get in you are driving

maria

I'm Maria — a writer helping you find agency in a discouraging world by reminding you that you're the driver. I write one essay a week and host the podcast Get In, You Are Driving with new episodes every two weeks. If you're stuck in the fog and need someone to name what you're feeling and leave you with a way to move — you're in the right place. 🚗✨ 🔗 Connect with me: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/73XGDObE8gDeo2OcKON8E6?si=Yv86IS77S7aXK21W2KfHOA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getinyouaredriving/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getinyouaredriving Substack: https://substack.com/@getinyouaredriving? Email: maria@getinyouaredriving.com

  1. Aug 10

    what to do when your creative dream goes nowhere

    I gave a fashion account two years, my savings, and everything I had. Externally, it gave me nothing. But it gave me two real friendships, a sense of aliveness in a season I was drowning, and something that was mine when nothing else felt like it. This episode is about the difference between a desire and a goal, why "it didn't work" isn't the whole story, and why I'm learning to live for what I value instead of what I can prove externally. 📚 Essay mentioned in this episode: 🔗some desires don’t need to become goals. They just need somewhere to live. https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/p/some-desires-dont-need-to-become Connect with me: 🚗 Instagram: Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/getinyouaredriving/] 🚗 Substack: https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/ 🚗 Website: https://www.getinyouaredriving.com/ 🚗 Email: maria@getinyouaredriving.com Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical professional. Nothing shared should be considered professional advice. This content is based on my personal experiences, reflections, and insights. If you are struggling with mental health challenges or serious life issues, please seek guidance from a qualified professional.

  2. Jul 27

    why people you’ve known the longest sometimes see you the least

    On the night of my 27th birthday, I had one of the most honest conversations of my life — with someone who's known me my whole life. We realized we'd been relating to each other through identities neither of us has anymore. This episode is about what happens when you stop performing an old version of yourself for the people closest to you, why curiosity is the thing that actually keeps love alive, and why it's your job to tell people how you've changed — not theirs to guess. 📚 Essay mentioned in this episode: 🔗Why I protect everyone’s pain except my own https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/p/why-i-protect-everyones-pain-except Connect with me: 🚗 Instagram: Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/getinyouaredriving/] 🚗 Substack: https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/ 🚗 Website: https://www.getinyouaredriving.com/ 🚗 Email: maria@getinyouaredriving.com Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical professional. Nothing shared should be considered professional advice. This content is based on my personal experiences, reflections, and insights. If you are struggling with mental health challenges or serious life issues, please seek guidance from a qualified professional.

  3. Jun 26

    nobody admits they want money. everyone wants money.

    Nobody admits they want more. But I walked out of Devil Wears Prada 2 wanting Miranda's life — and then immediately felt ashamed of it. In this episode I'm making the case that Andy is the lie, Miranda is the only honest one in the room, and the hunger to create and contribute is ancient — not your devil. We get into the beast and the Mother Teresa that live inside all of us, why wanting more is not a moral failing, and the one question that actually tells you why you're doing what you're doing. 🔗 Essay mentioned: The Devil Isn't Miranda Priestly — It's Us: https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/p/the-devil-isnt-miranda-priestly-the Connect with me: 🚗 Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/getinyouaredriving/] 🚗 Substack: [https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/] 🚗 Website: [https://www.getinyouaredriving.com/ 🚗 YouTube:⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@getinyouaredriving⁠⁠ 🚗 Email: maria@getinyouaredriving.com Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical professional, and nothing shared in this podcast should be considered professional advice. The content is based on my personal experiences, reflections, and insights. If you are struggling with mental health challenges or serious life issues, please seek guidance from a qualified professional.

  4. Jun 26

    you don't hate Monday. you hate that nothing has changed.

    Nobody taught us how to sit with discomfort. And I think that is actually the whole problem. In this episode I'm making the case that Monday was never the enemy — it's a mirror. And what it's showing most of us is that we're living lives we've quietly outgrown and haven't been honest enough to admit it yet. We get into why Sunday night feels like a weekly existential crisis, the real difference between struggling and suffering, and why understanding your feelings is the only place real change actually starts. Plus the one question I want you to ask yourself before Monday comes. 🔗 Essay mentioned: Why on Sunday evenings we tend to feel this way — https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/p/why-on-sunday-evenings-we-tend-to YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLsjepPZKd0 Connect with me: 🚗 Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/getinyouaredriving/] 🚗 Substack: [https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/] 🚗 Website: [https://www.getinyouaredriving.com/ 🚗 YouTube:⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@getinyouaredriving⁠⁠ 🚗 Email: maria@getinyouaredriving.com Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical professional, and nothing shared in this podcast should be considered professional advice. The content is based on my personal experiences, reflections, and insights. If you are struggling with mental health challenges or serious life issues, please seek guidance from a qualified professional.

  5. May 26

    we don't have a love problem. we have a skill problem.

