Who Am I?

I’m 25. Single. Female. American.

I was raised in Southern California with an incredible set of parents, with two brothers and a sister. The joke is I was raised as a single child since I am much younger than my siblings and I have an extremely close bond with both of my parents. With that came being an aunt at 13, now I have 4 nieces and 4 nephews all that I love dearly but don’t see as often as I would hope.

When I was 7 we started attending the Christian church, something most of my family has adopted since then. We kept our Jewish heritage close to us, remembering important events and dates. Ultimately choosing the Jewish faith for myself as an adult . My mother’s side are Yugoslavian Jews (nowadays Croatian/Slovenian) my father is Hungarian (maybe German) it got iffy there during the war, our last name changed and stories got mixed or maybe hidden with the fear of being deported back to Europe. Regardless I value families struggles and heritage.

I studied at Portland State University, graduating with my Bachelors of Science degree in Political Science, Criminology, and Social Science. I have always had a passion for Fashion my entire life. In high school I even designed and sold clothing I made, even ended up in the hands of Kylie Jenner and the LA Fashion Magazine. However, I felt that idea of continuing with this path was risky and offered no security. I opted for a career in policing, I worked for the department for two years as a domestic violence advocate, realized this is not for me, I will support it but I can no longer dedicate my life to this career.

During this time, my ex-boyfriend and I decided to go our separate ways (that is a nice way of saying what the truth really was). I was left with a shattered heart. When you feel like you have lost it all that is when you can only gain and you make large life decisions. I decided to quite my job, try my hand in fashion and move to New York City. I did not have much of a savings, I went with very little and had hopes I would make it rather quickly, it was a gamble I was ready to take. I knew I could always go back home to California. I’m not someone to acknowledge failure, just an opportunity that did not fully come to plan. I had enough to survive for about one month and that was barely. I applied for thousands of jobs. Some liked me but ghosted me (classic) and others I was just another girl trying to make it with zero fashion buying experience. I eventually found a position a week before I got my flight to NY, it was a simple sales position at Rebecca Taylor. I knew my monthly income wouldn’t even pay my rent in the city (at the time the east village). On my flight to New York I decided to apply for one last position, for giggles. When I arrived that afternoon they called, I went in for the interview, left, got called back to meet with the CEO, then was offered the position that day. As we all know if you get offered a position the day you interviewed, never a good sign, but ultimately the salary was double and it didn’t matter to me. I was in NYC for 24 hours and my dreams were partly coming true.

My experience in NYC was pure magic and happiness. It was like living in a movie, I met incredible people that will be lifelong friends. One day I felt like I was playing the part of Adam Sandler in uncut gems and other days I felt like I was Serena Van der Woodson. The saying is true you can be anything you want to be in the city.

Covid hit-we all know what life was like in NY then, at this time I had just started my new position at Justin Alexander; a bridal gown company. I worked remote until August then I was officially laid-off. I thought I was blessed to make it that far, little did I know covid would still be happening. The day I got laid-off was the day I applied for Amazon. I knew I would be having to apply for thousands of positions again as I had done before. It is cut-throat especially during covid in NYC (fall 2020). I decided I wanted to take a break for a couple of months, by this point I had plenty of savings to last me well into Spring 2021 so I was in no real rush to jump on any random job. Well anyways that didn’t happen the very next day; about 30 hours into my unemployment and I get a call from Amazon wanting to set me up with an interview. I was shocked, but excited. After countless interviews and tests and weeks of going back and fourth I was hired. I did take a month off before my start date I enjoyed the warmth of Miami.

Since then I went to Seattle for an extended period of time; realized no I do not want to be here longer than I promised I would give it. Once I felt like I had enough I went to Europe for six months to work remotely. Now I am back in NYC full-time and it feels so good to be “home”.

My life I’m living is the ultimate joy, there is nothing I can complain about, and even when I do I remind myself this is everything I had ever wished for.