Following the typical path for a Gen Z/Millennial American in the 21st century, college came as an assumption. Based on my outlier-level of success fundraising in high school, it seemed obvious that my major would be marketing. I spent four years of my life putting in the countless hours necessary to achieve straight A’s and involving myself in clubs (that I wasn’t especially excited about) just to build an attractive résumé. I worked tirelessly at my tutoring business to earn money to pay for school. I DID EVERYTHING I WAS “SUPPOSED” TO DO.

Meanwhile, I felt a little tug on my heart to rekindle a hobby I’d dabbled with many years before— videomaking. So I eked out the time for a few videos and continued down the traditional path.

As my graduation neared and passed, I applied to well over 100 marketing and video production roles in NYC, the place I'd dreamt of living forever. Rejection after rejection pummelled my email inbox. As soon as it seemed like an offer was (finally) being prepared, THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC STRUCK, SERVING AS THE ULTIMATE REJECTION.

SOME SAY THAT REJECTION IS REDIRECTION. BUT AT FIRST, IT WAS NO DIRECTION AT ALL. With hiring freezes and layoffs sweeping the corporate world, I lived with my parents and continued the tutoring business that had supported me throughout high school and college, resenting the setback in establishing my independent adult life.

Although I kept myself busy, this pause between college life and (typical) adult life became a space to learn and ponder. During my soul-searching, I discovered that I wanted to be a full-time content creator, so I enrolled in courses, listened to podcasts, read (and highlighted) books, scoured articles, and watched dozens of YouTube videos to soak up all the knowledge I could about photography, photo editing, video editing, production, ideation, growth tips, Instagram best practices, YouTube success strategies... the list could go on.

Eventually, jobs began reappearing on the market, so I picked up where I'd left off in March 2020. Competition— at this point including job-seekers from multiple graduating classes and recent layoffs— was stiffer than ever, and I faced the same major problem as before— it’s hard to get hired in NYC when you’re not already there.

So… I TOOK THE BRAVEST ACTION IN MY LIFE UP TO THAT POINT— I bought a one-way ticket, packed a suitcase, and headed to New York.

I MOVED TO NEW YORK— WITHOUT A JOB, BUT WITH A PLAN. Of course, life often deviates from the plan, so six weeks of nomadic pet sitting turned into three months, and the full-time job I was supposed to secure while growing my social media presence on the side… never happened. After a lot of tears and confusion— and being offered an on-camera role at a growing company— I realized that saying yes to a company would be saying no to myself. AND WHEN THE DOTTED LINE PRESENTED ITSELF, I JUST COULDN’T SIGN IT.

Fast forward to living in my own NYC apartment (independent adult life finally in place) with clarity on my career path. As it turns out, I’m an ENTREPRENEUR! (And… surprise! I have been all along.) After 10 years, I expanded the tutoring business I started in high school into a job that could support my living expenses while I STARTED HAVA MEDIA, LLC.

MY INSPIRATION HAD RUN OUT. After two years of creating content about things to do in NYC, I was creating videos just to be consistent— not because I truly wanted to.

Meanwhile, I was devouring books related to fashion, clothing, and style, so I took a beat to delve into introspection and reflection. I realized that— as someone who has always been expressive, be it through the camera, acting, singing, or just telling my sister a story— I feel compelled to inspire other women to express themselves too.

So, MY MEDIA BUSINESS TRANSFORMED INTO A MISSION-DRIVEN BUSINESS, which is what I am proud to be building now.

After conceptualizing Becoming— a web series where I take on the challenge of 'becoming' something new based on a hobby or interest— I produced a few episodes. The pilot episode was "Becoming: A Comedian" (and yes, I eventually threw myself on stage to perform a stand-up comedy routine).

As burnout crept in, I tried to push through by running on fumes— until I had nothing left. After years of feeling like my persistent efforts and monumental investments were yielding negligible returns, I realized I couldn’t continue that way. So, I took a step back from the creative business to focus on self-care and follow my inspiration, without knowing exactly what would come next. I’m now considering a range of possible paths and keeping an open mind.

This is where I am now. Stay tuned for Chapter 6!