Hey you!

I’m changing lives today. Buckle up.

Hi y’all,

It is Thursday, April 17th, as I write this. Today is my partner’s birthday. Instead of clocking into work this morning, I sat down for a birthday breakfast with him and his family. For his birthday, all he wanted was to be in the woods, swim, and maybe climb. How better to spend your day than to do things that fill your cup?

One of my ultimate burnout tips is to pay attention to what “fills your cup”. This metaphor is specifically resonant to me because it doesn’t necessarily need to be “fun” or anything high energy. Some days at work, spending a couple of hours working on an Excel sheet fills my cup. The thing is that some days, that exact task drains that cup. It’s finicky. Oftentimes, being around my team will fill my cup, but sometimes it fills it less than other times.

Hi there,

A couple of weeks ago, sat down with my Therapist and declared that “I am done with nice people.” She looked at me like I was crazy. Surely that’s not what I meant.

In fact, it is what I meant.

Hi y’all,

Today is my 25th birthday. I don’t know if that feels old or young, but I do know that it feels like something work celebrating. You guys already got my gift to you — we got an awesome bonus note on Wednesday that if you haven’t caught up on yet, you really ought to (link here). Today is my gift to myself — some free range naval gazing for my birthday.

Hi guys,

I am trying something new today, and no, it’s not just being in your inbox on a Wednesday. A friend of mine was kind enough to share her thoughts on navigating the corporate world as a do-gooder. Her essay speaks to working in tech and navigating being a salesperson while having conflicting feelings about capitalism, as well as the art and humanity of connection — even in commercial spaces. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Best,

Hi friends,

I have a confession: going click-clack on my computer for however many hours a day, five days a week, feels dumb when it seems like the world is falling apart.

Does it matter? What does it mean to do something that matters? What else can I do? What should I do? Is this just a phase? But I love my job… why doesn’t it feel fulfilling right now?

Hi friends,

Here’s one thing they don’t tell you before you go into the working world: Your boss/manager/teammate/collaborator is just a human. Trust me — that was a surprise to me too. At the end of they day, they are just a person with emotions and moods and the ability to be incredibly dysregulated. It’s unavoidable, even with the best people. It will be on you to learn how to keep yourself calm in these situations. Let’s talk about it.

Hey!

I grew up on romcoms. Hell, I continue to raise myself on romcoms. The 1999 film “Runaway Bride”, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere (who is hotter than George Clooney — I said what I said), has a central trope that I return to time and again. It involves eggs.

Hi there,

Here’s a fun fact about me: I have wanted to be an entrepreneur my whole life. As a kid, I did lemonade stands and dog treat sales. I wrote novels and looked into how to find literary agents. Then middle school and puberty struck and suddenly I became self-conscious about creating.

Hey there,

I created The Femme Futures Cooperative because it is hard to navigate the corporate world, and because I know we’re stronger together. Navigating the Corporate World as a woman isn’t just about climbing the ladder—it’s about challenging the system, finding our people, and rewriting the rules in our favor.

Hi there,

On Wednesday, I took a half day and went into the woods. Thank you, 4 hours of sick time.

Hi there,

My habit since college has been to wake up and put on a news podcast. At this point, I have two Trump presidencies, one pandemic, two genocide events, and at least four election cycles firmly under my belt. Now more than ever, this practice of consistent news consumption isn’t even close to being a good idea.

Hi there,

I have wanted to write a note on self care for a long time. What better time to write on than Valentines Day?

One of my friends used to use the question “what are you doing to take care of yourself right now?” as a small talk question. Truthfully, it was always a really hard question to answer and a really vulnerable one too. It did work to get me thinking, though. Every time she asked it was a reminder that no matter what was going on in your life, it is good to make time to take care of yourself. But here’s the key question: what does that mean?

Hi there,

By the time you are reading this, I will have already made it through the work stressor of the week. That is the fun part about publishing on Friday: you can smell the weekend air on the breeze and all of the stressors from the week slide gently away.

However, as I am writing this, it is Tuesday and I am prepping to get on a flight to New York for a meeting with about 30 financial industry big wigs. My job: manage logistics for this meeting in a building that I have never entered, liaising with people that I do not know, and holding myself to a standard of excellence. Yea, I am a bit nervous. But I think that it goes beyond the practical nerves. That’s what I want to spend some time on today.

Hi y’all,

For the last couple of weeks I have buried my head in the sand in terms of all things American politics. I’d still rather not talk about it because if I think about it too long, I will spiral. However, as someone who has worked in fundraising for my entire (2.5 year) professional career, the news this week about federal grant and loan pauses struck closer to me than I’m comfortable with.

Each morning when I check the news, it feels like looking for fallen trees after a storm. Each tree that has crashed into a house or a car feel like a tragedy, but quietly, I am thankful that it is not my house or my car. For each minority status I hold, I equally hold the card that lets me dodge the worst of this xenophobia/homophobia/hate. It’s like having a carport. For that reason, I bury my head and hope that the storm passes me by.

Hi there!

I have a major case of writer’s block this week. Instead of a cohesive note for your inboxes, I am going to allow my scattered brain to scatter for your entertainment and, hopefully, for your education.

Hi friends!

A couple of months back, I opined about the beauty of glimmers. For the uninitiated, glimmers are the opposite of triggers, they are little moments in your life that bring you joy. So this week, while I wrestle with the “should”s that come with every January, I wanted to share some work-week glimmers with you.

Hello there!

The post-college life transition is freaking hard.

My college friends have a tradition of having an annual recap call. We suck at staying in touch, so once a year we get on a video call and present slideshows recapping the year, our lessons learned, milestones achieved, and our future goals. Talking to them this year reminded me that our lives have all had ups and downs. For the last couple of years, I have been so immersed in my own downs that it felt like everyone in my life was doing better than I was. This year, though, I was more aware of the glimmers of stability that each of my friends are finding, just as I am. Now, 2.5 years out of undergrad, we are finally starting to figure it out.

Happy New Year!

Actually, that is a farce. I’m not particularly happy this week. Something that I have been working hard to remember and accept is that, as tempting as it can be to say “this is going to be my year” or “this year is going to be great!”, 365 days is a lot of days to expect to be happy/proud/content/pleased. Just like any other year, this one will have ups and downs. Hopefully, you net positive, but you might not. My wish for you all is that you remember that you have the strength to persevere through the hard shit and the wholeness to celebrate the good shit.

Hello there!

This is my last post of 2024. Guess what? I am one of those people who gets super contemplative around the new year (and my birthday). For that reason, it feels valuable to me to look back at the year and consider the highs and lows. I would love to share a Highs-and-Lows Round-Up with you all today.