man. I just, it landed. I had to choose. I couldn't really, uh, waste any more time or stay longer than four years. Can't afford it. So. Yeah. Wow. So, okay. So you take this class, you've got this incredible experience. But then of course graduation comes. Yeah. So what's, what's the plan for Kayla Mendes at that point? Oh boy. Um, okay. Here's the unconventional part. So I had some job offers. And like I said earlier, I, I had been a good student for so long. You know, I graduated top of my class in high school and I did really well. And I think, um, well, at Trinity, I had to work harder than others. I, I think I wasn't necessarily prepared for that kind of education. So I had to spend more time in the library. I just had to work harder. Um, and, uh, towards the end, I just didn't want to sit at a desk anymore. I wanted adventure. I wanted to do something different. So, uh, I graduated and I decided I was going to seek adventure instead. So I started rock climbing and in order to pay bills, I became a bartender downtown, San Antonio, uh, to my parents' disappointment after they, yeah, but, um, yeah, no, I became a bartender and I loved it too. I mean, kind of. Um, I bartended across from the courthouse. So my clientele, uh, it was a bunch of lawyers. Um, I got to know and they offered me jobs and you know, they said, oh, you shouldn't be doing this. You know, you, you, you're meant for greater things. And I, I was honest with people like, no, I want to do this. I want to have fun. I want to, um, I just, I just want to live on my terms. Um, and I don't want to be at a desk anymore and I want to figure things out. So I bartended for about a year and I was rock climbing as a hobby, which led me to tree climbing. I don't know if I'm getting ahead. No, no, no, this is your story. If you, you, you're leading me. So go ahead. Well, um, so my, my boyfriend was in medical school and that's a whole long story as to how we ended up owning this business, but I'm going to try to keep it. I'm going to give you the abbreviated version. Um, he, uh, his father passed away. Um, while he was in medical school, so he took it, he had to take a year off. Um, his father passed away at 60. It was devastating. Um, his father was paying for the school. So there was a lot to figure out. Um, and during that time, we were both just trying to survive. The, his father passed away, left a, a, a mess of an estate. Um, and there was a lot to sort through. So I was bartending and he needed a job and he one day looking for a job, uh, because he also wanted some adventure and we wanted to kind of live free for a little bit. He found a job saying, um, it was like a job description for a climber, but that's it. They didn't say what kind of climber, just a climber. So he, uh, applied for the job, got it. And it ended up being tree climbing. Um, and he went for it. You know, it was just something to pay the bills. You know, that's it. We were just looking to pay the bills. And, um, okay, to keep this story very short, cause I can, this is a, this is a long one, but one day the client, uh, handed, uh, my boyfriend, the check, and he saw, and he had taken over, you know, he was a Trinity grad, go get her, you know, just gets it all done. Doesn't need to be told more than once to, to, to lead, you know, it's, it's, he gets it done. Well, he is running this company for this older gentleman. One day the client hands him the check they weren't supposed to. And he saw it was a fat check for about $5,000. And my boyfriend did all the work, handled everything. And he was getting paid. Like, I don't know, man. Back then, like $200 a day, like, um, which wasn't much. Do you think about how much he was doing to run a company? Okay. So he comes home one day and says, I think we should start our own company. I think I should break off on my own. And I'm like, let's do it. All right. I'm game. And, um, that's kind of where it all started. Now, where did my climbing journey begin? Okay. We started this company, you know, we were, we were two young kids trying to make it. Um, well, I had helped out. I was still bartending, but I would help out with the business and like helping on the ground, like, you know, answering phone calls, that kind of stuff. And, uh, I would watch him climb and I was kind of interested. Okay. Yeah. It looks like fun climbing trees. All right. Well, one day, you know, you're in those early business days, you're working to put food on the table, like you can't fall behind schedule. You know, there's help ain't coming, man. Like you're, you're doing it on your own. Yeah. Um, and we were, we were extremely behind schedule. And, um, he was climbing this tree and he ended up getting a piece of sawdust in his eye, as men just can't wear their freaking safety glasses. Let me not yet. He gets a piece of sawdust in his eye and we need to finish that job. We need to finish that job that day. Like there's no more behind schedule. Like we are broke. We're starving. We need to pay bills. Like, and so I told him, Hey, I'll go up and I'll finish the tree. And he said, no, because if you freeze up there, if you get scared, um, I can't rescue you. And I said, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it. I put the harness on, I go up and knock out the job. And I never looked back. Like I loved it. I loved the thrill of working in trees. It was exciting. Um, and I believe that day I told him, I'll do this from now on. I'll climb, but I'm never going to use a chainsaw. Uh, and now