Who is she?
Like many Substack newbies, I am trying to learn to write and be authentic without fear or roadblocks. So in lieu of a formal introduction, I’ll share and explain the elements in my life’s vision board.
1. Local Government
First and foremost, I am a local government stan. I was pursuing an accounting degree in college when I turned on Parks and Recreation for the first time. I binge watched it in the span of about a week, heard the term “city manager” for the first time, and found out it was something accountants could do. A few semesters later, I got an “A” in governmental accounting, worked as a staff accountant at a non-profit, then next thing I knew I was enrolling in a city management focused MPA program near my hometown. Thanks Ben Wyatt!
Local government is my job, watching city council and reading about govtech and innovation are my hobbies, and the future of professional management is the muse of my philosophical ponderings. I always say I’m insufferably nerdy about it, but I actually think it is a really positive quality of mine to be passionate about something. You can view my professional writings on my LinkedIn, which is linked in my profile, but readers, let’s agree to keep my personal writings a secret from my professional network, at least until I find a groove. No one can know if I flop and give up here.
2. Space Exploration
I’ve always been a sci-fi girlie. From watching Star Wars with my grandpa as a kid to almost exclusively playing space exploration video games in my mid-20s, exploring space in an epic and powerful manner is one of my greatest fantasies. Unlike other sci-fi girlies, though, this fascination infiltrates my personal and professional life in unexpected ways.
I am highly motivated by my delusional expectation that I will go to space. For example, some people go to the gym to “get healthy” or “lose weight,” but I’m different. I’m in the gym five days a week because I need to be in good enough shape to go to space. Practicing fighting, combat, and stealth will help me stay safe from the aliens as we accidentally colonize their planets. Studying peace, philosophy, and mediation will help usher in an era of diplomatic relations with the intergalactic natives. Learning to love weights is important if I am going to maintain my muscle mass as I traverse the stars with my crew. Oh yeah, I’m in charge of the mission too.
My future exploratory adventure also informs some of my day-to-day actions beyond my physical pursuits. It is likely that my diplomatic space career will be sponsored by some sort of government entity. Maybe I’ll be defending Earth from evil invaders, or I could be settling planets on behalf of my country, or perhaps I’ll manage a space settlement similar to the capacity of a city manager. Regardless of what happens, I must maintain my status as an impressive, upstanding citizen to be considered for these posts. Because of that, I am committed to the straight and narrow lifestyle until I get the call.
3. The Bachelor
Oh boy, The Bachelor. This section is actually going to go two different directions. In a literal sense, I would be great on the hit reality dating show The Bachelor. But on a deeper level, my greatest wish for myself is to experience love.
If I was on The Bachelor, I don’t think I’d make it very far. Let’s face it, I don’t have the look, I would drink way too much, and my vibe is frankly off-putting to people who are normal. BUT, I love to think about the possibility of it all the time. I wonder how I would be portrayed and how some of my quirks would be perceived by the masses. I’m obsessed with being the first contestant to go a whole season without wearing dresses and only rocking some Hillary Clinton-esque lady suit swag. Would my face become a meme? Would I lose my government job prospects forever? Would it work, would I find love? There’s no use speculating because I have better things to do, but also…I have nothing to lose by daydreaming.
On my deeper level, I am a serial romantic. I had some relationships when I was too young and stupid to know how to act while in a relationship, but now that I’m older and smarter I can’t find anyone who is worth my time. I try so hard, often times finding myself in situations with insane people from dating apps doing things no regular person would ever do, but all that ever got me was a long-term situationship who dumped me to play more Fortnite. Embarrassing. But after the breakup I made it back out in the local dating scene in about two weeks. I’m sure there’s someone for me out there…somewhere.
4. My Vision Board
These are all pretty random pillars of a person, but picture this:
The year is 2050. I am the Earth ambassador and settlement manager on a distant galactic human colony. I have a trophy husband (or wife), I’m sharing the philosophies of human religion and government with intergalactic species and learning about their cultures as well. After my interesting day at space city hall and a meeting with the extraterrestrial locals, I jet off home to my partner at our mansion on the moon and watch the triple sunset over the horizon of my new home that is not facing any sort of climate crisis. And there’s a reality show about my life that people on Earth enjoy watching. They love my quirks and how I rock the space suit.
With all this to look forward to, I’m taking my mid-20s one day at a time. Learning something new each day, hitting the gym, going on dates, and obsessing over local government.