Holaaaa, amigas!

Bienvenidos, Bonswa, and any other language that says “hello! your corporate queen is back and v sorry for internet-ghosting for the past 3 months”

But it was all very worth it because if you’re reading this then you are looking at the new and improved Corporate Queendom. *cue the oohs and ahhs*

Ok but seriously, I’m crying tears of joy because this has been such a long project in the making. Summer has come and gone, fall is underway and we are at the beginning of holly-jolly season (because nobody ever waits for thanksgiving to be over, smh).

So much has happened in these past few months, all which I’ve tried to share as much as possible on insta. But things move fast, and among my swift weekend activities, speckled Instagram posts, and fun yet quick Instagram stories, there’s still so much to discuss. Here’s a quick recap of what my life has been like these past couple of months.

a very over-due life update:

Ok but first –

What’s the tea @ work?

In case you didn’t get the chance to catch my insta-story meltdown, I’ll sum it up for you: my boss, mentor, and pretty much favorite person in the corporate world, left my firm. And in the midst of me dealing with that work-friend heartbreak, the head of marketing (my old boss’ boss and my now new boss) exited the firm - leaving me and my coworker to handle the work of an entire marketing team.

Needless to say, it’s been a little chaotic. At work, my life looks like me running around managing projects and people’s expectations (hello, there’s only 2 of us!), responding to questions that I barely know the answer to, handling many fire drills, and making plenty of mistakes. All while continuing to do my actual job and keep my sanity.

On the bright side, this new transition has definitely opened the door for a lot of new responsibility. For example, my first work trip to DC for a conference! It was my first time being the sole representation of my firm in a very established space, and I was so happy how well it went. I even met a new friend!

Either way, I’m learning every day. And sometimes I get very overwhelmed and panicky and other times I’m super zen and like “wow, this isn’t so bad”. And at some moments it’s really fun and at other moments, it’s really not. But that’s the thing – they’re moments. You experience them, and then they go. And then at the end you sit back and look at all your moments and wish you cherished every single one of them, regardless if they were good or bad.

I’m excited on what’s to come and how this will develop in the next chapter of my life. And I’m also so dang grateful that I have such a good group of people at work I can depend on.

Other important things:

August

I officially moved out of my apartment and into the humble abode of my sister and brother-in-law. Living with my sister was actually a blast and included a lot of fun girl talks, deep convos, furniture planning, Billions marathons and late night food runs.

One downside I will note, was how far I was from my life in the city. It would take me an hour to get to work most mornings (and more than that if I left during the rush) and I swear I put a bajillion miles on my car commuting back and forth. I also began to understood the countless amount of research articles stating how people with long commutes feel significantly more depressed. Although it never got to that point, it was in some moments I honestly felt like I was more in my car then outside it.

August also head my search for my next home (!). My situation with my sis was meant to be v temporary until I found a new place, but I definitely underestimated how hard it would be to find something I actually liked in my budget (smh Houston). Honestly, I love all things homes but there were some moments of this search where I felt very defeated and discouraged. I was ready to forgo the apartment hunt all together and become a wandering nomad.

What kept my hope alive was believing in God’s promises as a provider, continually pinning all of the home inspiration (ahem – follow me on pinterest!) and healthily targetting my frustrations into a helpful blog post on finding your next apartment. Already grabbed the link for you – here you go, queen. Either way, August was fun and fast and warm, and I genuinely enjoyed it.

September

My birthday month (!) and the moment I officially turned 24. Honestly, I have a lot to say about my 20s. In some momentws, I’m like “yes!” this new age is IT. And other moments I’m like, “how how how did I this old”. So basically, I’m in a constant struggle between feeling completely capable of being an adult and also extremely unqualified. I wonder if this feeling will ever go away.

In retrospect, I actually had one of the best birthdays I’ve experienced in a long time. Early in my college career, I realized that if you don’t make a big deal out of your birthday, nobody else will (which was the result of my 20th birthday when all I got was a card slid under my door and a C- on my stats exam). Therefore, I always try to make a big deal out of my birthday because 1) it’s fun to get all silly and excited and 2) it makes people more comfortable to be excited for you (and also reminds them in case they forgot)!

That being said, this year I celebrated my “birth week” that started off as a joke but then actually turned into this real thing in which I celebrated my birthday every day of the week. Mainly, because I wanted to spend time with all of my friends and sometimes it’s stressful to get everybody to attend one birthday dinner. (Am I the only one who feels like this?)

Also going to be honest and say that celebrating a whole birth-week is definitely not for the faint-hearted. By Sunday, I was socially exhausted and couldn’t care to hear another “Happy Birthday!” from anyone. Regardless, the entire ordeal was very well worth it and I couldn’t imagine a single moment that could’ve gone better (despite my pre-birthday trip to Michigan that was suddenly cancelled… still mourning that one).

October

A lot of self-evaluation happened in October. I’m in this connect group through my church where we get together every week and go through these lessons that help us dig deep, be vulnerable, and uncover any emotional, physical, and spiritual chains that have been holding you back in your spiritual walk with God.

Honestly, I came in not really knowing what to expect (especially because I generally feel fine) yet every week I leave with a new revelation of things I’ve tucked and buried deep within myself. I think the most revealing thing about myself thus far is how much negativity and destruction I speak over myself and my situations. The Bible talks about how the tongue can either speak life or speak death, and we went through this exercise where we thought about all of the negative things others have spoken to us, we’ve spoken to others, an most importantly we’ve spoken to myself.

I don’t think I ever realize how much destruction I speak over myself and my situations… and it made me also realize that a lot of it is out of a self-defense – so I can be ready just in case anyone says it to me first. But the thing is there is so much power in the tongue, and even when you don’t speak it out loud, every time I spoke negativity over myself I was literally declaring my future. So when I said things like “nobody cares about your blog or what you have to write” I would honestly believe it and feel so disheartened and small.

We did this awesome exercise where we wrote out all of the death that has been spoke over us and rewrote on another index card with words of life. And then we burned the index cards with the negative words on it. It was honestly so freeing, and in general has really changed my perspective on myself and life.

I guess another way of saying this is that I’m finally learning how to be kind to myself. It took 24 years, and I’m finally getting there. but it’s not just rooted in self-love but the love that God has for me.

I literally started speaking in faith and I watched my situations change almost overnight. It has truly been incredible. I say all this to say, be kind to yourself – not just because it’s important to have self-love, but because you are already covered by Jesus’ words – and He says that you are loved.

November

I moved into my new apartment! This was a long time coming and I’m so happy I was able to find a place I genuinely liked at such a good rate! So crazy, because the day before I found this deal I decided to speak faith into my situation and wrote this on an index card:

You will find a beautiful and unique apartment that is affordable and God-filled and perfect for you.

And then the next day when I checked apartment prices, I noticed they dropped over $300! Definitely a God moment and it was so awesome to really be able to trust in His timing. So, if you’re in the midst of wait right now just know that God’s timing is always on time.

Honestly, it was v sad saying goodbye to free rent at my sister’s house, but it was time for me to spread my wings and soar into the adulting world again. Moving in was a process, and settling in has been a bigger one, but I’m excited for this new journey. And I really really like my new apartment! (Which btw – if you’re looking to move, here’s some good tips).

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Aaaaand, that’s pretty much all that you’ve missed in the past couple of months. Moral of the story is be kind to yourself, things will come in time, and don’t plan a birth-week unless you’re a social piranha.

Thanks for giving me a reason to keep going.

Much love,
The Corporate Queen

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