today, like if you look at some of my jobs, I'm riding cranes. I'm using some of the biggest chainsaws that are like half my way. And it got crazy and it got crazy fast and our business blew up. Um, and so we never looked back. That's how I ended up here. That's a very abbreviated story. Um, but that's how I became a climbing arborist. And so we've been doing it for eight years. Have a successful company. Um, yeah. No. Wow. Um, so needless to say, your, your husband is, is not a doctor. No, he is not a doctor. Now you said, you know, you graduated and you're immediately after graduation, you've got to pay the bills. So you're bartending and taking up rock climbing. And he said, you know, much to the disappointment of your parents. Now, what did your parents say when you tell them we're starting a, uh, you know, this business, right? What was their reaction? Uh, I mean, it was the same friends, family, people just, they, they raised their eyebrow and they're like, you're going to do what now? And nobody thought it was a good idea to, uh, college, uh, Trinity University grads, like you all could be doing something else, but both of us wanted to own our own business. So my mother disapproved, um, you know, my dad, uh, was a, a laborer. He worked with his hands and she said to me, I don't speak Spanish, but in Spanish, she said, you know, um, we worked so hard. So you wouldn't have to do this kind of work. Um, so, you know, what are you doing? And, um, I don't, I don't try to explain it to people. Like, um, it was, it was hard for them to accept it in the beginning, but that was sort of my motivation behind starting the social media that you see now, the Instagram. Um, I knew people didn't understand it based on the looks I was getting. Um, they didn't, they didn't get it. They just thought tree climber labor, hot, outsides, you're sweating. You know, they have all these ideas of what it means to be an arborist. And so that led me to creating the social media, um, profile so that my mom can kind, my dad too, but mainly my mom, my dad doesn't, he didn't judge. He just, he goes along with anything, but it was my mother. I wanted her to understand like what we were doing and how it was just much more than just being a laborer. And the profile blew up. I mean, I got sponsors. I've been featured in catalogs on podcasts, in magazines. Um, my pictures are on like websites for product promotions. And wow, I think it was after it really took off and my mom saw, um, what, what I was doing as a female in a male dominated industry, a blue collar, male dominated industry that I think she had like a sense of pride. Um, and she, she finally understood that this isn't just like me climbing trees and sweating it out. Like it's, it's a thrill and there's no going back either. I told her to like, once you're up there, once you're doing these crazy jobs, like life isn't the same anymore. It's like, I'm never going back. Like when I'm up there with a gigantic chainsaw and any wrong move could kill me and you work through that fear and you get it done. Like there is no going back to normal life. There just wasn't, I'm a thrill seeker. And I, maybe I was born that way, man, like in a journal and junkie, but I, I love it. I live for it. Um, so that I got a lot of disapproving looks. Um, my friends didn't get it. The, all my friends from Trinity, they disapprove. I kind of just stopped talking to some of my friends and I just followed the path. I mean, you just got to replace your friends and maybe don't listen to your family sometimes. I said, well, well, and, and speaking of that, like, you know, I am, right, I'm a college instructor. I've been doing this for 20 plus years. I, I love the, I love education and in the value of education and the experiences that it affords us. Um, but I also, I grew up working at my dad's auto body shop. And so, you know, I, I don't know if he did that. Like he did that to teach me a lesson. Like he took me and I was young. I was like 10 when I started and he, he was like, I want you to know that you have options and you don't have to do this work. But I grew to really like it and to appreciate it. And I loved it. And, um, appreciate the art involved in that kind of work. Um, so, Bala, for the countless students, because I still see this, the countless students who are afraid to say, like, they're afraid to let their parents, like they believe I'm going to let mom and dad down. If I tell them that I want to do this or I want to pursue this, do you have any advice for them? Oh, let them down, man. I mean, like just follow like your, I mean, I, I sound so corny, but like follow your gut, man. Like follow your passions, like whatever it sets your heart on fire, like just follow it, you know, and maybe you'll fail. I mean, I've failed a lot. I mean, I'm not joking. This business did not do well in the beginning. Um, we, I mean, we struggled, um, so much. And that's, we ended up getting sued at, um, in the beginning over the, my boyfriend's father's estate, the sister, he was the administrator of the estate, right? And his sister's believed he was hiding money. So they sued us. So we were a couple of 20 year olds getting sued. You have to pay to defend yourself legally, by the way. So we were a couple of 20 year olds getting sued, starting a business. We were not making it, you know. Um, and, um, I, we, I stepped to the path that there were times there where we were so broke. Oh, I really hope my mom doesn't watch this. We were so broke and we don't