Being Let Go

I was fired from my first full-time job.

The agency lost a million dollar client and...a week before Christmas...let the entire content team go.

"Being let go" has an interesting sting & ring to it.

Letting go, in itself, can be such a positive thing. Letting go of things that aren't working like a toxic relationship, self-sabotaging patterns, stress & anxiety, etc.

After the initial shock wore off, it was time to "let go" of whether it was right or wrong and trust that it had happened, so it must be what was meant to be.

When I face big life changes, I tend to go even bigger. Moved to India after my first heartbreak, moved across the country and back multiple times, etc.

In this moment of perceived 'loss', I took my frequent flier miles and posted up in a tiny closet (formerly the maid's quarters) a block from Ipanema beach in Rio de Janiero.

One afternoon, I was perusing LinkedIn from my windowless box and saw a job posting that seemed too good to be true...

"Seeking local reporter who is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish for Rio 2016."

It was like my entire life had been leading up to that moment. When I was 10, I decided that my dream was to both be a journalist and to be a swimmer at the Olympics.

At 5'2", the Olympics dream soon fell away and I went all in on New York City, which resulted in making a tangible impact on the NYPD through my social justice reporting.

Though I had completely forgotten about my Olympics dream, the magical fabric of life had not. And because I was living in Rio at that exact moment, I indeed was that local trifecta.

I got the job. Court-side Beach Volleyball Reporter.

Together with my videographer and assistant, I told the story of the venue, of the athletes through personal profiles, of the culture of 'foot' volleyball, and more—to a tv audience of 256 countries and over a billion viewers.

It was the best gig of my life. All because I had been fired.

Moral of the story: It's never a straight line. Life, careers, relationships. Trust trust trust. It's all working exactly as it should.