Saying Thanks
This was an unplanned blog but a necessary one. I dyed my hair again. For reference, I dyed it partially blue in March and partially pink this weekend.
That might seem like a strange start to a blog about gratitude. But stick with me. I have always been fairly liberal with my hair. I think I was 8 the first time it was blue. From chopping it all off to bangs to bleaching it and dying it and everything in between, it’s been a way I’ve liked to express myself. But prior to this, I haven’t done anything remotely interesting with it since my sophomore year of college. Why is that? Well regardless of how I personally feel about hair, I had an acute understanding that the rest of the world wasn’t necessarily with me. Going into my junior year of college I had to start thinking more seriously about what my professional life was going to look like. And I knew that the world did not feel nearly as liberal about hair as I did. I dyed it brown (it was half blonde at the time), grew it out. And looked relatively normal for the next several years. You can say what you want about dress codes, standards, and professionalism. That’s a debate for a different time. What I’ll tell you is, I wasn’t being myself.
Fast forward to this year. The past couple of years have been some of the roughest of my life mentally and on my self-esteem. Even prior to COVID I was in a job and a city I didn’t particularly like, had just gotten out of a really serious relationship, and overall felt pretty lost. Not only did I not feel like ‘myself’, but I also wasn’t sure who that really was. Still can’t say I’ve answered that, by the way. But I do think I’m getting there. I’m at a job I love, I’m in a community that supports and encourages me, I have the best friends in the world, and I live with a nice lady who has never let me down (sup Shanny, I know you’re reading this because you’d never miss a blog). So how do I react to that? Dying my hair. It may not be the most conventional response but I’m in a place in my life where I feel like I can honor what I want for my life. And I have you to thank for it. To all the people who have gotten me here:
Tessellation
I’ve written two paragraphs and this blog already makes me want to cry. Hold it together, Autumn. I work at the best place in the world [for me and where I’m at in my life right now]. I have nothing but glowing things to say about it. I genuinely admire, appreciate, and adore all of my coworkers. Not only are they some of the funniest people I know, but they’re also some of the smartest, most generous, and hardest working. And this extends to the leadership, who truly cares about their employees and are humble and bold enough to try new things as we grow. I’m grateful for the work that I’m doing and getting to spend almost 100% of my working time in Tableau, a platform that has given me so much. And I’m on a good project right now too. It has its challenges like any other but the client couldn’t be easier to work with.
Thank you to the company that allows me to live my dream, the leadership that prioritizes employee well-being, and the coworkers that make me want to be and do better every day.
The DataFam
If you haven’t seen the tweet above, go to it and then come back.
Did you read it?
Can you BELIEVE IT? It’s just a thread of people hyping each other up and thanking each other. This community isn’t without its competitive side like any other but it’s filled to the BRIM with people who care about and uplift each other. From the beginning, I’ve been met with nothing but encouragement and I hope I’m doing a decent job of returning the favor. I cannot thank enough all the people I’ve been so fortunate to get to know through this space who have taught me so much about good data viz and good people. I want to give a special shoutout to Michelle Frayman, Sarah Bartlett, Zach Bowders, Eric Balash, Kevin Flerlage, Lindsay Betzendahl, Dzifa Amexo, Emily DePadua, Priyanka Dobhal, Soha Elgany, Adam Mico, Zainab Ayodimeji, and CJ Mayes for being such lights in my experience here.
Thank you to the community that inspires me and accepts and has made me feel welcome every single day.
My Friends
My friends and I have been through IT this past year. Most of whom I have not seen in a very long time but you wouldn’t know it. A lot of us have been unemployed and isolated and IRRITABLE. This would have been an easy time to lose connection with a lot of them but if anything our relationships are only stronger from everything we’ve been through during this time. From FaceTiming for hours to hear me cry about being single to looking at every single viz I’ve posted, I could not ask for better people to have on speed dial.
Thank you to the friends that are on the other end of the phone whether we’re grieving or celebrating.
Shanny
The GOAT. Y’all knew this was coming right? I’ll be singing this tune my whole life. There is not a person on this planet who is funnier, more generous, or more supportive than this lady. I wish I could fill this blog with a thousand stories of just how wonderful she is but even that wouldn’t be enough. So just know that I wouldn’t be where I was without her. Obviously, physically. But I wouldn’t feel as whole of a person as I do right now sitting here writing this blog if I didn’t have her UNCONDITIONAL love.
Thank you to the woman who brought me into this world and has loved me every second since.
And thanks to you. Reading this blog. Whoever you are. I know you probably fit into one of the categories above but just special thanks again for your time and your eyes and your thoughts. If you have made it to this part, go thank someone in your life for being there in a way that helps you be the best you you can imagine.
Wishing you all the happiness. Until next time xx
