The New New

Is anyone still reading? Yeah, I know. I went MIA but you know, pandemic and all. Speaking of, a lot, and I mean a lot has changed since then. Let’s discuss.

So back in March of 2020, I was getting ready for one of our biggest events of the year when I turn to my fellow artists and ask how are we going to do this? You see, we had already received word that we couldn’t touch clients. And an hour later, we were all sent home for “two weeks”. I haven’t seen my old co-workers nor have many of us been sent back since. Life for me was about to change completely once again. But let’s rewind to about a decade prior.

I’m sitting in my brother’s living room. At this point in my career, I had on-air appearances on the local stations, NYC and Miami, brand partnerships with Target, Verizon, I was fully booked for NYFW and a byline for Latina Magazine. My brother turns to me as says “you’d be great at Real Estate. You should get your license.”

I laughed.

After years of busting my butt in the trenches, I finally was reaping the rewards in my field. Or so I thought. As the years carried on, I became more obsessed with wall paint than lipstick, window treatments over stilettos, and browsing my dream home on realtor apps and Pinterest was becoming my hobby almost obsessively. And with motherhood and the workload, burnout was inevitable. Now, back to 12 months ago.

I was looking for a career change and toying with the idea of finally taking my brother’s advice and getting my license. But I was comfortable where I was, I knew what I was doing, I was good, I was established and most importantly, I had 18 years of experience that made me an expert. And change, as a single mom with three kids is more than just scary…it was terrifying.

Then the pandemic hit.

We didn’t know when we would go back to work, I was denied unemployment and like many of us, I had a feeling it was going to be way more than two weeks. It was now or never. While my kids did their school work on the kitchen table, I took my own online courses. It was rough doing remote learning for two kids, a four-year-old who sat on my lap throughout my courses, and learning the ins and out of an entirely new field all while trying not to go stir crazy.

I went full-blown mad actually…and got my broker’s license. The silence on this blog was needed. I went from an expert in my field to back to the start and that doesn’t sit well with me. I like being the expert, I like having the answers so I did what I needed to do. I joined an amazing mentorship program, studied more than just Real Estate laws and practices, learned more about finance, I became obsessed with numbers. I shocked myself as I’ve always been the creative, I hated the idea of office life and avoided it like the plague but here I am. Here I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner, sure I have an amazing resume and great stories to tell about my past but I have a new obsession and it goes beyond realtor apps and Pinterest boards. And it just so happens to be in an office. Who would have thunk it?

Stick around, all four of you because I am sure that is all that is left, as this blog slowly makes its way to a more semi-personal lifestyle blog, focusing on finance, career, and homes…lots and lots of awesome homes.