like asking for help, but since we were living job to job paycheck to paycheck, just trying to make this dream happen. We were so broke that there were times we had to go donate plasma to get the money from donating plasma in order to pay for a little Caesar's pizzas in order to eat that night. And so like we were starving kids, man. And so I didn't want to tell my parents because it's like, oh, they would totally think that they were right. I failed. I failed. Like we're not making it. Mind you, we were up against it. But yeah, you know, I don't know. I just still didn't listen. I, we kept going and it's paid off. I mean, years later it's paid off. You know, like I work for myself. If I won't, if I wake up in the morning and I don't want, I don't feel like working, I can cancel the day kind of, you know, the people depend on me. But, um, but there, it was rough, man. And, uh, you might fail. You might let them down. Do it anyway. I mean, I did and I made it. Yeah. Well, and, and I, and thank you. Thank you because, um, it, I mean, it sounds like in, in spite of the challenges, you know, the setbacks, you know, one of, I mean, you, you kept moving forward. Like you believe in yourself, right? You bet big on yourself. And, and you just kept going forward. And I think a lot of time is right. We're afraid we're, you know, I was reading an assignment this morning and the student said, you know, my, I fear that I won't be able to, to come back from Paley. And I'm thinking, just keep going forward. Like even if you keep going, right? You learn from it and keep going forward. And I think your, your experience sounds like it's a, it's a great lesson in that. Just moving and believing in yourself. Yeah. I think a lot of people from Trinity would never have expected that I'd be like starving, you know, and it just, yeah. And we don't ask for help. Like neither one of us asks for help. And maybe we're just kind of stubborn and that's what got us here. I mean, stupidly stubborn. I don't know. Um, I don't know. Uh, yeah, I just, I failed. I failed so many times. We, and, uh, but we made it anyway. And I just kind of hid my failures, you know, I think there's a lot of pressure too. It's like so many young students now are faced the pressures of social media and comparison, right? And I, when I was failing, when we weren't making it, I mean, mind you, we were getting sued. That's an extreme circumstance, right? Yeah. Um, that led us to like that form of poverty, that, that deep, you know, form of poverty. Um, uh, I lost my thread. We're like, I'm sorry, I lost my thread. Um, you know, just the setbacks and just the persistence, I think, right? Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Oh man, I'm sorry. I lost my thread. I lost my thread. It, it happens. You know, one, one thing I would ask though is, you know, you, you, you decide you're going to start a business and I get, I get a lot of students that said, so I work with first year students and I, the class that I teach is, is a, is a relatively new class where students kind of, I help students identify potential majors, but also like helping them see the world kind of through, through, uh, just more open minded. And like, Hey, there are a lot of jobs that maybe don't exist yet. And so how do you prepare for something like that? And how do you stay open minded and be ready for those moments? And so I get a lot of students that are like, I want to be my own boss. I want to be my own boss. You as your own boss, what advice would you give them? Like in just in terms of maybe the things that we don't think about, right? Because maybe all we think about is I get to decide whether I want to go work today or I'm in, in control of my time. What are the things we're, do we don't think? About as a boss, as our own boss. I mean, there's that whole trope, you know, Oh, I gave up my nine to five to start my own business. Now I work 24 seven. I mean, if you're going to start your own business, you better love what you do because you're, you're, you're going to be committed. You're every day, like you wake up and it's just, you got to love what you do. And that's why I said, like, follow your passion. You know, if you can find money doing what you want to do, um, or if you can make money doing what you want to do, that's great. Um, but it's not, it's, it's going to be all of your, it's not easy. Like, it's going to be 24 seven. It's going to consume you. Um, and that's why it matters like that you follow your passions. Right. You have to love it. You have to love it. Don't just do, because I want to be my own boss and set my own hours. Uh, I'm fully, this business is on my mind 24 seven and I stress out, you know, they're like, you provide, you're basically providing jobs for others. And that weighs on you bad economy. We've, I've struggled through a bad economy a few years back. Um, I had to let people go. There's, and that is hard, it's hard to let people go. There's a lot of things I wasn't prepared for and it's letting other people down, but it's the reality of owning a business. Right. Um, a lot of sad experiences too. It's not going to be all, you know, sunshine and rainbows. Yeah. I had to let people go and that's, yeah, that was one of the, it's, it's not going to go the way you think. And it's not going to be, you're going to work for yourself. That's, that's great. But it's, there's a lot, um, of disappointment that you're going to face a lot of sad experiences, a lot of, um, yeah, yeah. I'm thinking