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 What if one memory could bring you back to who you really are? In this deeply personal reflection, Wisdom for Wannabes host, Jackie Morreale, shares what happened when she returned to her elementary school 30 years later—and why it moved her to tears. Inspired by a powerful insight from sports psychologists about our brain’s tendency to hold onto the negative, Jackie explores the importance of intentionally creating joyful, meaningful moments we can revisit throughout our lives. This story is about identity, gratitude, and the people—especially educators—who shape us long before we realize it. Read on for a heartfelt reminder to reconnect with your roots, reclaim your truest self, and say thank you to those who helped you become who you are. Topics: • The importance of positive memories for mental health • Creating intentional joyful moments • Revisiting childhood to reconnect with your true self Takeaways: • Our brains are wired to remember negatively, but we must practice recalling positive memories. • Revisiting childhood places can reconnect us with our authentic selves. • Creating meaningful moments intentionally can help us stay grounded and true to ourselves. Quotes: • "I realized that little girl is still me." • "I think I forgot her along the way." • "We need to create moments on purpose." Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: A Memory That Brings You Back to Yourself 00:31 The Insight That Sparked It All 01:11 Walking Back Into Where It All Began 03:15 Remembering the Girl I Used to Be 03:41 A Different Lens on the High School Years 04:05 Creating Memories You Can Return To 04:57 A Simple Exercise to Come Back to Yourself 06:00 Say Thank You, Just Because!  Jackie Morreale reading Princess Tessa & The New Look to Ms. Meehan's students, March 2026 Transcript: Jackie Morreale (00:00) I went back to my elementary school after 30 years and I remembered exactly who I am. My name is Jackie Morreale and I'm the host of Wisdom for Wannabes. I wrote this and I'm saying this now because I don't ever want to lose this feeling. I had one of those experiences that I know I'm going to want to come back to. Not just to remember, but to actually feel again. It made me realize something. I think every single one of us needs to have a memory like that. One that we can return to at any age. One that brings us back to ourselves. I was interviewing these two amazing sports psychologists earlier this week and they said something that really stuck with me: "Our brains are wired to think negatively." We're built to remember the bad moment, the embarrassing moment, the failure. Maybe at one point that kept us alive. It was survival. But now, it keeps us stuck. They said, "If we don't intentionally create and hold on to those positive memories, we won't have them to pull from later." We actually have to practice remembering the good. It took me a day to realize I had just lived one of those life-changing, happy moments that I will want to recall for the rest of my life. So here it is: Last Friday, I went back to my old elementary school. Thirty years later, I walked in with a stack of my books and my family. From the moment we arrived, something felt different. We were greeted by the security guard upon entering the building who said, "Hello, so you're the author?" I paused for a second and thought, "Wow, yes, I am." There's something so powerful about someone else seeing you as something you've worked so hard to become and identify with yourself. The principal came right out, welcomed us in, brought us into his office. We were laughing because I realized this had been my first time to the principal's office, an idea that I once dreaded, and this time it was for good. It felt like a full circle moment. Then we walk down the hallway to my favorite teacher's classroom. My fifth grade teacher who still teaches there to this day, now teaching kindergarten. And how lucky are these students, this school, this community, how lucky am I to go back and see her and relive this experience? We get to the door. There's a big sign over the doorway. It says, "Welcome Mrs. Morreale!" And it includes my family members' names. And streamers! And all the autographs of the kids in the class, as well as the one for my teacher. We walked right through the streamers and there she was, standing there: My favorite teacher. She looked and sounded exactly the same, same presence, same person. I just lost it. Tears were instant. The kind of tears that you don't even try to hold back. The kids are all looking at me and saying, "Why is she crying?" My teacher just smiled and said, "They're happy