What Drives Me?

Anxiety, mostly! I have high functioning anxiety, which manifests in this internal voice that constantly tells me I'm not doing enough. Whether it's what I do in my career, how much I'm making, how I physically look, what I am doing for others, there's this ticking alarm that has me fighting for my life daily for stability and to prove myself.

Because of this internal pressure, I pursued a secure career in corporate finance that made me more and more miserable as time went on. I had spent so long catering to this idea of a person and a life that my parents wanted for me that not only was I incapable of voicing what I wanted, but I was incapable of actually knowing what I wanted.

I wish that I was content with the life I had mentally planned for myself. However, I wasn't able to appreciate it, or the life I had built around me, and I spent so much time in cycles of internal stress. Despite trying my best, I wasn't strong enough to withstand living a life I had no ownership over.

And that leads me here, at Let's Stay Home. I had to create a home that was a boundary from the chaos. A home that was quiet, clean, tidy, safe and different from my mental state. After I created my Instagram to share my home and slow living, I had requests to help decorate Airbnbs, offices, guest rooms, as well as requests for ad hoc advice! As I continued to build on my home and work on other projects, I realized I enjoyed helping to create that safe and comfortable space for others.