Here I was: I'd landed a role with Cartier, my dream client from when I was a fashion student but within a matter of months I began to really struggle with an internal dilemma…
I was finally working with the epitome of luxury within the fashion industry but I felt unhappy.
I noticed that it started with feelings of anxiety, which I initially chocked up to wanting to excel at my job but then came extremely painful headaches and feelings of dread first thing in the morning. Logging on when working remotely started to feel like a real challenge. How was it that I had my dream client but was feeling like this? Mentally I didn’t want to except that my heart was pulling me in another direction.
Essentially, my role as a strategist was to create strategies to convince consumers why they needed this $11,000 bracelet. Don’t get me wrong, Cartier is an absolutely stunning brand but I started to feel like the work I was doing was incredibly trivial in the grand scheme of things. I tried to suppress the feelings of unfulfillment. How could I be unfulfilled in this role? The Cartier team was so incredibly lovely. I was being championed from Talent Acquisition to teams across the agency. I thought, this internal dilemma I’m experiencing will pass. Right?
Wrong. Well, not entirely. At least not until I made a change. It was post-COVID, Spring 2022, and I’d come to the realization that I have a hyperawareness of both local and global issues. I just didn’t realize until then how much my regard for society and international affairs would change the trajectory of my life. Not only had I just seen the way the pandemic wreaked havoc on NYC and the rest of the globe, I was deeply moved by the wave of social advocacy that swept the nation (and the world for that matter) after the murder of George Floyd.
Could it be that I needed to get what I thought I wanted most — to reach the epitome of fashion — to realize there was an even greater calling on my life?
Purpose became heavy on my mind. The revelation was that, my purpose was to serve others, to help communities.
After having conversations with my team, I made the difficult decision to resign from my role. My professional pivot was marked by going back to school to pursue a second bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a minor in Anthropology, and concentration in culture and communication. I was also accepted into the Honors Program for Legal Studies. I very much went into my second bachelor’s program with legal pursuits. But, if you’d asked me at that time, I would’ve told you I wanted to specialize in International Law as an attorney, advocating for women and children in conflict regions. And while I still see that as an area of great importance, I credit a four classes in particular I took in this program for making it abundantly clear to me that Health Law is the area I want to practice. Those classes were: The Archaeology of Race and Slavery: Critical Race Theory, Environmental Justice, Race and Racism, and Senior Seminar: Decolonizing Medicine.
It’s been over 3 years since my professional pivot and I’m preparing to start grad school this fall. I will be pursuing a Masters in Public Health, ahead of my J.D.
I love that nothing I’ve done professionally is in vain. As one of my mentors expressed to me, “Nothing you’ve done is wasted. All the work you’ve done thus far is a stepping stone to where you’re going next in your career.”
I am precisely where I’m meant to be and I’m so thankful.