The COVID-19 Pandemic
If you're reading this in the year 2021, you are well aware that during late 2019, the world on which we live underwent one of the most traumatic changes to impact us all on a global scale. A sickness started to overwhelm the entire population that caused respiratory issues and was taking the lives of many people, and very quickly.
I'd link you to an article on the New York Times, but I was never good at citing my sources.
And this isn't a story about the COVID-19 pandemic and a tale of history.
This is a story of my personal account and the impacts to my life.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my company placed me on furlough on April 2nd, 2020.
This meant I was no longer working for the company, and I was no longer getting paid by this company.
After seven years of service to my consulting firm, this news turned my whole life upside down as my livelihood had been swept up from underneath me.
Now that I wasn't "billing the client" forty hours a week, I found myself with so much extra time on my hands and I didn't know what to do with myself.
During those months while I was on furlough, I:
- visited family in Mexico due to a funeral
- wrote new music on my guitar
- started a channel on YouTube
- and did some journaling.
A LOT of journaling.
Life Changes
I ended up moving to live with my parents after two months of financial uncertainty. All of my savings would be depleted if I used it to pay rent for an indefinite amount of time.
Several weeks after moving back home, I was eventually offered a job and returned to my previous workplace, and continued my life as a corporate consultant.
During this new time, though, I also started other things.
I joined a digital community for Latinxs in Tech.
I signed up for a course called Search Inside Yourself through an organization called Alma Y Espiritu.
I started volunteering with a non-profit organization called Code Nation which teaches students in under-resourced schools the basics of software development.
Realizations
I also became present to some realizations about myself in my own life.
I realized that the lifestyle of being in front of a computer screen for 40+ hours per week wasn't for me. I get my energy by being around other people and building personal connections that way. Slack messages and WebEx meetings were draining my energy as opposed to feeding it.
I realized the corporate, political, racial, and class social systems exist, are very real, and won't change unless we actively work towards creating new pathways that previously didn't exist.
And probably the most important realization for me was that my fulfillment isn't defined by my job title or my salary.
My fulfillment is defined by the authenticity, trust, and respect that come from my personal relationships.
My fulfillment comes from my relationship to myself, my thoughts, my habits, and my body.
My fulfillment comes from my engagement with my local community.
These realizations have helped shape my focus, and really exploring what's important for me in my life.
My focus has centered around creating a lifestyle I love which deeply resonates with my truth, and not necessarily what society expects from me.
My focus has centered around leveraging technology and digital branding tools to tell compelling stories that touch, move, and inspire people into action.
My focus has centered around mindfulness, intention, and deliberate action towards sharing my truth.
What’s possible for you in your life?
Do you want to explore how to live a more fulfilling life?
When you get closer to your core and can authentically acknowledge who you are, you are able to have incredible power in designing the lifestyle you choose.
It takes commitment, time, and energy, yes; but on the other side of this, you’ll be able to see where you commit your time, energy, and be deeply satisfied with it, knowing that you're building the lifestyle you love and want to live.
Everyday we are here is a gift.
It's my mission to make sure everybody lives their life knowing that truth.