As promised, here is part 2 of my 5 years of experience in NYC. Because obviously splitting the story in 2 is easier than just going for a book. In part 1, I mentioned that it was after I decided to focus on my career, started practicing more gratitude, stopped being lazy, and decided to take risks, things started to happen to me. From a lazy kid who always had everything, to an adult who needed to build a career, this is how things changed for me, how I actually started in product development and built my life in NYC.
I was always a city girl and always liked to party. Obviously, NYC nightlife did not take long to find me. I was working in retail and feeling sorry for myself (but also not moving my ass to pursue anything better) when one of my friends from Brazil came to visit. She, being a ridiculously hot model who lived all over the world modeling, told me that one of her friends knew a party promoter and invited us to go out with her. I mean… that was literally stepping back into my Brazilian life. The best nightclubs with a bunch of models and celebs hanging out. Certainly felt like home! The only difference is that this time I could enjoy the parties without being the center of attention.
After that party, I end up friends with the promoter and the whole gang. I know a lot of people have objections about nightlife and I understand that partying too much (or too hard) takes the focus away from what matters, but honestly, there is a balance in everything in life. I am grateful for NYC nightlife and everything that nightclubs brought me. I met my NYC best friends there. People who had my back in countless situations are the people I met in nightclubs. I made a lot of networking connections and, most importantly, the nightlife made me feel like I was back home in Brazil. It helped me push myself to live up to the standards I used to live back home. It was thanks to nightlife and the people I met that I stopped being lazy, and started taking risks to build the career I came here for.
I feel ridiculously blessed for the people God put in my way. In 2018 one of my friends from Brazil moved to NYC. She also wanted to work in fashion and, after a couple of months living in NYC, she got a job in product development. I was taking risks to move towards my goal, but was still shy, scared, and had no confidence. That changed when she told me that her company was hiring new interns and she asked me if I was interested. I believe you can guess how things happened after that… I was hired. Fell in love with the job and the company. I proved that I would be the most valuable member of the team and will always be my best.
Hard work, patience, and discipline helped me build my way up in the company and helped me build my career. All this sounds amazing, and it is, LOL. But as an immigrant, we face challenges daily. Not just stereotyping jokes and language barriers, which I hate and constantly mention here, but in terms of documentation and paperwork, things can become very bureaucratic. I am honestly so grateful for school and for coming to the US as an international student. It opened the doors for me to get an internship, get my work authorization and be able to start my career in NYC. Every process takes time, takes a lot of effort putting documents together and revising everything (plus having your school and lawyers revising it) but it is worth it and keep your record as legal as it can be.
Taking the first step, surrounding myself with people who inspired me, and living the lifestyle I had in Brazil is what made the difference for me to change my reality, and give a big step in my career. Americans have this dictation that says “you fake it until you make it”. Let me tell you, something that I learn in NYC is that these words are 100% true! You surround yourself with people you want to be like, you go to the places you want to go when you become successful and you go touristing at the places you want to be shopping and living at. Back in Brazil, I was the one people wanted to be around, here I was the one building all of it from the ground up. I had to learn how to stop feeling sorry for myself because I was alone, and start moving my ass towards my goals.
After working hard enough you get to the point where you are not faking anymore. You are actually living in your pen house on Wall Street and sending your mother Chanel gifts - not because you wanted to, but because she decided to call you and demand a new Chanel bag and a perfume. I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree after all. But know one thing, hard work is not a synonym for success. Success comes with focus, strategy, and education. You make mistakes, you learn from your mistakes and you make smarter decisions next. If you are not doing what you love and moving towards what makes you happy, that is the first step to failure.
As immigrants, we tend to build walls to protect ourselves. We learn how to play along with stereotype jokes and the language barrier. We tend to put up with a lot of struggle and tend to settle for less because, like me, as I mentioned in part 1, we are afraid of losing our jobs… but the moment we decide to stand up for ourselves, stay focused on our path and stop going along with stereotype jokes, things will change. I do regret the time I wasted in bed crying because I had no friends in the US, and all the time I wasted on jobs I knew were not worth it.
Putting all that effort into jobs I hated was exactly the path of failure. If I have been more focused and taken the first step after 6 months living in NYC, I would be in a much better position now.
I always knew that once I found my path I would be the best no matter what. But one of the things which held me back was why I was going to be the best. Everything came clear once I figured out my career in the fashion business and wanted to use the tools given to me to inspire people.
After 5 years! I look back and I have so many emotions inside me. Gratitude is the first one I can feel. Yes, I regret things I did and guys I dated, yes I would be in a much better position now if I was not lazy, but honestly if I have not gone through all NYC stages, I would not have grown so much and would still be the spoiled kid who never worried about career. As an immigrant, we put up with a lot of shit, but something you need to remember is to know your value. Know where you come from, how hard you worked to build your career. Do not take less and, most of it, know how to take advantage of any opportunity.
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