Becoming American

      I’m contrary. Some would say that I’m downright bratty. So when my ex broke up with me on Christmas Eve by telling me to ‘go back to your dirty country or Brooklyn - I don’t care which - and leave Manhattan to people who want to have fun,’ my first thought was, ‘NO, you fucking racist!’  I didn’t say it out loud.  I’d spent the last five years trying to convince him (me?) that he had a normal amount of bias and ignorance; that it’s easy to grow out of bias by being present and respectful. So I couldn’t call him a racist in that moment without feeling like an even bigger idiot for white-washing his prejudices.         Like every gas lighter, he encouraged me to cut off my friends and family one by one. I didn’t have any confidence left and I was downright depressed after going through a series of unfortunate events.  I didn’t want to be a powerful lawyer anymore. I didn’t want to be in Manhattan anymore. But I refused to lea...

The “Becoming American” podcast should be on most platforms. Direct link here:  https://anchor.fm/the-954-lawyer

      I took a business risk a few years ago and it eventually saw an excellent return on investment.  I’m so used to living on a blue-collar budget that this money feels like a windfall.  Rich people would invest it in the stock market or something else with a good return on investment. I’m not rich. Like my last boyfriend used to say, “you choose to be poor.” To be fair, my family also says this about me, but they have a right to comment on my poor choices after paying for two decades of private school.  Anyway, I’m like most of you: when I get money I buy the stuff saved to my Pinterest Boards - stuff that depreciates the instant I own them.      So when I got this hard earned check from my old business venture, I didn’t cash it immediately. I thought about my bigger dreams and what I really want to be doing with the second half of my life.  I also thought about all the money I’d borrowed from my parents for various hair-...