Welcome to My Twitter Page
Just kidding. But also not really. I promise that you can expect more of this nonsense as you work with me.
The thing is, I do not believe that things need to be as complicated and serious as we sometimes make them. At least, that is my goal. But before I get into my pitch, let’s go back so we can understand how we have found ourselves here. On my Twitter page.
Growing up, I was an artist, even if it was only in my own mind. I’m talking drawing, painting, charcoal, paper mache, I did it all and loved it. Then came writing and music. I always had this creative animal that was trying to escape from the confines of my being. The days finally came for me to decide what I wanted to do with my life, and by ‘decide what I want to do with my life’ I mean college. I had this grand idea that I would move away from home, live in some crappy apartment in Philadelphia, and continue my artistic pursuits while learning about Basquiate, light versus dark, and technical precision.
Yeah, my mom said no to that plan. Something I am immensely thankful for now as an adult, but at the time, my world was shattered, I was young and reactionary, so I did the next best thing. I completed a tattoo apprenticeship. Take that mom! This was my big break! I was going to be the next Kat Von D, after all!
Turns out I was no Kat Von D, and the long days of working full time while doing the apprenticeship at night certainly helped remove the glimmer in my eyes. I wasn’t being paid during that time, and the tips that people would leave me were laughable. My time wasn’t appreciated, and neither was I. It wasn’t all bad, but there was a lot of it. That being said, I learned quite a bit and most importantly, I had my first “adult life” epiphany.
Sometimes, your dreams can become nightmares
Moving on from that hot mess, I made my way North and arrived in Massachusettes. It was an absolute nightmare at first. All of the trees freaked me out. The fact that you need to drive 45 minutes to get literally anywhere was completely ridiculous. And yes, the accents are real. Anyway, I held a number of inconsequential jobs while going to school for accounting. And then it happened. I got my first big girl job at a bank! First as a teller, but then I did a little switcharoo and found myself in the accounting department. Boy, I was on cloud nine! I had fancy heels, made sure my hair was pin straight daily, and sat in my cubicle with a smile. Young, ambitious, and ready to make a change!
But there isn’t much that you can change about accounting. It just kind of is what it is. Within a couple of years I was burnt out, overlooked for another promotion, had taken a break from school, and I spent a lot of time in my head drumming up my next plan. Que “adult life” epiphany number 2.
I need to have room to be creative
to feel the gratification in my work
Here is where things get interesting.
I applied to work as an Office Manager for a start up health insurance company that was co owned by two guys from Utah. Let’s just say, that those two, along with a few other key people, are why I do what I do now. To highlight that fact, they were guests at my wedding. Yes, my bosses from almost a decade ago were guests at my wedding.
They pushed me. And they did that by giving me the space to be creative. They would tell me what they needed, and I would make it. I made several logos, spreadsheets, and reports (half of which they never even asked for but I was in MAKE mode so they just got it). They pushed me to travel, to communicate better, interact with all levels of management, and key detail here, they taught me about having an entrepreneurial mindset.
