Allow Me To (Re)introduce Myself

Welcome to My Island (aka my blog)

However you made it here, I'm glad we found each other. If you're one of my friends who actually clicked the link I sent you after talking about doing this for literally years, thank you and I love you forever. 🫶🏼

This blog starts, as most things do in 2026, with a layoff.

I lost my job in Big Tech last year, and - to be completely honest - I was relieved. Don't get me wrong, I miss that big paycheck bad. Like, BAD, bad. Have I mentioned how bad I miss that paycheck? But I honestly don't miss anything else. I've been lucky enough to be able to take some time off to recover and rediscover who I am and what I want. I'm nowhere near figuring it all out, but I'm on my way. And this space marks a new beginning where I can I fully reintroduce myself as someone who's done performing for others.

Okay, so, who am I?

Well, that's a real existential question to ask me, but I'll try and start simple. I'm a biracial Black woman from Queens, New York. I was raised by a single mother after my father was deported when I was eight. Mom didn't have much money while taking care of me and my three siblings, but as New Yorkers, we were always rich in experiences. I just love being outside in my city: concerts, Broadway shows, endless food options, sporting events - the list goes on and on. I'm so proud to be from here and it's hard to get me to shut up about that. 😅

Still, growing up poor really shapes you in ways that are sometimes hard to admit. It directly influenced the professional path I took in life: I wanted more than anything to find a job that could help me and my family financially, and then some. So when I landed a role at my dream tech company with six figures in the offer letter, I thought I had finally made it, for good. Six years later, it had burned me out in every way.

I showed up in earnest to try and do good work. I tried following all the arbitrary rules of Corporate America. I tried to fit in their box, play their game. And it completely broke me. So here I am, starting over, in the hopes that this second part of my life will be way more authentic than the first.

Okay, so why are we here?

Another existential question, damn! I'll keep it simple here too. I have two goals: to write about my experiences and what I've learned, and to find a community where we can remind each other that there's nothing "wrong" with us when we don't fit in a predefined box. There's everything wrong with the box itself.

I plan to write about a little bit of everything: work, tech, politics, pop culture, random thoughts I've got on my mind. More than anything, though, this will be a blog about unlearning. Unlearning all the lies we've been fed about how we're supposed to think, feel, work, and live. I want to create a space for people to see themselves, trust their gut, and look back at all the bull we've endured personally and professionally and say "nah, I'm good." Because we know we can do better.

We don't have to live like this. Let's talk about why we do.

Okay, let's go!

If you've made it this far, I take it you might want to stay for the ride - or you just love reading things you hate, I don't know your life. But if it's the former, click here to sign up for updates on new posts and things I start cooking up in the future.

Can't wait to get started. I'm so glad you're here.

- Jess

P.S. If you couldn't tell already, I speak Millennial. Elder Millennial, to be exact. So there will be GIFs. Lots of GIFs. And some lol's. Maybe even capitalized. With emojis. It's my blog. I'll do what I want. 😎