The Shapes We Take

Celeste Fernandez
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The Shapes We Take is a podcast about the lives people are still becoming. Through honest, thoughtful conversations, each episode explores the shifts that shape us: identity, relationships, healing, ambition, loss, reinvention, and the quiet moments that change everything. This is a space for stories that aren't tied up neatly, where complexity is welcome and growth is rarely linear. You'll hear from founders, creatives, parents, professionals, seekers, and everyday people navigating the beautiful unfinishedness of being human. Some conversations are tender. Some surprising. Some quietly transformative. All of them are real. If you've ever outgrown a version of yourself, questioned the path you were on, or wondered who you're becoming next, this show is for you. Because we are all shaped by what we carry, what we release, and what we choose to become.

Episodes

  1. 3. Becoming Myself Again with Cynthia Joi

    23 May

    3. Becoming Myself Again with Cynthia Joi

    In this episode of The Shapes We Take Podcast, host Celeste Fernandez sits down with Cynthia Joy Towner, a stroke survivor, speaker, and creator whose life was radically reshaped after a brain injury changed her mobility, motherhood, marriage, and sense of self. Cynthia shares how growing up on the South Side of Chicago, losing her mother young, and surviving a stroke led her from feeling worthless to becoming a woman who lives with intention, joy, and purpose. Through candid stories about grief, resilience, healing, and rebuilding identity, she offers listeners a deeply honest look at what it means to choose yourself, rewrite lifelong beliefs, and see even the hardest experiences as happening for you, not to you.   Cynthia Joi Towner, known as JuuceeJoi, is a stroke survivor, comedian, speaker, and founder of Strength In You. She uses humor, storytelling, and advocacy to challenge how the world views disability—encouraging people to see it as a different ability. Her message is simple but powerful: never give in to giving up on yourself.   5 Key Takeaways [0:02:11] – After her stroke, Cynthia discovered a new drive and sense of purpose, deciding to treat her survival as a second chance at life. [0:04:52] – She learned to reintroduce herself with confidence, embracing her full identity as Cynthia Joy, an "energetic stroke survivor that lives limitless." [0:10:29] – Cynthia reframed hardship as something that happens for her growth, not to her, and teaches others to start with self-love and mindset shifts. [0:13:40] – Grieving her old life—mobility, motherhood, speech, and daily routines—led her to see herself not as disabled, but as having "different abilities." [0:30:00] – Healing, for Cynthia, is an ongoing process of discovery, accountability, and honest reflection on childhood wounds, relationships, and identity. Featured Quote "Whatever it is that you're going through is not happening to you, it's happening for you. You're not being punished, you're being purposed." – Cynthia Joy   Resource Link: https://blinq.me/qlLwFAjBzTdy3oSNMAmC?bs=icl

    41 min
  2. 2. The Shape of Inner Noise with Vedant Akhauri

    11 May

    2. The Shape of Inner Noise with Vedant Akhauri

    In this episode, Celeste sits down with Vedant, a lifelong creative who has wrestled with burnout, hustle culture, and the quiet grief of not becoming who he once thought he'd be. Together, they explore redefining success beyond big-name brands and linear careers, learning to slow down in a culture obsessed with productivity, and honoring the "jungle gym" nature of modern creative paths. Vedant shares how competitive academic environments, generational expectations, and corporate prestige shaped his early definition of success—and how he has slowly unlearned those scripts to build a more flexible, grateful, and self-directed creative life. Vedant Akhauri is a writer and aspiring content producer based in Florida. He has worked on multiple short films, videos, and podcasts. When not editing or working on sets, he usually writes, spends time with friends, or plays video games. His personal podcast is Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri.     5 Key Takeaways [0:03:19] – The pressure to always create and "catch the trend" can push creatives toward burnout, making it crucial to learn when to work and when to simply be still. [0:05:07] – Competitive academic culture and generational "hustle" coding can normalize overwork and delay our understanding of mental health and self-care. [0:08:10] – Modern careers, especially in creative fields, are less like a ladder and more like a jungle gym—there are many valid paths to success, not just big corporations. [0:17:44] – Patience with yourself, starting small, and treating creativity like a muscle are essential for anyone who feels "not creative enough." [0:32:43] – True happiness and success must be self-defined; letting go of society's narrow metrics opens space for gratitude, flexibility, and a more honest life.   "We spend so much time letting other people define success and happiness for us that we forget we're already in a good place." – Vedant

