When I saw Bella's e-mail I felt a
sparkle.
About a month later she entered the studio for our in- person
consultation and color test. Ten minutes in I knew we would become friends.
Sometimes people have just the sense of humor that feels like
a warm steamy shower on a cool day, and quirks you immediately adore. Add some Eastern European roots for what feels like a solid and somewhat unique thread of relating, and queerness, of course.
Oh, and also she is just brilliant. And one of my favorite things on humans are our brains.
Listen to us discuss being Eastern European, and queer, and
her talking about also being Black. Bella used to do hair and then went to school, started as pre-med and became a chemist and is now developing drugs and making such things as vaccines. We had a
great conversation about the Covid vaccine and what scientists would like you to know.
This conversation is had with soothing voices and is very,
actually, comforting. Enjoy!
Episode transcript
Micah RiotHost00:00
What
is
your
name,
bella?
Is
that
all
the
name
that
you
want
to
give?
Yes,
how
old
are
you?
I
am
34.
And
how
would
you
identify
yourself
with
any
kind
of
identity
markers
you'd
like
to
provide?
BellaGuest00:18
I
am
a
30-something
queer
black
femme.
Micah RiotHost00:25
With
the
perfect
skin
for
color
tattoos.
BellaGuest00:28
Yes,
and
someone
getting
tattooed
by
you.
Micah RiotHost01:03
So
how
did
you
find
me?
BellaGuest01:06
I
think
on
Instagram,
but
a
very
long
time
ago.
Tell
me
about
that,
I
don't
know.
I
think
you
just
came
up
on
my
feed
and
I
was
like,
oh,
I
like
this
person's
work.
And
then
I
just
kind
of
like
watched
it
evolve
over
the
years
and
then
I
was
like,
eventually
I'm
going
to
get
a
tattoo
from
this
person.
But
I
was
like
you
know,
a
student,
I
was
going
to
community
college
and,
yeah,
couldn't
afford
any
tattoo
and
I
had
a
tattoo
I
didn't
like
love
that
I
wanted
and
had
an
idea
for
and
your
work
looked
perfect
for
it.
So
I
just
waited.
And
then
eventually,
I
think
yeah,
mid,
early
mid
last
year
I
was
like,
oh,
yeah,
that
person.
Micah RiotHost01:46
Cool,
yeah.
And
then
when
you
emailed
me,
you
were
like,
what
did
you
say?
You
were
like
I've
been
like
stalking
your
work,
admiring
your
work,
or
something
like
that
for
a
bunch
of
years.
And
I
was
like,
wow,
that's
so
cool
that
you've
been
a
fan
for
a
while.
02:05
Which
is
just
a
weird
concept
to
me.
You
know
because,
like
I
get
that
when
you're
doing
something
creative
and
you
put
it
out
online
and
you
have
people
following
you
that
you
don't
know
that
that
happens.
But
it's
just
such
a
weird
concept
Like
it
continues
to
be
and
no
matter
how
long
I've
been
doing
this,
that's
exciting.
BellaGuest02:20
What
else
scares
me
about
the
internet?
I
know
it's
true.
Like
any
picture
I
post
to
myself,
there's
probably
some
weirdo
who
has
it
printed
out
and
pasted
on
their
like
bathroom
ceilings
or
something
and
they're
like
in
the
ceiling
of
their
bedroom,
probably,
right.
Micah RiotHost02:35
Yeah,
that
is
a
strange
thing
about
the
internet
is
like
you
just
don't
know
where
your
stuff
ends
up.
BellaGuest02:43
Yeah.
Micah RiotHost02:44
And
then
you
get
surprised
and
with
the
podcast
too,
like
people
tell
me
that
they'll
be
like,
oh,
my
friend
listens
to
your
podcast
and
I'll
be.
Like
I
have
no
idea
who
your
friend
is,
which
is
just
like
you
know.
From
my
side
it
doesn't
look
like
I
assume
that
everybody
who
follows
me
or
listens
to
me
or
anything
just
knows
me.
Like
that's
why
they
do
that,
because
they
know
me.
But
that's
not
always
true.
BellaGuest03:05
No,
probably
yeah,
and
the
bigger
it
gets,
you
won't
know.
Most
of
the
people
eventually.
Micah RiotHost03:11
I
mean,
it's
not
getting
bigger.
Yeah
Well,
it
might.
BellaGuest03:16
I've
told
some
people
about
it,
yeah.
Micah RiotHost03:20
Please
do
yeah,
and
then
they'll
hear
you
on
it,
gosh.