about some sad interactions I've had to have with people and letting them down, people with children, people you depended on you, depended on, but if you can't provide it, you know, it is what it is. I wasn't prepared for that. I didn't think about that. You know, I'm always animated and I'm always excited. I didn't think about the fact that I'd be letting people down in the future. It just, it's a part of owning a business. So thank you. And thank you for the honesty. I appreciate that. Um, you know, you, um, before we jumped on, um, I was asking you about your set up there and, and that T-Rex there. And so you've talked about, you've talked about wanting to create a sort of a social media presence for the work that you do. Now, how did you get in? How did you get into that? And then how did you, you know, I don't know how many sponsors you have, but you mentioned that they're a sponsor. So, you know, for those of us, even, even myself navigating, right? The social media landscape. Yeah. Yeah. You know, what has been, what has been your, I think, strategy around that? Well, so the social media I started to give my family and friends an idea of what I do. I had a few uncles who were a little snide who said, Oh, you're, you're a tree climber. Yay. Like, I don't know why people tend to be. Um, so I started the social media to kind of show them, right? That's where it started. It was my boyfriend taking pictures and videos. And it's a, for me, it's a, it's a, it's a blue collar male dominated field. So as a female is very easy to stand out. And I didn't want, um, so I started taking pictures and some of the gear that I was wearing that I started out with. And that's where opportunities started coming. They, you know, they started taking my pictures and using them in catalogs, all kinds of brand sponsors and anybody who, any. Brand that I was wearing, they wanted to use that because they wanted women represented. You know, they, yeah, yeah. Okay. So that's where that started. Um, and it grew, um, because I wanted to, I didn't just want to be pictures only. Oh, it's, I wanted to prove myself because, uh, it comes with the territory of working in a male dominated field. There is a lot of smack talking and people it's calling you fake and like, Oh, a check with the chain. So I, it's the comments were nasty in the beginning. And, um, I didn't want to be known as just like a model. I wanted to prove myself. So that's where the video started. You know, I'm real. I'm using a chainsaw. I'm up in this 95 foot pine. Like I'm doing it. I mean, you know, it's not fake. And that it grew from there. And a lot of clients found me through Instagram. You know, if you can stand out, if you can make yourself and make a name for yourself and stand out, social media can bring a lot of business. Um, and so it all started from wanting to prove something to mainly my mother. Um, and then wanting to prove something to the industry, to the men who talked a lot of smack and that it just grew from there. Right. And then it's like, okay, business is coming. I need to keep this up. Right. And that's, that's where it all started. And it just grew and it evolved into what it is now, which I wish I was more active on social media, but juggling the business, doing the actual work, uh, having a home life, you got to come home and like do home duties. And at the end of the day, I'm exhausted and I editing is difficult. Like I have so much content waiting, but I'm probably going to have to hire at this point to start churning it out more. Um, uh, yeah. So that's, that's where it all started. That's how I ended up here. And, uh, the opportunities came in and people just started sending me free stuff and giving me discounts for pictures and those discounts add up when you own a business, 20% off all tree gear. That adds up over the years. Yeah. Wow. Just for a few pictures every other month. Man, that, that's great. So it, I just kept doing it and the, the content got better. I added go pros. I'm going to get a drone this year. Um, we added an SLR. You know, it just, it, the quality, uh, grew and, um, it's just, it's, it's keep, it keeps leading to more things. It's great. Did you, um, could you, could you have ever imagined the presence? Like what, what, you know, this, this idea of, I'm an, I want to share this and I want to document this to kind of show my family and where you're at now. Could you even imagine that it would have gotten so big? No, no. I mean, if you had asked, oh man, if you had shown me that picture of myself now like 10 years ago, they're like, what did I do? What am I doing? The thing. Um, no, I never could have imagined it would have, it would have been this. I mean, it's going to grow more too. As I pull back and from the business and allow that, like delegate, allow employees to take over certain tasks. And I want to focus mainly on social media. I want to create videos. I found a passion in content creation. I love it. I love building sets. I love, I just love it. I love cameras. I love mics. I had, I used to love that stuff when I was young too. I always, I thought I wanted to be a, a movie director, but I, that seemed unrealistic. And then now it's like, oh, hey, I have, I get to make content and it's kind of like a combination of everything I used to love when I was younger. Um, I was a theater kid, you know, a little performative, you know, you got to like be good in front of a camera and get to be comfortable talking. You got to have a personality, built