“Rest is a responsibility.
Excellence doesn’t require erasure.”

IN THIS EPISODE

Nik recounts her early years navigating academia and ministry culture. She reflects on how praise was often tied to self-sacrifice, and how success was confused with silence. This episode breaks down the personal cost of professionalism and explores how she began returning to her authentic voice.

Talking Points:

• How societal scripts reward conformity over curiosity

• The performance of poise in womanhood

• The invisible labor of “being the good one”

• Who gets to be seen as both intellectual and human

• De-schooling internalized capitalism