BellaGuest03:24
I
can't
listen
to
my
own
voice,
so
I'll
skip
that
one.
Micah RiotHost03:29
But
people
who
you've
told
to
listen
to
should
listen.
BellaGuest03:32
Yeah,
they
probably
will.
Micah RiotHost03:38
So
the
previous
iteration
of
your
back
tattoo
that
we've
been
working
on?
Yes,
tell
me
about
getting
that.
BellaGuest03:45
I
got
it
in
London
when
I
was
17.
And
it
was
like
a
doodle
that
I
drew.
And
then
I
have
a
friend
who's
a
lot
more
creative
than
me
and
he
redrew
it
and
it
was
very
pretty
and
I,
yeah,
I
was
in
London
and
I
was
like
just
visiting
some
family
in
Germany,
but
we
just
stopped
in
London
for
like
a
week
just
to
do
some
traveling.
And,
yeah,
I
went
to
a
tattoo
shop
which
is
kind
of
a
big
tattoo
shop
now.
It's
called
Frith
Street.
Micah RiotHost04:19
I
feel
like
I
follow
artists
from
there,
yeah.
BellaGuest04:23
And
yeah,
it's
just
like
a
kid's
doodle
basically,
and
I
didn't
hate
it,
I
just
it
didn't
really
like
resonate
with
me
anymore,
so
I
was
like
I'll
cover
it
up
with
something
that
feels
more
me.
Micah RiotHost04:37
So
you
like
abstract
art.
Do
you
also
like
to
look
at
it?
BellaGuest04:40
in
museums?
Yeah,
definitely.
I
don't
think
I'm
like,
yeah,
very
sophisticated
like
art
person.
So
if
you,
yeah,
I
just
know
what
I
like.
Yeah.
Micah RiotHost04:52
I
mean,
I
don't
know,
is
anybody
very
sophisticated
art
person?
Some
people
know
a
lot
about
art.
Well,
there's
like
them
knowing,
like
who
this
person
is
and
where
they
came
from
and
how
they
got
to
do
their
style.
But
then
there's
also
like,
just
like
things
make
you
feel
things
or
they
don't.
BellaGuest05:07
Yeah,
I'm
running
purely
on
vibes.
Micah RiotHost05:11
Yes,
I
feel
like
everybody
is,
but
they
don't
admit
it.
Yeah
maybe
Like
including
like
things
like
wine
Perhaps,
but
they
just
don't
admit
it,
they
don't
own
it.
BellaGuest05:25
I'm
quick
to
believe
people.
If
you
tell
me
like
you're
an
expert
on
wine,
I'm
like,
well,
I'm
not.
So
I
believe
you.
Micah RiotHost05:31
What
would
you,
what
would
be
a
thing
that
somebody
was
like
I'm
an
expert
on
this
and
you'd
be
like
are
you
though?
BellaGuest05:39
I
don't
know.
I
guess
things
that
no
one
can
really
be
an
expert
on.
Micah RiotHost05:46
Like
what.
BellaGuest05:47
Religion
Okay,
fair.
Micah RiotHost05:53
Yeah,
like
big,
encompassing
things.
Yeah,
so
you're
talking
about
traveling
in
Europe.
Have
you
spent
a
lot
of
time
in
Europe?
BellaGuest06:02
Yeah,
I
lived
off
and
on.
Yeah,
my
mom
is
from,
for
me,
yugoslavia.
Yeah,
so
I
lived
there
when
I
was
a
kid
and
then
moved
to
well,
I
was
born
in
the
United
States
and
then
the
war
broke
out
in
Yugoslavia
and
my
mom
moved
us
all
there
to
run
like
a
humanitarian
organization
and
she
was
bringing
injured
refugees
back
to
the
United
States
for
medical
treatment.
So
we
were
there
during
several
of
the
war
years
and
then
moved
back
here
to
the
United
States
and
I
just
went
back
to
visit
and
then,
when
I
was
19,
I
moved
back
over
there
for
four
years
or
so.
Why?
06:55
What
were
you
seeking?
I
kind
of
just
wanted
to
travel
for
a
summer
and
then
think
about,
maybe,
what
I
wanted
to
do
with
my
life.
07:05
After
that
I
went
to
beauty
school
and
I
was
working
as
a
hairdresser
and
I
was
like
this
is
not
a
job
I
want
to
do
forever,
forever,
but
it's
something
that
could
put
me
through
school
and
something
I
could
do
while
traveling.
So
it
just
seems
like
a
little
bit
of
money
and
then
I
went
over
there