From being a college student, to working an internship and balancing all types of relationships, vulnerability can seem impossible. For Ella Macduff, a senior at UMD, and her mother Teri Macduff, creating a new way to “get real” and celebrate vulnerability came naturally.
Ella and Teri Macduff said they were on their way back to the UMD Campus from their home in 2023 when an idea sparked.
“It’s an 8 hour car ride from Massachusetts, so we were in the car for a while and had some deep and honest conversations about red flags, mental health, break ups, therapy and all of the things I have been through,” Macduff said. That’s when they realized how often people are expected to always have a perfect front, and how little space there is now to be real and true to yourself.
The mother and daughter pair said they were craving to create something bigger the next day. Within 24 hours, they had trademarked the name, Chasing Red Flags, applied for an LLC and began building their podcast, community and guided journal, Let’s Get Real.
Since January 2024, on “The Chasing Red Flags Podcast: Let’s Get Real,” Ella and Teri Macduff have authentically discussed relationships, mental health, self-defense and more. Whether they are exploring relatable topics or hearing from former Olympians, college athletes, influencers, doctors or even a Real Housewife of New Jersey, their podcast covers it all.
Ella and Teri Macduff both said as big journalers, creating a journal for others that they couldn’t even find for themselves on the market taught them a lot about their own red flags. The Macduffs’ journal, Let’s Get Real, has 240+ prompts “thoughtfully designed to support mental health, emotional wellness, and lasting personal growth,” according to their website.
Each chapter focuses on different topics, such as “Tackle the Tough Stuff” and “Ditch the Mask,” to allow users to be vulnerable. Some chapters, Ella said, include exercises, such as calming coloring pages, reflection recap pages and dedicated spaces for setting manifestations. Ella Macduff said the goal for this platform and community is to make vulnerability valuable.
“It’s really refreshing for me to be honest about who I am and know that people are accepting me,” she said. “And if we can do that for other people and let them know that they have a community of people here, then that’s really the goal.”
The Macduffs also said that making sure adults on the UMD campus, such as advisors, professors and administrators, can normalize being vulnerable, talking about mental wellness and opening up without a stigma.
“I feel like we look up to people like that and if they’re not talking about it, then we’re not going to want to talk about it,” Macduff said. She also added that keeping tools in their offices such as the “Let’s Get Real” journal is a good reminder that mental health is just as important as academics and that needs to be normalized.
Sharing your own experiences, encouraging open conversations, and modeling that it’s okay to not have it all together is something that Teri Macduff said she has learned as a parent.
“Making sure that students know that they’re people, not just students,”she said. “Kids need to see us not having it all together and that we’re struggling too, because it lets them believe that it’s okay to not have that mask on.”
The mom and daughter duo said that creating a journal driven to allow for open conversations and shine a brighter light on mental wellness has also allowed them to deepen their bond.
“We’ve just created an incredible passion for mental health and for helping others and for creating tools that help others feel seen and heard,” Teri Macduff said. “So for us, we recognize each other’s strengths and let each other do what we do best.”
With having such a close relationship, Ella and Teri Macduff said they are always excited to hear how the journal has helped to mend relationships and to create deeper connections between people, such as mothers and daughters.
“We want to make people feel seen, and so if we can help just one person, then it’s all worth it,” Teri Macduff said .
“Everyone has those red flags.They aren’t going away,” Macduff said. “But instead of necessarily looking at them as flaws, we’re looking at them as opportunities for growth, self-reflection and connection.”