When I was about 14-years old, I thought my future was doomed after I was caught with a copy of a key to my elementary school’s basketball court. I was a little hooper with WNBA hoopin’ dreams.
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My blog has been quiet for a while now. I’m not one for excuses, though I hope you’ll spare me some slack this time around; we were in the heat of Pride season after all. The last few months was time for me to appreciate, to reflect, to celebrate, and to love to the best of my ability.
It’s comical how people so easily assume that an Ivy League education is supposed to automatically translate into hefty paychecks. And sure, for many, it could, it does, or it probably will at some point.
I took an interesting leap of faith recently by leaving the financial advising industry my last blog post referenced. I’m still unsure whether I’ll ever come to regret foregoing the staggering income potential those (mostly cis straight white men) advisors earn in that office. However, I decided to reprioritize the things I value most in a career, and in the end, I realized it wasn’t the paychecks.
I left a job that expected me to qualify people by their monetary worth. While it works for some people, I couldn’t shake the ongoing discomfort; I value my teacher friends just as much as my Harvard Med School friends. I sat each day on my laptop, glued to my LinkedIn. I created custom filters in order to generate a list of connections that had the most profitable assets. I obsessively filtered, and filtered some more, until eventually I realized that I was simultaneously ignoring my greatest asset.
I’m really far from perfect, but I only ever mean well. I’ll do what it takes to give the people in my life I love the world, and I’ll seek out ways to leave an impact in my community. I never admitted to being a FirstGen student at Yale, though I never really felt the need to; the community surrounding me was exceptionally inclusive. Eternally grateful and undeniably dependent on the generous financial aid, I did okay in the classrooms, but I thrived when it came to finding ways to bring people together. That campus felt like a playground, and I couldn’t have asked for a better or more stimulating 4(.5) years. Attending the Inaugural FirstGen Conference at Yale this past April played a huge factor in helping me reprioritize what I value most, and hence, in making the decision to leave my last job.
I think back to me as the 14-year old kid on the basketball court quite often. I never had ill- intentions by making a copy of the gym key. I wasn’t hosting parties or doing any drugs there; I was literally taking 500+ shots on the regular, shagging after my own rebounds, and hoping someone in the big leagues would notice me one day.
Evidently, my hoop dreams didn’t take me too far, but I’d say I’ve come a pretty long way since then. I took this cringe-worthy risk of quitting full-time job security to work (technically part-time) with KIND. Naturally, the work doesn’t feel like work, and it brings great joy and sense of reward into my life. I’m challenged to be creative, to spread kindness, to encourage good health, and to advocate for more love in our city. I know the position won’t fly long term, but at least for now, I’m flying on cloud nine until further notice.
Yes, my 401K looks just as depressing as it did a year ago (the former financial advisor in me would be so ashamed). Nevertheless, I have this stupid dorky smile permanently glued to my face lately, and with it, I feel worth a billion bucks.
So I don’t usually do this, but I want to end by presenting you with a little challenge: do something that takes you out of your comfort zone. Enroll in that class you’ve always been intimidated by, apply for that job that seems far-fetched, ask that person out you think is out of your league. Take a leap that scares you; find a new happiness.
My greatest asset, by the way: my heart. 💙
Hawaiian Princess Pieces 