Prologues

Another new (old) (renamed) series! Welcome to Dialogues, the segment where you send in your queries, questions, and scenarios, and I respond with my personal, and sometimes dubious, advice. The name Dialogues was a collaborative effort between the Prologues instagram community, with listener Emily Searth suggesting the name, and the community as a whole voting for it (the other option was Letter...

Introducing a new segment on Prologues: the Freewrite. We love book/writing-related puns around here. Freewriting is a writing technique that calls for stream-of-consciousness-style writing for a predetermined amount of pages or time. The goal is to kickstart your brain's creative juices by demanding that it produce words - any words, even nonsensical words, just as long as you don't stop physical...

This week on Prologues, my friend Sierra is here to share her experience getting re-diagnosed as an adult and the importance of staying open in your healing journey. We also dug into our childhoods to reflect on the experience of growing up mentally ill, and what that means for the rest of our lives still to come. Honest conversations like this one help us all feel less alone in our own journeys -...

One of the keys to romanticizing your life, in my view, is developing an appreciation for everyday moments that make life more special. Although I love the big luxuries, it's the small ones that give me moments to look forward to each day 73

Say it with me: the only way out is through. This is one of my favorite sayings, because it serves as a reminder to me that if I want to truly process and move on from a difficult feeling, I have to actually.....feel it. So whether you struggle with "feeling your feelings," or you've just been told you're too self aware to benefit from talking about them, this episode is for you....

Long distance daughters, self-employed or small business owners, and anyone feeling stuck - this episode is for you. My friend Gabby from @scotlandmagic sat down with me to discuss her incredible journey moving 10,000 miles across the world and the self-reinvention and courage necessary to change your entire life. Gabby has dedicated her career and businesses to helping women find community, feel...

I've been in and out of therapy over the last decade, but the years I've spent with my current therapist have taught me more than all the rest combined. Over our sessions, I've noticed the same core principles and ideas coming up time and time again, so today I have compiled them into this episode. The top lessons I've learned in therapy - use these as journal prompts, bring them up in your own se...

68. If you have also been haunted for years by glamdemon2004 asking if you could name a hobby outside of media consumption...this episode is for you. But on a serious note, during my 3 month break from the podcast, I realized that I did not have enough offline hobbies filling my time, sparking my creativity and interest, exercising my brain, and enriching my life. I realized that in order to be an...

67. Three months later....welcome to Prologues Season 2! I hope you missed me as much as I missed you. What better time to enter into a new era on the podcast than now, at the start of a brand new year. I've spent the last three months getting serious with myself about what I'm doing - in my career, in my pursuits and hobbies, in my relationships, in life as a whole - and now I am back and so exci...

66. After much time and consideration, Prologues is going on a temporary hiatus to allow me to not only rebrand and refresh the podcast, but also to allow me to take a sabbatical for personal growth. 2024 has proven to be a year of immense change, adjustment, and development for me, and I am excited that this break will allow me the chance to reflect, process, and settle in order to come back enth...

​This week’s episode is all about regrouping before the home stretch of 2024. I don’t know about you, but there are a few areas I feel my performance has dipped in this summer, and rather than wait til the exciting energy of the new year, I’d like to give myself a new start today. Although I kept the specific topics light, in this episode I shared my process for setting intentions and manifestatio...

64. In which I realized in real time that maybe my life isn't actually falling to pieces, maybe it's that new birth control I'm on... Girl Talk pt 6 is all about Volufiline, insomnia, decoding friendships, and how to layer your fragrances. Join for another lighthearted chat with the girls x Info on Volufiline: https://www.skin-iv.com/en/ingredients/volufiline-2/#:~:text=It%20promotes%2...

63. T he tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTFenVMf1/ Icing your vagus nerve: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10573386/   https://www.theskimm.com/wellness/vagus-nerve-stimulation-anxiety https://psychcentral.com/anxiety/vagus-nerve-cooling-anxiety Completing the cycle: https://hr.uky.edu/news/2020-11-17/completing-our-bodys-stress-response-cycle https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/ne...

62. It’s finally the best time of year for food, temperature, holidays, and of course, fashion. I’ve spent hours pouring over the internet and watching the girlies on the streets to assemble this list of Fall 2024 trends, and my wishlist is already a mile long… AUTUMN TREND PINTEREST BOARD: This episode is sponsored by LMNT. Check out this link for free sample pack of LMNT with the purchase of a d...

61. We've all seen the social media horror stories of fairytale romances turned sour because it turns out two people are incompatible living together - so what can you do before moving in with a partner to set your relationship and new living arrangement up for success? I moved in with my now-husband about three and a half years ago, and today's episode is about the 10 conversations we had...

60. Have you heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? You've probably seen the diagram - a pyramid table with basic level needs on the bottom (food, shelter, community) and growth-based needs on top (purpose, fulfillment, self-esteem). In my constant quest for finding The Point of it all, I decided to sit down and flesh out my own personalized hierarchy of needs, and today I'm sharing wit...

59. Today's episode is special, because one of my best friends, miss Clara Peirce, is capping off her 11 day trip to visit me by coming on the pod. Two girls, one brain cell, and one microphone - this episode is a closer look into Clara's brain and into the side of me that giggles. I had so much fun recording and editing this episode, so we all need to tell Clara that she needs to come bac...

58. I recently rang in my 26th birthday, I'm having some big feelings....I have always looked forward to past birthdays because I've seen getting older as a pathway to more self confidence, growth, and knowing myself better. However, for whatever reason, this birthday has brought up a lot of conflicting feelings for me. I recorded this episode to serve as a sort of time capsule for the exa...

57. Today we're finishing off the wedding reflections! WHERE TO FIND ME: - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mary.cj.skinner - Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theprologuespodcast - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarySkinner - Business inquiries / submissions for upcoming Q&A episodes: theprologuespodcast@gmail.com

56. The listener-favorite Girl Talk series is back for the fifth installment, and the Prologues girlies delivered when it came to write-in suggestions. *Is* it bad to need academic validation? Do I have to break up with my boyfriend if I know I don't want to marry him? And what is orgasming good for, anyway? Pop your headphones in for a cleaning session or long walk and dive in with the girls....

#55. I've been making outfit videos online for over 3 years, and in that time, my style has gone through multiple evolutions - I've had some outfits I love, and I've also had some fashion tragedies as well. Over the last year and a half or so, I really feel like I've found my authentic style and have curated a wardrobe I'm in love with. Today I'm breaking that process down...

Entry #54. If you have planned or are currently planning a wedding, you probably know how stressful and confusing it can be. From managing the opinions of others to navigating traditions and expectations to feeling pressured to make the day as Instagram-worthy as possible, weddings have the potential to turn from a day of celebration to a day of anxiety. When I was in my fiance era, I felt a lot o...

#53. It is officially one month since I moved to Scotland, and although I didn't expect it all to be sunshine and roses, I've still been surprised at how emotionally difficult I've found the process of settling in to be. Today’s episode is definitely a journal entry, but I do also share my therapist-advised action plan for getting out of my funk. This episode is sponsored by LMNT. Use this link fo...

Entry #52. A few days ago I got a DM marveling at how smooth my international move was based off of the content I posted on IG and Youtube - dear reader, it was not. It was manageable, but I was STRESSED for a while there. Here's the story of my move to Scotland! This episode is sponsored by Bondi Boost. Code Mary20 gets you 20% off only on the Bondi Boost website, so here's any easy link:...