Explore every episode of the podcast Here We Are.

Do you ever feel like you’re suffocating under the weight of your own potential?

It’s not rock bottom or failure—it’s the "Messy Middle." It’s the specific frustration of being stuck in the middle of your own evolution, knowing you were made for more, but feeling trapped in a life that—on paper—looks perfectly fine.

In Episode 3 of Here We Are, Ben Savio reads his personal essay on the "Charmeleon Phase" of life.

This is a meditation for anyone who has outgrown their old self but hasn't yet reached their "Charizard" moment. We explore:

• The Paradox of Potential: Why having a "good life" can sometimes feel like it's strangling you.

• The Grief of Limitations: Inspired by Sylvia Plath’s "The Bell Jar" and the famous fig tree metaphor.

• The Realization: Why Harry Potter’s Patronus scene is the ultimate lesson in self-reliance and "coming to save yourself."

• Sonder & Perspective: What looking out an airplane window teaches us about the quiet sadness of the lives we’ll never get to live.

Whether you're navigating a career change, a creative block, or a quarter-life crisis, this episode is a reminder that the tension you feel isn't a sign you're broken—it's proof that you’re becoming.

Stop mistaking the middle for the end.

A quiet, intimate poem about fatherhood, time, and the fleeting nature of childhood.

In this episode of Stowaway Secrets, I read an original piece about sharing a bed with my three-year-old son — a small, ordinary moment that somehow holds everything: love, memory, and the quiet realization that nothing stays the same for long.

This is a reflection on what it means to be a parent…
to witness your child grow in real time,
to hold moments you know you cannot keep,
and to say the things that matter — even if they’re only heard in the dark.

If you’ve ever wondered how fast it all goes,
or tried to memorize a moment before it disappears,
this one’s for you.

Topics: fatherhood, parenting, toddlers, childhood memories, poetry, emotional storytelling, personal reflections, growing up, time, love, family

An honest look at self-optimization, overthinking, and the search for meaning in modern life.

In this first episode of Here We Are, I read an essay I wrote about sleep scores, supplements, red light therapy, morning routines, workout routines, meditation practices, mindfulness routines and the quiet pressure to optimize every part of your life.

It’s a reflection on overthinking, control, and the modern belief that life is something to be constantly upgraded—rather than actually lived.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything “right” but still missing something, this is for you.