6-to-8 Podcast with Hangling
Tags: Side Hustle, 6 To 8

What?

“6-to-8” is a podcast focused on exploring individuals’ passions and side-hustles. The origin of the name is rooted in looking at what people do after their 9 to 5 work lives, between 6 to 8 (and beyond). It could be interests, projects, or things that keep them sane in this world. By diving into stories and bringing genuine dialogues together, “6-to-8” strives to celebrate our diverse experiences and empower to pursue our own “6 to 8” journey in an authentic way.

Where?

“6-to-8” can be found on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts and other platforms. Search & Subscribe to “6-to-8” wherever you listen to podcast & subscribe or click here.

Who?

Hangling is a student, nature-lover, foodie and many more. Growing up, Hangling always gravitated towards the wondrous beauty of nature and serene balance between stillness and movement. She is drawn to the power of storytelling that enriches our human connections via lenses, sounds, and movements — a concept that inspires her photography and starting her very own podcast “6-to-8” as a way to celebrate everyone’s unique journey and stories in life.

Why?

During this winter break, I found myself in a headspace like never before. After a non-stop, draining semester that had once overwhelmed me with tremendous pressure and self-doubt, I finally got a long moment to unplug, pause, breathe and seek the serene beauty in nature and navigate the balance between the stillness and movement. It has been a period of constant self-reflection, tuning into my energies and tracing back to the emotions I experienced this past semester: the loss, the homesickness, the hope, the heartbreak, the moving on, the reconciliation, the letting go, and the nostalgia…

Encountering the creative and powerful emotional outlet of music from my songwriting class this past semester, I poured my heart into lyrics and melody, seeking peace in reconciliation with my inner self and the world around me. Stepping out the dorm to the fresh crisp autumn air with “iMi” by Bon Iver, I turned to the familiar and comforting embrace of nature, swiftly running through the changing colors of leaves, meeting my gaze up to the golden sun ray shining down, and simply letting go. From hitting a very low point in the semester, I started to feel myself never as before. Alive.

Whether it is picking up changing colors of autumn leaves on the walks to class, tracing along corners around school and snapping a shot with the camera, rising up early and hopping on a skateboard with friend to our breakfast spot, I found intimate connection with connecting with nature and the world around me. I discovered artistic expression is within me pouring the strength to carry on and keep going, through jotting down intense and conflicted emotions via songwriting, cherishing the timeless beauty of immense fall among the verdant campus, and taking time to pause, reflect, and spend time with genuine people who care and matter.

What I came to conclude is that everyone is in such different journeys in life. There’s no way to compare yourself to another person in all ways of contexts with our circumstances. Taking a step back, what seems to be the end of world, is not. We are just a small piece of this grand universe, minute yet shining in our own ways, as my favorite line from “Holocene.”

“And at once, I knew I was not magnificent

High above the highway aisle

Jagged vacance, thick with ice

But I could see for miles, miles, miles”

What I also realized is life is not just about reaching a whatever place. What makes life so beautiful is that amongst its journey, there’s ups and downs, joy and hardships, and the unexpectedness that wherever it takes you. Some of my fondest memories even from freshman year was from times that out of the blue, like coming across a friend on the way to the gym and studying for Spanish midterms after working out, realizing the cafeteria would be closed soon and then catching the wrong bus, getting off and chasing each other towards cafeteria for hot bowl of pho and studying late at Law School then walking all the way in the winter winds back to Commons.

It is beautiful in a way that we are drawn to different things. And we are such unique individualities with all walks of journeys in life. This is such wonder that I wanted to celebrate, connect, and empower what I deeply felt that — you simply cannot compare and base your worth on other people, and you are so special and shining in your own unique way. I wanted to bring together these stories, in which connect, relate, distance, bring emotions, unite, divide, and come to us, and start a genuine conversation in a vulnerable way that we could be us.

A lot of times in life, we go on, meet people, brief chat, move on. The dimensionality of people beyond simply classroom, work, and social contexts. How often do we take a step forward, genuinely care about who we are beyond what we perceived them to be,

“H ow are you, really?” “Tell me about your story.”

And, this one, which is how this podcast came to birth,

“Hey,

what is your 6-to-8?”