tears." They were. Because in that moment, everything else disappeared. I was her student again. I sat down. I read my book to her class. My own kids sat next to me. The students were amazing. They raised their hands to point out rhymes, respond to my questions, and ask brilliant questions of their own. I even had a few belly laugh moments where kids say the darndest things. I just felt joy. Pure, simple joy. No pressure, no noise. Just being exactly who I am. And it hit me: That little girl, the one who loved writing, the one who loved stories and had felt seen by this teacher 30 years ago... she's still me. She never left. But somewhere along the way, I think I forgot her a little bit. Tried to fit in. Tried to be what I thought other people wanted me to be. Even tried to dim parts of myself. But going back there brought me right back to her. We said our goodbyes, more happy tears, and a whirlwind of an amazing experience. We went to revisit another special place, my old high school, to see the best art teacher in the world, the new art wing, the new students' work. It felt different. I remember feeling like I didn't quite belong back then. Like I had to change myself or keep up or try to prove something. Looking at the kids now, they seem lighter than I remember feeling. Somehow more in touch with it all. And I hope that's the case. It made me the pressure we feel isn't even real. It's just the story we're telling ourselves. And the teachers, they see it all. They see what makes each kid different, what makes them special. They nurture it, they protect it. And I surmise that most of the time, they have no idea how much of that actually stays with all of us. So here's what this experience gave me: We don't just need to remember those moments. We need to create them. On purpose. Moments that are so real, so grounded, so full of who we actually are, that we can come back to them later. When life gets loud or stressful or remind ourselves: This is me. I want to try something. Probably 20 years ago, I was fortunate enough to teach a group in Brooklyn, New York, not far from these schools, physical fitness. We would always end our practice with a visualization exercise, to end on a really beautiful note. So here's one for today: Close your eyes. Just for a moment, imagine you're back at a place that shaped you. Maybe it's your elementary school. Maybe it's your first job with a great boss. Maybe it's your favorite relative's house. Maybe it's a field or on a stage or in a studio with a paintbrush that dips into your favorite color. You walk in, people know your name. Not for what you've done, not for what you've achieved, but for who you've always been. People who believed in you before you even believed in yourself. And they're just happy you're there. And you're so happy to be there with them. You can feel it in your chest. That warmth, that calmness, that certainty. That's you! That's your core. That's what you can come back to; in this place, in this moment, in this visualization, anytime. For me, it's looking at the paper sign with streamers and 25 signatures that's now hanging on my office wall a thousand miles away from where it was last week. There's one more thing I realized walking out of that school and it's an actionable item. We don't say thank you enough to the people who saw something in us early, before the world got loud, before we started questioning ourselves, before we tried so hard to fit in. To the teachers, Ms. Patricia Meehan, Mr. Keith Gamache, countless others. The ones who stay late, the ones who make things special, who remember our names, our strengths, our quirks. Who shape lives every single most likely aren't reminded often enough how much it all matters to us. If you can, reach out, send a message, say "Thank you!" Tell them, "You made a difference in my life." Most likely it'll mean a lot to them and it'll bring you back to yourself as well. Have a beautiful day.
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Summary: In this voice note, Jackie Morreale shares her thoughts on the study of philosophy with @NewAcropolisUS and how it relates to the challenges faced in everyday life. This course is for deep thinkers, and required reading includes ancient texts that offer insights into the complexities of human nature. Jackie Morreale describes in her own words Plato's Allegory of the Cave, as an example of learnings from this course, from Plato's Republic book, which was first published around 380 BC. The Allegory of the Cave alludes to our ability to break free from barriers of society, see the light, and teach others in words that they can understand, to show leadership and create change.
