In a week of family difficulties and academic stress, I turned to the “Comedy” section of my Podcast app to find something that would take my mind off it all. That was where I found “Ana Faris is Unqualified.” I only ever saw Ana Faris when she appeared in movies like "Scary Movie" and "House Bunny," or in pictures of her and her husband, Chris Pratt, online. So it was fun, surprising and educating to listen to her being herself, talking to her friends.

I went out of order and first listened to her talk with T.J. Miller from the show "Silicon Valley." I was immediately hooked, Ana joked with her friends, bantered with her producer (Sim Sarna) and gave advice that was not really all that unqualified. In a very short period of time, while driving back and forth to visit family, my brother and I have made our way through all of the episodes. Ana usually brings on her guest, introduces them, asks them a set of rapid-fire questions, and then introduces callers who have asked her for advice. While the advice is actually consistently solid and levelheaded, the main appeal of listening to the podcast is the charm and the warmth. Ana does a good job of making all her listeners feel like she genuinely cares about them; she is always quick to give examples from her own life and make sure that whoever is calling in with a problem knows they are not alone. Ana is open and able to discuss her life, her art, and her work all while being quick to laugh at herself; a laugh that is, itself, adorably weird.

Listening to “Ana Faris is Unqualified” during a particularly heavy week of my life has added a missing lightness. Ana stands in solidarity with victims of heartbreak while allowing them to laugh, immediately devising cooky and crafty scenarios to help her listeners navigate their particular hardships. Ana, someone who I thought of in a limited way, transformed before my ears into a smart, funny, charming person. The main takeaway, however, is how much a little lightness, a little charm and a little fun can help in a difficult time. Just being able to listen to Ana joking around, talking about her own insecurities, and coming up with crazy ways to help her listeners has helped my brother and I to stay positive during a week full of repetitive drives and continuing hardships that could have easily been very grim.