Cageless

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After a long hiatus (blame the microphone cords), Cageless is back! And a lot has changed. I am officially 30, newly engaged, and planning two weddings across two continents. In this honest episode, I share the story behind my surprise East Texas proposal, what intercultural love has taught me abou…

What if moving abroad, writing online, or starting over in your 20s isn’t running away? What if it is expanding? And perhaps where ever you run; there you are... Valerie Estrina doesn’t just write about girlhood, comparison, self-worth, and identity—she names the things most of us are too scared t…

In this episode, I’m answering your questions and reflecting on what it’s really like to date /make friends in France vs. America. Think less “Emily in Paris,” and more (almost too chill) French nuances. I’m also talking about dealing with the language barrier in relationships, Texas Hunting Wives …

With the rise of Ozempic, plastic surgery and toxic societal expectations, how does American celebrity culture shape us? In this episode of Cageless, I explore what I’ve learned as an American woman who has healed from an eating disorder and now lives in Europe. Let's stop letting body image, sel…

I just got approved for my 4-year visa in France, and it hit me how much this place has shaped me. In this episode, I talk about French bureaucracy, living far from home, and growing older in a city that once felt like a dream and now feels like real life. If you’re navigating your twenties, thin…

Sharing my growth in writing every day for 90 days on Substack. I talk about how the challenge changed my views on creativity, the routines I changed, and the surprising lessons I learned over the 3 months. If you’ve ever wanted to build a consistent creative habit or find inspiration in daily prac…

00:00 Start 02:00 Taking control of your life 04:00 Breakups 05:00 Starting over when you didn't expect it 06:00 Freedom 06:37 Authenticity 07:20 Finding yourself 08:01 Seek a teacher 08:20 Rule of Life 10:02 Creativity and atoms 10:35 How do you want your life to look

TikTok star, professional Moulin Rouge dancer and entrepreneur Allie Goodbun joins me on Cageless to share her journey from a small-town to the most iconic stage in the world. Allie’s story is packed with bold choices, creative ambition, and the spirit of building a life you love on your own terms.…

In this episode, I tell you when I started asking deeper questions and wrestling with what it meant to live the way of Jesus in our world. Not in the American Church system. I decided to let go of dogma and shame and deconstruct to align my life with Jesus’s heart through my own encounters, researc…