sets, like all that stuff. It just all came together into what I am now. The, um, Caleb, if you don't mind me mentioning, but it sounds like also that same attitude, that same kind of going into this class and thinking, let me see where I can get out of this has been something consistent in your life because it sounds like, right. You know, I'm going to show this on social media. Well, now I'm fascinated by the cameras and I'm fascinated by this and I want to learn about this. And now I'm, you know, and so it sounds like everything, every kind of phase of your life, there's been, there's been some curiosity. Or Edie, do you, I mean, yeah, I have been diagnosed. So I mean, I, I think it's more curiosity. I think, I think like, like to, to, to, to take up, to take on anything new. Um, I think we, we, we often, too often we'll put limits on ourselves and say, well, I don't have time for that or I'm not good at that. Or I don't do that. Right. But, you know, from that moment, taking that class to your boyfriend, not being able to finish that, the, the job and let me go up and I'll do it. Right. And everything, it just sounds like, let me start a business. Let me do this. You know, it just sounds like at the heart of a lot of this is this tremendous curiosity and exploring. And, um, and what did you say? And, and of course you are an adrenaline junkie, right? So that also helps that helps speed into it. Kayla, this is, um, I think, I think your story kind of has even exceeded my own expectations of, uh, you, yeah. Cause I, I saw the, I saw the post. I, um, like I said, I, you were new. I'm new to your social media. And, and so I think I've only seen just a little bit, but I thought, okay, this is interesting. There's some, there's gotta be a story there. And yeah. And even though this is the abridged version, I love it. And I know there's so much there, but I appreciate you taking the time to share it with us. Of course. Thank you. I mean, I know it's, it's kind of a nutty story. And I, I still, it's just cause I've always been a dabbler. I've always been a dabbler. I've never wanted to commit to one thing. I think my mentality has always been like life is short and I want to do everything. Like I never, like I said earlier, I never saw myself as I'm going to, I'm doing one thing, I'm going to be a doctor. I'm going to be a lawyer. I'm going to be Kayla, man. I don't know. I don't know what I'm going to be doing in 10 years. Am I going to keep doing this? I have no idea. I just like taking every opportunity and like just following what, what lights my heart on fire and it's led me here. And I, I, I'm doing well so far, you know, it's going, it's going. I'd say so. Yeah. Absolutely. Hey, I want to be respectful of your time because I know, I know you're busy and, um, and so, you know, my final question is if you have to leave our audience, actually, no, you know what? You're speaking to, um, 18 year olds out there who's graduating seniors. I don't know. What, what did piece of advice would you leave them with? Take every opportunity. Um, just every opportunity, even if it's unexpected, like it's not something you're, you really want to do, just take it because you never know where it's going to lead. You know, keep an open mind. Don't listen to others. Maybe, I don't know. That might be just bad advice. Um, but just, just follow your passions and take every opportunity. Um, because you never know where it's going to lead. I, I, I'm living proof of that. Um, and, um, you don't have to have it figured out at 18 and I didn't have it figured out. I didn't have it figured out during Trinity. I didn't have it figured out until my last semester, kinda. So it's, it's going to be okay. Just take every opportunity and see everything as an opportunity. Um, learn as much as you can from everybody that crosses your path. You know, that's, I think that's the best advice I can get. I love it. And I, I think it's, um, it's what I think young people need to hear. So thank you. Of course. Kayla, thank you. You're having me. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for your time. Thank you for sharing your story. Um, do me a favor. I get, I think, uh, you know, as, as we close, um, you know, I would ask, you know, maybe send me your links and I can share those. So folks, be a folks, the folks that aren't following you, maybe they want to start following you and, and keeping up with your exciting journey. Um, maybe for, uh, for those of us who need to cut down a tree, maybe we'll learn a thing or two about what to do and what not to do. Higher professionals. Dude, don't, don't. Don't do it. Hire me. Kayla, Kayla, thank you. Thank you for your time today. And, and I'm sure your story, I think will resonate. And if not, resonates really inspire. I think a lot of young people who are kind of lost and trying to figure out and think they have to figure it all out. I think your words will give them comfort. So thank you. Thank you. This includes another episode, the way to college podcast. Thank you to my guests. Thank you to our listeners of viewers out there. Um, please remember to subscribe, rate, follow all of that good stuff. And do me a favor and share the podcast with one other person. If you think, if you heard the story and you think so-and-so needs to hear this, absolutely share this story. All right. Cause this is a powerful story. It's a wonderful story. And, uh, and I'd appreciate it if you share it. So thank you. And we'll see you again soon. Bye bye. Yeah.