Hi there, my name is Jackie Morreale, and I am the host of Wisdom for Wannabes, a new podcast series on business, beauty, and betterment. I am also a student of New Acropolis USA, as part of a philosophy course I've been taking for a year. I would like to speak to this group as a whole. It has been a wonderful addition to my life to be regularly thinking about philosophy with a group of philosophers under very strong professors who have volunteered their time in order to share this wisdom with their students. The course has taken us from ancient Greece to Chinese philosophy, to India, to ancient Egypt, and philosophies from all over the world. Within the class itself, we have many people from all over the world, from Brazil to New Jersey, and everywhere in between. It has been a wonderful way to expand the way I think about things and to also identify patterns that have lasted over centuries and thousands of years, and scholarly research and thoughts that have been shared since BC. I recommend this group to anyone who's looking to think deeper about the meaning of their life, maybe find their purpose, anyone who's even just looking for a reading challenge. The book list alone is worth signing up for the course. To give you some of the titles at the top of my reading list, I've been reading:
There's so much in this class that I would love to share, but I thought it would be nice to walk through their final exam question, based on what we learned in this class. Question: In your own words, retell the Allegory of the Cave. That one is Plato. The Allegory of the Cave. There are people in this cave. They're in shackles. They're stuck deep inside this cave. There are others a level up that are casting shadows of fire with figurines on a wall, to keep them entertained, busy, distracted from the fact that they are in a cave, not free. Someone finds their way out of the cave. Lo and behold, there's a whole world outside of the cave. They see the light. They have to kind of close their eyes a bit because it's so different from what they're used to in the cave. They want to have their friends join them and also understand that there's a whole world outside of the cave. That person goes back into the cave, and says, There's a whole world and there's light outside of the cave! But talking to a group of people who have only seen darkness inside of a cave and illusions, on a wall, won't believe that person, unless they have the right terminology. That person who has seen the light becomes the teacher, until those other people can understand what they're saying. That person who's seen the light and is able to provide some wisdom to the people would be wonderful in any sort of leadership role. I've gotten so much from this class and looking forward to the next. Check out New Acropolis USA and bring philosophy to your everyday life.
Summary: In this voice note and mini research study, Wisdom for Wannabes podcast host Jackie Morreale discusses the importance of our energy on our interactions, particularly during the school year or when arriving to an office and greeting an administrative professional. She reflects on a note she found at her children's school that emphasizes the idea of matching energy with others. Through a social experiment, she explores how positivity can be contagious and how our energy affects those around us. The conversation encourages self-reflection on the energy we bring into different spaces and the impact it can have on our interactions. Takeaways:
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Hi and happy summer everybody! Parents out there and kids are super excited for the summer. Teachers who have off for the summer super excited. Lots of blue skies ahead of us as we refresh and recharge our batteries before the next year starts up again. I happened to find myself at school last week, on an errand. I encountered this cool note at the front desk, a laminated Post-it note that looked very similar to this one that I had to create just for myself. It says, I match energy, so you tell me how this will go. How cute is this person for making a Post-it note that's so truthful and putting it on for everyone to see, as they're checking their kids in late or dropping off glasses or lunch or a water bottle. This note really made me reflect. It was my first time seeing it. I've been there many, many times. I have never noticed it before. Could have very easily just written, Be kind, right? As we would see all over the place in school, which is true. We should be kind. Everyone's fighting their own battle. It is on us to be kind to everyone as we would expect them to be kind to us. But to say, "I match energy, so you tell me how this will go", really forces anyone to see it, to notice it, to reflect on themselves in such a smart way.
How great is this person that she knows that she's going to match this energy of the people that walk in. Is anyone really going to the main office in any organization and not asking for a favor? If you're asking for a favor, you might as well bring some light in, some smiles in, when you greet this person. We're all so wrapped up in our own deadlines and where we're trying to go that quite often it just slips through the cracks... and this person feels the brunt of that. This gatekeeping role is so important for every single organization. I know today is not Administrative Professionals Day, but I thank everyone in an administrative role for making my life easier, for making everyone's lives easier, for making magic happen every single day. Happy summer to them! I genuinely hope that you are able to come back to the new school year fully refreshed and revived. Let's think about this question a little bit more: What energy am I bringing with me when I walk into a room? Let's bring this to your house, your office, a Zoom call even.