    45 min
  3. 1. Why This Show Exists

    11 May

    1. Why This Show Exists

    In this opening episode, host Celeste Fernandez introduces The Shapes We Take as a reflective space for honest conversations about the quiet, unfinished parts of life. Rather than focusing on glossy before-and-after stories, the show centers on the in‑between: the doubts, turning points, and subtle realizations that reshape who we are. Using the metaphor of a life as a piece of sculpture, Celeste outlines the podcast's intention to offer recognition, permission, perspective, language, and spaciousness to listeners who are still "in the middle" of their own becoming. 5 Key Takeaways (00:00) – Growth is usually quiet and gradual, happening in conversations, questions, and reflection rather than in dramatic breakthroughs. 00:45) – The podcast creates space for people who are still "in the middle" of their lives, not at a neat conclusion. (01:20) – Life is compared to sculpture, where experiences, losses, and realizations carve and reshape who we become. (02:05) – The show offers quiet "promises": recognition, permission to be unfinished, perspective on many paths to growth, and language for unnamed feelings. (02:40) – Listeners are invited to slow down, value pauses, and ask themselves, "What shape is my life taking right now?"   "Growth rarely happens in dramatic and cinematic breakthroughs. More often, it happens quietly, in conversations, in questions, in moments of reflection, in a slow realization that something inside you has shifted." - Celeste

    6 min
  4. Before We Begin

    11 May

    Before We Begin

    In this introductory episode of The Shapes We Take Podcast, host Celeste Fernandez sets the tone for a series of honest, reflective conversations about the moments that quietly reshape who we are. Rather than focusing on polished, hindsight narratives, the show stays inside the "in-between" — the tensions, questions, and transitions that leave us still forming. Celeste invites listeners into a space where uncertainty, growth, and evolving identity are not problems to fix, but stories to explore in real time. 5 Key Takeaways [0:00:12] – A space for honest reflection • The podcast is a home for thoughtful conversations about the experiences that shape who we are. [0:00:40] – Life doesn't move in straight lines • Our lives bend, fracture, and stretch into unexpected shapes, and that's where meaning often lives. [0:01:05] – Beauty in not knowing who you're becoming • Some of the most beautiful parts of us emerge from seasons of uncertainty and becoming. [0:01:40] – A three-phase conversation structure • Each episode moves from the surface, to the tension, to what has been quietly reshaped. [0:02:20] – An invitation to notice what resonates • Listeners are encouraged to show up without answers and simply notice what mirrors their own lives.   "Sometimes the most honest way to understand a life is to ask what shape it's taking now."

    4 min
  • 4 Episodes

About

The Shapes We Take is a podcast about the lives people are still becoming. Through honest, thoughtful conversations, each episode explores the shifts that shape us: identity, relationships, healing, ambition, loss, reinvention, and the quiet moments that change everything. This is a space for stories that aren't tied up neatly, where complexity is welcome and growth is rarely linear. You'll hear from founders, creatives, parents, professionals, seekers, and everyday people navigating the beautiful unfinishedness of being human. Some conversations are tender. Some surprising. Some quietly transformative. All of them are real. If you've ever outgrown a version of yourself, questioned the path you were on, or wondered who you're becoming next, this show is for you. Because we are all shaped by what we carry, what we release, and what we choose to become.

Information

  • Creator
    Celeste Fernandez
  • Years Active
    2k
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026
  • Show Website
    The Shapes We Take