A senior-level colleague from a different department at work asked me this when we were collaborating on a project that's outside the scope of my regular job. I answered honestly that the work I do is not something I'm passionate about and I've done it out of necessity/because I lacked other opportunities, and that I would prefer to do something that's more intellectually stimulating and impactful.
Since that time he's been guiding me into opportunities to grow and develop lots of new skills and advocating for me along the way and it's been really nice! One of the best things to happen to me this year and it was really nice to have someone pick up on that and ask me.
Dec 11, 2024
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i helped a very sweet elderly man at work one day. he told me this was the key to his happiness and i think about it often. he asked me if i liked my job and we had a long conversation about how he decided to stop being an investment broker and settle down with his girlfriend at the time (now wife lol) and support her business. it was so interesting listening to him talk about falling out of love with his job and falling in love with life. he just quit and never really looked back because despite his former job being a cash cow it wasn't where he wanted to be and he wasn't doing what he wanted to do. gotta follow those instincts sometimes ig
Feb 5, 2025
Been doing a bunch of these as part of my career rebrand (Sandy 2.0) and it’s been really fun! I get to chat with people who have jobs I’m curious about, learn about their paths, how they spend their time, and what challenges they face. Truly wish I’d done this before committing to working in the arts for fourteen years—ya live, ya learn.
Hoping one of these connections might lead to another, but for now, it’s been fun to ride the curiosity wave and activate my listening muscles. 10/10 would recommend.
On the flip, if anyone is curious about working in the arts / museums / curating, I’d be happy to share what I know! Comment or DM me, I’d love to pay it forward.
Mar 24, 2025
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Was your major something you knew you wanted to do since you were a child?
i would say it’s adjacent. looking back on it now my first want was to be an astronaut. so where i am as a software engineer, where my work can potentially help the astronauts in space seems fair. fun fact my brother who is also in the same field worked on chips used in the recent Hubbard satellite.
If not, how did your interests change and how did you settle on one?
while my first career plan was being an astronaut, the one that stuck the most for me was to be in the art field in some way. i wanted to be a graphic designer for the longest time. but i ended up doing computer science in college because i was scared to be a starving artist living in gloomy nyc (not all of it is gloomy but when i toured schools it felt like all the kids needed to be doped up or drinking copious amounts of coffee to get by). i thought with this i could still be creative in some way, or get enough money and time to be creative outside of work.
Did job outlook sway or decide for you in any way? Did you change majors because of it?
when i went to school my career was still in steady motion. i never switched majors for something else.
Do you regret changing or NOT changing majors?
i don’t regret it. i feel with my choice i am able to live the life i am now; where i work to live and not live to work. i am able to balance my work for the 8 hours i am obliged to and fool off the rest of the time. that’s something i realized how much i truly valued creative time or rest.
How did you balance your passions vs. projected job security?
currently, i am in an okay spot with job security. the job market for tech people is not the best, but it’s also not the worst. i think my company also wants me to have that good work life balance because 1) it saves them money not to have to give overtime and 2) you‘ll get burned out if you don’t.
Do you currently have a job inside/outside your field of study?
currently my job is inside my field. i feel like it would be very unwise to move into a career outside of it with my degree 😂
Mar 9, 2025
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“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.”
— Anaïs Nin
This is uncharacteristically raw and personal, even for me, and pretty heavy! I know many of you have seen me posting through it and I feel safe to talk about it openly now that I’ve safely landed at the start of my new life. It’s honestly even a little bit embarrassing but I think it’s important to share.
I’ve never publicly mentioned it on here, but I have a husband; as of Friday, we’d have been together for 11 years, and we’ve been married for 3 years as of 2/22. I realize now that I wanted to explore what I looked like outside of my relationship with him because I had lost that. This is why PI.FYI has been so meaningful to me as a space to express myself and connect with people—to rediscover my voice.
I had been living a lie this entire time, to others but worst of all to myself. He’s been verbally and emotionally abusive, physically but without touching me, to the point that every day I spent with him I was in danger. I’ve been shrinking myself and walking on eggshells to avoid making him insecure and provoking his casual put-downs and fits of rage, while hanging on for dear life to the threads of good I could see.
I’ve wanted so badly to leave, more than anything, but I felt like there was no way out and that this was just something I would need to endure indefinitely—but someone who is so very dear to me helped me see that I have wings to fly, not by acting as my savior but by reminding me of my own power. The emotional safety they built and the gentle care they showed me made me feel like I could open up to them. With their encouragement I was brave enough to tell the truth to my friends, my family, my boss, and they have received me with warm, loving and open arms and rallied to support and protect me. The financial and logistical aspects were the most intimidating to me and it’s going to be tough for a while but I’m going to be better than okay!
Now I’m opening up to you. This isn’t the only abuse I’ve suffered in my life, and my old therapist told me she believed it was my mission to share my strength and light with others to inspire them and show them that change is possible.
I hope that by sharing this, I can reach even just one person who is going through something similar and show that they are not alone, and they are not weak. People with certain backgrounds may be more vulnerable to abuse, but it can happen to anyone. It thrives in darkness, shame, and isolation—and breaking that silence is the first step toward freedom.
Leaving is the scariest thing I have ever done but I have so many angels around me, and I am endlessly grateful. Thank you for being here with me 💌
Mar 16, 2025
My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebody—be it a relative or one of my best friends—was to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too 💌
Feb 23, 2025
Schedule sent my resignation email for the morning, effective immediately ✅💅
Feb 27, 2025