Has anyone else in the room shown up where you've been and caused this chain reaction, caused this light to enter the room? If you have seen this, tell that person. Tell them to keep doing it, that they changed the room. It's hard to realize that we do match energies. Just look at your pet or your children or a meeting, right? If you get home and you've had a bad day, you kind of feel the entire vibe of the household shifting. Maybe you have a wonderful pet that'll come and greet you if he or she knows that you are sad. They know how to react to energy instinctively and it's an amazing thing. Thinking about how we create this chain reaction of positivity in the world. While we have hundreds, maybe thousands, of interactions, some of us, every day - whether it's in person, on the phone, email, text messages, online, however you communicate...
Let's bring ourselves up and let's bring other people up as well. I will keep that sticker. For those of us who want to create some positivity in the world and have that energy resound, for the sake of this conversation, did a little social experiment, with my daughter. Something like this, a little matrix if we have it here. We did a social experiment over three mornings last week. After we saw this sign we asked: What would happen if we just waved and said hello to everyone that we saw? What would happen? We did this over three days. The first day we went to the park, then we went for a walk around the community, and then we went to a camp drop-off. We charted it out based on other crazies like us who initiated a wave or a hello, those who matched our energy and said hi back in some way acknowledging us, or those who just had no response. The total was 30 people in our group. For the sake of conversation: If we're able to match negative energies, can we also match positive energies? Our results were interesting. They were situational. In terms of those others like us who initiate a hello, and this is just them, the park run had the most of them. There were two folks who were running and initiated the hello and it so great before we even had a chance to pick up our hands or smile. And one from the community walk initiated the hello. So of the 30, we have 10 % of people like us who are trying to put this positivity out there, these smiles out there first, because we know that other people are going to match our energy. Let's lead it with positivity! Thank you for that, 10 % of people. I really appreciated your hello. Right back at you. Let's talk about those who matched our positive energy, our hello or our smiles. In the park run, we had seven of the ten who matched our energy. This high energy group that are out there trying to find wellness and health. Thank you folks for smiling, thank you for waving, thank you for saying good morning. Next up was the community. Of the 10, five of them waved back or just matched our energy. Camp drop off, three, smiled or waved back. It's a little bit of a different group, less familiarity, more hustle, more bustle, more craziness happening to try to get kids to that camp drop off or to try to get back to your desk and pick up your next call. If I look at that group who match our energy in three different situations, with high energy, more familiarity, and more hustle bustle. We had a total of the seven + five + three = 15. 15 out of 30, 50 % mirrored our good energy. How great is that? It's not just about the bad energy that we're mirroring. If you put out there good energy, 50 % of the time, you will get it back. I would have done this mini research project if I had found that one person had mirrored my energy, it would have been worth it. Because maybe that one person takes it and has an exponential effect to their positivity. When I saw that 10 % initiated a hello just like us, and 50 % matched our positivity, that's incredible to me. No responders. In the park, we had one no responder. In the community, we had four no responders. At camp drop off, we had seven. People are in their own world. We can't affect everyone. We had 12 people out of the 30 who did not respond. Were not expecting this social experiment. Did not communicate back, 40%. But the majority did! Based on this cute little social experiment, I would say this: Put your best self forward. Think about every space that you put yourself in. When you walk into your house, when you walk into a boardroom, when you walk into a new office for an appointment and a gatekeeper welcomes you. Bring your smile, bring your positivity, because the majority of the time, they're going to send it right back to you. On those days where you just have abundant energy, bring it with you and share it with other people. If you feel it from that 10% of folks who already have the same and are putting it out there, just tell them they're doing a great job. Let's see how many people that we can spin the negative to positive, and have them be enjoying the fact that they match energy because it's important. Learnings from a Post-It note. I thank you for making me reflect and making me think about this a little scientifically and making me realize that we also match positivity and the majority of people do the same. Have a wonderful day! |
Jackie MorrealeJackie writes from her own experiences and reflections on her journey in seeking wisdom, creativity, spirituality, and life in general. This is "putting thyself out there" at its finest. 
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