This picture was taken shortly before the first day of my first “real job” on May 19, 2014. It was a frustrating time where I was battling both entitlement from graduating a “prestigious” university and just “expecting” a job as well as the frustration of having no idea what I wanted to do. Social media bombarded me with images of “success”- it seemed like ALL of my friends were either in grad school or working or up to adventures (which I relentlessly stalked without realizing that I too was on the biggest adventure of my life) and I felt like a failure. There were nights where I cried myself to sleep, days where I had no desire to get out bed and weeks where I marinated in self pity. No matter how many interviews, no matter who I spoke with, no matter what motivational speech my loved ones gave me, I felt broken.
One day, I saw a groupon for a yoga class and decided to give it a go. Every day, no matter how I felt, I trekked over to The Green Yogi and pushed myself to turn inward, mindfully practice and believe in the possibilities. I grew a supportive yoga community who cheered me on before interviews and sent me “positive vibes”. I slowly found my confidence and amazed myself with how much a single breath could elevate my thoughts. Within a month, I noticed my consciousness shift at interviews and I focused my effort to manifest a job that gave me amazing opportunities.
Every year, on this day, I choose to celebrate my accomplishments by remembering that time, reminding myself to turn inward to reflect on what has happened since then. Inevitably, I am filled with gratitude for everyone, especially the badass women who took the time out to mentor me, check in and hold space. Shout out to my family, especially my brother, who relentlessly dished out pearls of wisdom to get me out of my funks. Also to Chelsea, Rame and Ashley who checked in with me daily – your support made everything seem possible. #chroniclesofaworkingwoman hasn’t been easy but it has taught me by experience what only seemed plausible in theory. Here’s to many more years of celebrating accomplishments, analyzing setbacks and creating my own narrative of success.