Happy New Year! This week, the Optimists are back to reminisce on 2025 and look ahead to 2026. They recount their personal wins, favorite movies, artists, songs, albums, and brain rot from the last year, and dive into their career manifestations and pop culture predictions for 2026.

This week, the Optimists are back for a candid conversation about the origin of their creative passions and why they're still fighting to pursue those dreams. The two reminisce on early creative sparks, the highs and lows of the education system, and the reality of navigating an industry that wasn’t built with them in mind. Along the way, they unpack confidence, competition, representation, and what it really means to bet on yourself when the path isn’t stable or straightforward.

This week, the Optimists get real about what it’s like to chase big creative dreams while trying to keep your friendships alive. In a world packed with hectic schedules, self-doubt, and constantly shifting routines, they explore how intentionality, reaching out first, and finding like-minded people can make all the difference. Building your dream life doesn’t mean leaving your friendships behind—sometimes it means choosing them on purpose. Tune in for an honest conversation about connection, growth, and a nudge to text that friend you’ve been thinking about.

This week, the Optimists are joined by Hana Soomro to unpack and debrief our trip to the 2025 SCAD Film Festival. From the premiere of Rachel Sennott's I Love LA to a Halloween screening of Dylan O'Brien and James Sweeney's Twinless, we dive into the every detail of our Savannah adventures and discuss our takeaways from the festival.

Follow Hana: https://www.instagram.com/hanasoomro/

This week, the Optimists welcome our first ever guest: Shanylah Sainvil! Shanylah is a friend, classmate, icon, and star in the making. The three of us reminisce our days in LA with no cars and a dream, break down Shanylah's side quests since graduating college, and talk about our long term creative goals.

Follow Shanylah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nylah.luvs/

https://www.instagram.com/bynylah/

The Optimists are back—and this week, we’re getting real about something we all face but rarely talk about: rejection. From job applications that vanish into the void to auditions that didn’t go as planned, we’re unpacking the sting of “thanks, but no thanks.”

In this episode, we share our own rejection stories, laugh through the awkwardness of post-audition heartbreak, and explore how those tough moments can actually point us toward something better. We dive into coping strategies that keep us grounded—from sweet treats and self-care to reframing rejection as protection.

It’s a conversation about perseverance, perspective, and remembering that all it takes is one yes. Because sometimes, the “no” you dreaded ends up being the redirection you needed most.

The Optimists are back–and this week, we're diving into one of our ongoing struggles: creative block. It all started at a coffee shop on a Saturday morning, where a brainstorm session turned into a full on, caffeine-fueled creative freeze. In this episode, we break down ways that we continue to overcome writer’s block, our process when it comes to acting and filming, and discuss the controversial phrase: “good artists copy, great artists steal”.

This week, the Optimists get a little… pessimistic. We’re talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly of breaking into the entertainment industry and how we’re keeping our heads high. From battling imposter syndrome to second-guessing ourselves in auditions and interviews, we’re peeling back the curtain on the mental rollercoaster of creative life. We dissect the trap of perfectionism, the burnout that follows, and the never-ending loop of goal chasing. It's honest, it's relatable, and yes—it's still (mostly) optimistic.