Meghan was impressed when Hobson, 53, who was raised with five siblings by a single mother in Chicago, shared her story.
“My mom was very unique,” Hobson said on the podcast. “She gave me the hard truths of life with so much love and support. But she never wanted me to go through life not being prepared for all that would come. So she taught me what to expect as a black woman and a black person, and I really do appreciate that aspect of her — I call it ‘brutal pragmatism’, but with so much love.”
Hobson revealed how when she needed braces in the sixth grade, she took the initiative to book herself an orthodontist appointment.
“I asked all of my friends who their orthodontist was and called and made an appointment because I had a fang, you know, one of those teeth that sticks up top. It was so awful. I knew I couldn’t go through life like that.”
When the dentist told her the braces would cost $2500, Hobson realised she couldn’t afford them - but then he set her up with a payment plan.
“He gave me a little booklet. And then I went home and told my mom and explained the whole thing to her. And I went back and got braces.”
Meghan responded, “I have to rethink my parenting style! Because if that’s what yields you, then I’ve really got to up my game with our kids being self-sufficient.
“What’s so great about the orthodontist story, specifically, is that if you look at that training that you’re getting by default at 12 or 11 years old, to know that you’re asking for what you need and figuring out a way to get it. And it’s working!
“But as you get older, when you’re not this 11- or 12-year-old, and you’re growing into a woman – that same understanding of knowing what you want, asking for what you need — that can sometimes be thrown back in your face, like, as though you’re being ‘difficult’ or something. Pushy.”
