Growing up in Manhattan, I have always been mesmerized by the beauty and allure of New York City. From as early as I can remember my mom had me in museums, art galleries, at the opera, the ballet, seeing a Broadway show, playing in Central Park, which was basically my backyard. I distinctly remember walking around my neighborhood one day and looking up, realizing for the first time how beautiful the buildings were, and just how lucky I was to live here. This admiration for pre-war architecture has never left me, and is probably the reason I’m here today.
In 2018, I was lucky enough to take over the lease to my family’s beautiful prewar apartment on the Upper West Side when my parents retired and moved out of the city. It was through making my own home that I discovered my passion for interior design and DIY. In early 2020, I started my Instagram account as a way to share the DIY projects I was working on and also seek inspiration from others. When the pandemic hit in March, I found myself living on unemployment checks due to losing the majority of my work as a special education teacher. In the midst situation that at first seemed daunting and detrimental, I began to see a glimmer of hope as now, having all this time, I was able to focus on my apartment projects and create quality content for Instagram. By the end of 2020, I reached 10k followers, (the goal I had set for myself) and was beginning to receive offers for paid partnerships here and there. I knew then that if I kept pushing, social media could one day turn into a full-time job for me.
As life slowly shifted back to normal in the following year, I begrudgingly returned to teaching in September but was making enough income though paid partnerships that was able to cut back on my hours by 50% and in June of 2022 I officially went full time as a content creator. As someone who never knew what they “wanted to be” when they grew up, who was practically forced to choose a major in college, who began teaching just because it was related to her major, then put herself through four years of grad school to get three masters degrees, none of which she really wanted, just so she could barely make ends meet, to be doing what I do now feels surreal. I truly never thought I’d find a job I love this much, something I’d be doing even if I wasn’t making a penny. I think I’ll always be amazed by how my love and appreciation for my childhood home and upbringing allowed me to create an entire career for myself. I have so much to be grateful for.
I seek to inspire others in some way every day, whether it be seeing NYC through my eyes, creating beauty within your home, challenging yourself to try something new or even finding a new career path. I am ever endowed to your support. Thank you for being here with me!