How We Got Here & Where We’re Going
First things first, I live in Jacksonville. I moved here. For work.
Now that that’s out of the way — let me explain how I got here. Basically, I came back to Florida (Miami, specifically) for the holidays, after getting laid off and landing a remote job. I had every intention of returning to NYC, until I had a long moment of reflection where I realized I could be anywhere I wanted. I took a couple of things into consideration, including but not limited to: proximity to my family/friends, cost of living, and the fact that I had to leave my dog in Miami with my mom while I was in NYC, and decided that ultimately Florida was where I wanted to plant my roots.
But…not in Miami. Because I love myself, and don’t want to live the rest of my life being honked at by angry Cubans (says the angry Cuban). Going back to Gainesville wasn’t an option — Go Gators pero I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every inch of that town. Something felt…inherently wrong about moving to Tallahassee, so that pretty much left Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tampa. I took up side projects as a marketing & media consultant, and that literally just…took off overnight. How I ended up in Jacksonville was a mix of connections, potential projects, and just straight up chance.
I get asked every five minutes where I live, but I can’t express how grateful I am to be doing this at 23. Because like…when else do you figure out what cities you like and don’t like? Where you want to be and where you don’t? The people you can call at 3 AM and the ones that are proximity friends? I’d rather do this now — figure out what I want to do, where I want to be, and who I want to be with — than wake up at 42 and realize my life is unrecognizable. I’m the girl who pretty much had shit handed to me on a silver platter during undergrad, went to grad school for the wrong career, had a quarter life crisis at 23 after a series of unfortunate events and a global pandemic, and then moved until I got it right. That’s my story. Whatever your story is, own it.
The last six months of my life have been insane: from overcrowded NYC subways to now living in one of the most spread-out cities in the country, I literally would not change it for the world. I’ve learned so much about myself — what’s important to me, what I like to do in my free time, what I want out of life, out of my friends, out of a partner — that the person I was when this all started with a job offer in New York seems like a very distant memory.
But the biggest lesson I’ve learned in the past six months is that everything in life is a culmination of taking a series of steps to get to those bigger goals. I feel the need to put this into words, because sometimes it isn’t inherently obvious: not everyone is born knowing what they want to do, what they want to be and how exactly to get there. Taking the right steps — keeping the long-term vision in mind — that’s the key. Back in 2018, Pitbull (yes, Pitbull) came to my alma mater as part of a speaker’s bureau event, and he said something that I’m borderline about to get tattooed:
Pasos cortos, vista larga.
For the Spanish-ly challenged, it loosely translates to “small steps, big vision.” You can’t afford to buy the espresso machine, so you start by buying instant coffee, until you can afford the espresso machine (or until your taste buds are fried, whichever comes first). I think this was a common theme for me in my life — not working on my patience. I wanted what I wanted, and I wanted it overnight. And for someone that dreams pretty big, I was setting myself up to inevitably fail. Wanna know a secret? I don’t want to be in Marketing for the rest of my life. I’m in the (very long and annoying) process of transitioning into another career, where I know I can help people more than writing social media posts and press releases will ever allow me to. But I’m where I want to be, and that’s better than where I was six months ago: not even knowing what I didn’t know. When it still hadn’t sunk in that the more you love yourself — the less shame you feel about your choices and your story — the less room it leaves for other people to mistreat you.
The journey hasn’t been easy, and the ground is still shaky sometimes. On multiple occasions, even in the last six months, I’ve wondered how I got here, and where I’m going (get it?). Three years ago, I was surrounded by success at home, at school, and at work. I had a solid group of friends, and knew where I was headed. I felt on top of the world. It wasn’t until recently that I realized there’s a difference between knowing what you want and simply being on autopilot, having your surroundings decide your future and slipping into things because they just feel like the natural next step. I wasn’t sorted, I didn’t know. I was on autopilot. I was comfortable.
Where we’re going? No idea. To Orlando for work next week. Home to Miami for a friend’s birthday in two weeks. Probably to Orlando again at the end of March/beginning of April for more work, if not permanently. Volunteering first in the field I want to eventually end up in. Surrounding myself with the love I spent a very long time thinking was lesser, or couldn’t make me as happy, just because it wasn’t romantic love. Probably blogging more. Taking those steps I talked about. Pasos cortos, vista larga.