    We don't have a love problem. We have a skill problem. In this episode of Get In, You Are Driving, Maria makes the case that most of us aren't bad at love — we were just never taught it was something you practice. The shows gave us drama. The movies gave us "happily ever after." School gave us nothing. And many of us didn't have a blueprint at home either. So here we are: walking around with 2025 options and ancient emotional wiring, wondering why it all feels so hard. Maria breaks down the three things she thinks our generation is genuinely struggling with — the illusion of choice, the war between men and women that social media is feeding us, and the pattern of choosing pride over the person every single time. Plus a personal story that finally showed her what she was actually chasing. 📩 Read the essay this episode is based on https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/p/the-person-you-were-at-8-years-old Connect with me: 🚗 Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/getinyouaredriving/] 🚗 Substack: [https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/] 🚗 Website: [https://www.getinyouaredriving.com/ 🚗 YouTube:⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@getinyouaredriving⁠⁠ 🚗 Email: maria@getinyouaredriving.com Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical professional, and nothing shared in this podcast should be considered professional advice. The content is based on my personal experiences, reflections, and insights. If you are struggling with mental health challenges or serious life issues, please seek guidance from a qualified professional.

  6. May 26

    you're not tired. you're hollow. there's a difference.

    You keep calling it tired. But tired is physical. What you're actually feeling is something else — and once you name it, you can't unfeel it. In this episode of Get In, You Are Driving, Maria breaks down the difference between exhaustion and hollowness: why so many of us come home from work and rot on the couch not out of laziness, but out of grief. The grief of a life that doesn't feel like ours yet. The conversation goes deep on why humans are built to create — not to consume — and what happens to us when we spend years making nothing of our own. Plus: an honest take on AI that might actually change how you think about it. By the end, you'll have a name for what you're feeling and one clear place to start. 📩 Read the essay this episode is based on https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/p/the-person-you-were-at-8-years-old Connect with me: 🚗 Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/getinyouaredriving/] 🚗 Substack: [https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/] 🚗 Website: [https://www.getinyouaredriving.com/ 🚗 YouTube:⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@getinyouaredriving⁠⁠ 🚗 Email: maria@getinyouaredriving.com Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical professional, and nothing shared in this podcast should be considered professional advice. The content is based on my personal experiences, reflections, and insights. If you are struggling with mental health challenges or serious life issues, please seek guidance from a qualified professional.

  7. May 18

    why I never knew how to answer "where are you from" (& still don’t)

    "Where are you from?" It's one of the simplest questions in the world. And one I have never known how to answer. In this episode I get into something I've been carrying my whole life — what it feels like to grow up with a dual background, and why instead of feeling rich and complex, it mostly just made me feel like I had no identity at all. I talk about the moment at ten years old that taught me which parts of myself were acceptable. The mental menu I ran every time someone asked. Why I spent years hiding my Spanish and performing my Italian. And what moving to Madrid finally gave me. This one is really about identity — and how much of it is actually a choice. 📚 Essay Mentioned: 🔗 How having a dual background makes you feel like you have no identity at all https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/p/where-are-you-from-the-most-agonizing?r=4t8aut Connect with me: 🚗 Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/getinyouaredriving/] 🚗 Substack: [https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/] 🚗 Website: [https://www.getinyouaredriving.com/ 🚗 YouTube:⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@getinyouaredriving⁠⁠ 🚗 Email: maria@getinyouaredriving.com Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical professional, and nothing shared in this podcast should be considered professional advice. The content is based on my personal experiences, reflections, and insights. If you are struggling with mental health challenges or serious life issues, please seek guidance from a qualified professional.

  8. May 4

    how repressing your emotions slowly turns you into someone you don't recognize

    You told yourself you were fine. You told yourself not feeling was strength. It wasn't. And somewhere deep down — you already know that. In this episode I open up about what I call emotional dementia — the years I spent barely feeling anything, and then small intense windows where everything came flooding back. And then nothing again. I talk about how repression doesn't disappear — it leaks. As snapping at people you love. As a mood you can never shake. As feeling completely alone even when you're surrounded by people who care about you. And I talk about what happened when I finally decided to feel on purpose, before life forced me to feel by accident. This one is personal. But I think you need to hear it. 📚 Essays Mentioned in This Episode 🔗 I have emotional dementia: how years of ‘being fine’ made me half the person I am https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/p/i-have-emotional-dementia-how-years 🔗 having a boyfriend isn’t embarrassing. Settling is. https://substack.com/inbox/post/177673522 Connect with me: 🚗 Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/getinyouaredriving/] 🚗 Substack: [https://getinyouaredriving.substack.com/] 🚗 Website: [https://www.getinyouaredriving.com/ 🚗 YouTube:⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@getinyouaredriving⁠⁠ 🚗 Email: maria@getinyouaredriving.com Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical professional, and nothing shared in this podcast should be considered professional advice. The content is based on my personal experiences, reflections, and insights. If you are struggling with mental health challenges or serious life issues, please seek guidance from a qualified professional.

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About

I'm Maria — a writer helping you find agency in a discouraging world by reminding you that you're the driver. I write one essay a week and host the podcast Get In, You Are Driving with new episodes every two weeks. If you're stuck in the fog and need someone to name what you're feeling and leave you with a way to move — you're in the right place. 🚗✨ 🔗 Connect with me: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/73XGDObE8gDeo2OcKON8E6?si=Yv86IS77S7aXK21W2KfHOA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getinyouaredriving/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getinyouaredriving Substack: https://substack.com/@getinyouaredriving? Email: maria@getinyouaredriving.com

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