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Natural Awakenings Northwest Florida

Tune In, Shine Out: Local Teen’s Passion Project Shines Light on Gap in Wellness Resources for Young Women

Jul 05, 2022 07:41PM ● By Kyla Stevens

When Hailey Bethke, a local dual-enrollment Seacoast Collegiate High School student, started The Sunshine Signal, her own podcast, in September 2021, it began as a passion project. Bethke wanted an age-appropriate space in the wellness community, somewhere for girls to break down the how-tos of personal development and self-care. 

Just shy of a year later, The Sunshine Signal has succeeded with a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and a wide representation of teen speakers that focus on empowering young women to prioritize their mental health and well-being. Recent podcast guests have included Australian fitness star Lily Turton, mindset mentor Lucy Love from Purely Being Guided Meditations, and Sadie Sutton, founder of She Persisted, a podcast for teens with practical tips on mental resilience. 

For Bethke, the absence of  wellness content for girls became evident during the pandemic, as she pursued her own interests in holistic health. Yet despite an overall rising trend in self-care education, accessible tools like health tracker apps or guided meditations are more often geared towards adults, and their adult problems. 

“There are so many life-changing resources out there that are unfortunately just missing the mark with the younger demographic,” she says. 

Filling the Gap

Bethke’s talent for curating quality speakers, particularly ones that her age range can readily relate to, goes beyond basic teenage-growing-pain discussions and uncovers the deeper issues that many young women continue to struggle with in adulthood. 

“It’s so important for teen girls to have a community where they feel safe, seen and heard,” she says. “A community where we’re all figuring out how to be the best versions of ourselves, and looking to each other for guidance along the way.” 

Specifically on episode 18, “Living a Life of GRIT + Founding a Nonprofit in High School,” Bethke discusses how to build a strong sense of self and avoid peer comparisons. She interviews Charlotte Wasserman, a highschool senior in Cleveland, who reconstructed her middle-school blog into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit called It’s a Girl’s Life, of which she’s executive director. 

In the episode, Bethke and Wasserman unpack how It’s a Girl’s Life uses GRIT (growing guts, building resilience, accepting imperfections and finding your team) to become more self-aware. According to Wasserman, the formula helps cultivate a deeper sense of self-compassion by providing opportunities for reflection, helping teen girls practice overcoming obstacles like perfectionism, negative body-image and finding their tribe in high school. 

Ultimately, Bethke hopes The Sunshine Signal will help fill the gap in healthy content for younger audiences, not on just a local level, but globally. 

“This is just the beginning for teen holistic health,” Bethke says. 

For more information, tune into The Sunshine Signal on all podcast-listening platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and follow along on Instagram @thesunshinesignal.


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