Taking My Power Back

10.13.15

I find myself fascinated by articles that read “I traveled for a year, and this is what happened” or “I quit my job and it was the best thing I ever did, here’s why”. It all sounds so glamorous.

I think there is sort of a movement out there, and for some reason I hear it from a lot of women, but maybe it’s men too. This movement where people are making the choice that it’s time to move on. It’s time to get out of unhealthy situations. Resume be damned, stigma be damned.

I’ll never forget the moment I was on the phone with my career coach and friend. I called her in tears and said; “I just can’t do this anymore”. And she said; “You know, there is a way to take your power back”. And at that moment, I knew that’s what I had to do. Granted I hemmed and hawed about it. I called friends, family, mentors, you name it. But I knew what was in my heart.

After 9 years in massive, global companies following two intense years of an MBA program I decided to push the reset button. I decided to put some distance between the world I knew and the person I became. All of this took place in the midst of buying my first home and my husband looking for a new company himself. CHANGE. MASSIVE CHANGE.

It was uncomfortable and yet completely appropriate. It was bold, and yet was really the only choice in my mind.

Fast-forward 7 months, and here I am. I am that person in the coffee shop at 1pm. And I used to think that people in coffee shops in the middle of the day could only be people in the AD business. Now I realize they could just be unemployed. (HA!) I am the person in my study at 2:30pm, staring out my window actually starting a blog, with a cooking class on the books for this evening.

Wait, a blog? Does that even make sense? One more opinion out there into the ether? Who cares?

But you know what, who does care? I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna put myself out there. I’m going to share what I discover. What I have discovered (and continue to discover) in this process of jumping into a boat by myself without a compass to tell me where to go. What I discover in my new community of Brooklyn, NY after living in Manhattan for 8 years. What I discover in travel, in life, in food (is it time to eat yet?), and in myself. And maybe, just maybe, in following my journey you will discover something too. So yes, another blog. This is me, taking my power back.

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10 Comments

  1. aisha2010

    Good job Tosca! This ROCKS! I love you!

  2. Yvette

    Tosca this is brave ! This is epic and your gonna rock it! Life is the ultimate adventure and just in the two minutes it took to read you inspired me

  3. Fabio

    Day one and so many places to go from here. Enjoy your daily adventures. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to write daily. Just embrace life, have a blast, and keep all of us updated.

  4. Wendy DiMatteo

    I look forward to reading your blog! I’m so proud of you for moving on when you knew it was the right thing for you to do. Sharing your perspective would be helpful to others who are struggling.

  5. toscadimatteo

    Thanks Yvette, it really meant a lot to hear this. Right after I published, I got really nervous. But your comment made it totally worth it! 🙂

  6. Mary Ellen Burley

    I, too, am in a boat by myself with no compass. Although my launch was not self-initiated (laid off from my job of 20 years), and then life threw me a major curve ball (my son’s death), I decided just today to take back my power and design a life suited to my personality and circumstances. I’m in the waters with you Tosca! Life is not a dress rehearsal – this is it…

  7. Tosca

    Thank you so much for sharing your story. I wish you strength on your journey to follow your heart and let it be open. I am inspired by your decision to move your life forward in a positive direction despite such heartache.

  8. Cristina B.

    I love this introduction! What a perfect first entry! I can’t wait to read the others!

  9. Eden Abdullah

    Perfection! I love your writing. Most of all I love how relatable you are. Mind blown and so inspired by you!

  10. Tosca

    Thank you so much for your kind words!! It means a lot.

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