AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
Sometimes as you scroll endlessly through social media, you stumble onto one meme, one image, one video that is so true it almost makes all the doomscrolling worth it, a post that makes you think, this is what it me was invented for. Well, for me and millions of other people, that post came from the comedian Robyn Schall. And it seems appropriate for this moment when we are all thinking about New Year's resolutions.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ROBYN SCHALL: OK. Excuse my looks. I'm just, you know, in the middle of hitting rock bottom. But I found my goal list that I made in December for my goals for 2020. (Laughter) OK. Tell me if this is not hilarious. All right, goal one - make more money. I've, you know, been unemployed since March. Travel more (laughter). Lose weight (laughter). Be more social (laughter).
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Well, Robyn Schall joins us now. Thank you so much for being here, and happy New Year.
SCHALL: Happy New Year. I am so excited to be here.
SHAPIRO: You described that moment as rock bottom.
SCHALL: Yes.
SHAPIRO: So take us to that lowest moment of the year. Like, where were you in life? What was that?
SCHALL: OK. Well, like everyone in this - on this planet, I was miserable, depressed and anxious. I'm a stand-up comedian, so all, you know, entertainment has been shut down for months. So I haven't been working.
SHAPIRO: Totally.
SCHALL: I lost both grandmas. I'm constantly in this state of fear and anxiousness. You know, I was just - I'm in my apartment. I'm drunk. I'm, like, depressed.
SHAPIRO: (Laughter).
SCHALL: So it really was like a rock bottom moment. And then there was, like, some Twitter, you know, notification that there may be a vaccine approval. And so then all of a sudden I got some hope. So I was like, oh, this is it. I'm going to need to start writing again. Career's coming back. And as soon as I opened my notebook, I saw my goals list from 2020.
SHAPIRO: (Laughter).
SCHALL: And it was just so ridiculous how every single thing was, like, the opposite of what happened.
SHAPIRO: Right. So you post this video...
SCHALL: Yeah.
SHAPIRO: ...And you go completely viral. And suddenly, like, every celebrity you've ever idolized knows who you are. This is a video you posted three days later.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SCHALL: Kristen Bell and Jennifer Aniston liked the video.
SHAPIRO: You are very unapologetic about the fact that you worship celebrities. So tell us about, like, the most mind-blowing celebrity encounter that you've had.
SCHALL: OK. Oh, my God. That's so hard because I really do love celebrities so much. So, I mean, Jen Garner was huge. I mean, that was, like, ridiculous. But then the whole Kardashians came out of nowhere, and they started, like, fighting on my Instagram post, like, not even on the viral video, like, on a different one. Khloe and Kourtney were like, stop following me. I'm the one who found it first. And then I saw just the other day Kris Jenner liked the video. So, I mean, like, whatever.
SHAPIRO: (Laughter).
SCHALL: I died. Like, I don't even know if this is all real. This sounds like just like a dream.
SHAPIRO: And so what's your advice to other people who might feel like they are close to rock bottom right now after this awful year?
SCHALL: My advice is just keep going. And I am well aware there's people who had it 10 times harder than I did, so I know it's easier said than done. Just keep going. You can't stay at the bottom forever. I mean, maybe you can. I don't know. Let's hope not. But I truly believe if you just keep going, a better day is ahead. And, well, you know, when I made that video, I felt so hopeless. Little did I know, just a couple of days later my life was going to completely change. So...
SHAPIRO: Well, given how your 2020 resolutions completely turned your life...
SCHALL: (Laughter).
SHAPIRO: ...Upside down in a good way, how are you approaching resolutions for 2021?
SCHALL: All right, no resolutions.
SHAPIRO: None, woah.
SCHALL: No. No. Well, I'm going to drink more water. But watch, now there's going to be a big drought in New York City.
SHAPIRO: (Laughter).
SCHALL: Watch now that I said that.
SHAPIRO: Hydrate. Hydrate is a good resolution.
SCHALL: I'm going to hydrate. I think the real goal is just to keep making people laugh and just keep moving forward and be well aware that tough times are still ahead. But, like, if you just keep going, you know, there's always going to be ups.
SHAPIRO: Well, Robyn Schall, congratulations on your success, and thank you for the entertainment. Happy New Year.
SCHALL: Happy New Year. And, Ari, you thank you so much for having me. I just think you're just adorable and I love you.
SHAPIRO: Oh, thank you. Well, you can follow Robyn on TikTok and Instagram @robynschallcomic. That's R-O-B-Y-N-S-C-H-A-L-L.
(SOUNDBITE OF KAI TAKAHASHI'S "SODA POP") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
