Hey, I'm Isabella.
I thought I would share my story so you know about the writer behind the blog posts.
I had a quiet childhood in the suburbs of Washington DC. I kept to myself most of the time [if I wasn't playing with the neighborhood kids or bossing younger people around]. There was a lot of free time, but I don't remember exactly what we did without cell phones. The park, playing with the big plastic ball in the backyard, dressing up with my sister. I would play make believe with my dolls. I also took quite a number of trips with the family. I've seen a lot of America.
I wrote a fantasy novel of various fantastical settings inspired by princess movies [I've always liked films about royalty].
Through writing, I created my love of writing [I don't believe in discovering passion. I believe in creating passion]. Particularly for stories.
For my own pleasure, I worked on creating powerpoint presentations of classic hollywood actresses of the '20s through the '40s. Posting so many images to the slides, especially of Olivia de Havilland, Ginger Rogers and Norma Shearer, I recognize now, writing this, my interest in collecting, organizing, and curating content even back then.
I was so mesmerized by the 1920's era that I styled my school uniform like it and bobbed my hair. I even read the biographies of Ginger Rogers and Norma Shearer!
Around 2008, I plunged myself willingly into the holy waters of catholicism. I don't remember why. I've always been attracted to humans who have a touch of celebrity to them [immersing myself in the femmes of the golden age of Hollywood was another example]. So I joined a religion of celebrities [called "the saints"] who stood out to me because of their audacious and contrarian lifestyle.
Being a non-stop reader, without a smartphone, I soaked up books about prayer, theology, religious life. I went to the school library almost every day. I was completely obsessed. I could not see any other options outside of being catholic. Not thinking of men at all, or practicality, entering religious life made sense to me.
During this time, sophomore through senior year, I took classes in French. The more I studied it, the more I enjoyed the language [another example of where I created my passion]. I learned it in my free time. And to learn it better, I read a book on mnemonics that I found on my parent's bookshelf. This was my earliest moment of exposing myself to memory techniques.
I didn't have a plan after graduation. I tried getting jobs with lackluster effort. I got lackluster results. My uncle suggested I work at his restaurant in Los Angeles.
So I worked there for four months. I learned more French at an institute, biked to the Pacific and the library, drove around, explored new places [a loopy hike on a hill overlooking the smoggy city, another one being a rose garden], took a ballet class, read "Anna Karenina" and a book of Tolstoyian quotes [who I was really starting to like!]. It being all I knew, I applied to a liberal arts college. I once again wanted to immerse myself in catholic culture, but this time, read abstract tomes of western civilization and go on western Outdoor Leadership trips. It seemed like catholic high school 2.0.
I wish I let myself become more obsessed with french & writing.
Those two years were difficult. Just to illustrate a point, our orientation was a three-week expedition backpacking in the Wind River Range [off-trail a lot of the time I may add!]
I should have just walked out of the wilderness with no care in the world about my future. But I also didn't want to go back to Virginia.
My best classes were Humanities and Written Rhetoric. I would often cry after math and logic class, thinking something was wrong with me because everyone else seemed to understand the rigorous material. To comfort myself, I remember being in the library, procrastinating on homework, in order to listen to a french podcast. I started becoming angry at the latin professor and how he taught a language. I convinced myself that I wanted to learn a dead language whenever I heard it in the hallways as if it was indeed not a dead language. "These professors were so cutting-edge." Sigh.
But...I hit a breaking point. I wasn't being my authentic self. I went back to VA after two years in the West. After skiing in Pinedale, climbing boulders in the Wind River Range, strolling in Jackson Hole, night skiing in the Grand Tetons.
The West is gorgeous.
I remember riding my e-scooter to the local canyon, feeling very far away from my collegiate existence. Going back to my dorm from class downtown, I heard in my earbuds for the first time the beautiful sounds of russian from my favorite polyglot, Susanna Zarasky. Shortly after that, I read her book "Language is Music" whose aural-learning advice infuses all of my language learning study.
Because I had such a difficult time at college, I tried to figure out what was wrong with me, obsessing this time over personality typology. The "Personality Hacker" podcast was a new comfort, alongside the entry-level service job I took.
I also started learning russian because why not? I loved hearing it on that podcast back in 2014 and it was pleasurable pouring over "Anna Karenina" and viewing the gorgeous scenes of Russia in the 2016 BBC Series. Also, my father had just passed away. I remember languages helping me through those wanting-to-pull-my-hair-out-and-cry times in college [I was good at languages and enjoyed it]. A welcome distraction. Most people just watch tons of tv.
Maybe a secular traditional college will work? Something I actually have an interest in? International Studies! No, it was the format of college itself. Even back in middle school, I started learning through self-study. I also don't feel comfortable learning in a classroom using traditional methods, because I know that there are better, more idiosyncratic strategies. But I forgot about that. At the college I first attended, I did more research on mnemonics, even teaching someone about it. He couldn't see their power. But I learned there is a better way to learn. So that's why I got mad at my Latin teacher. Or mad at myself for being in that classroom. Anyway, he could see it on my face.
At least two good things came from that experience, lots of listening time of "The James Altucher Show." That's when I discovered solopreneurship and small business. Would I have discovered this otherwise? I don't know. What also happened was tons of listening to french and russian music. I would listen to this self-made entrepreneur, in addition to foreign sounds while walking thirty minutes to class from the heart of downtown, on my walk by the river, or on my walk admiring the colorful houses in one district.
After leaving and going back to my family, I was stuck at square one again. But something was different. I knew different. I felt frustrated because I wanted to make money and leave, but I had no connections, no marketable skills built up, and I felt fear of acting on opportunities that I could have created for myself. I chose to get the dough needed by working a job easily handed to me, assisting an arborist, killing myself for a paycheck.
During this job, I started my three month tech career research. Learned how to code. Made a makeshift standing desk. Set myself up in my regular high chair at Dunkin' Donuts. Studied every morning [in addition to finance and russian which I don't recommended learning all at the same time]. Interviewed local developers that I found on LinkedIn and Instagram. I called them "coffee convos."
But I was attracted to the freedom and lucrative paycheck that developers obtain. Not to the activity of writing code itself.
I also took two other jobs. One of the jobs was working on a 10 acre yard. This is when I started listening to more podcasts.
When I had enough money, I moved to SLC with the intention of going into tech. I decided not to do that. At first, I resumed my research on solo business. But shortly after, I got a 9-5, out of loneliness. And my savings were going down. It was just easy to get an entry-level job that required absolutely no skill. I could work on my business on the side!
I started teaching myself how to live independently [which is a whole, continuous learning project in itself]. While continuing to get my education in bingeing podcasts, I also taught myself more zero-waste practices, discovered ecotourism and sustainable travel businesses, attempted side hustles, and researched affiliate marketing, dating, social skills, marketing, and online business.
After culling the business ideas, I resumed language-learning. Then I got another business idea, which I ran with for a while. It entailed coaching independent learners in accelerated-learning strategies. At first it was going to be about coaching people in these strategies in order for them to obtain green skills. I did say I would work in the sustainable space in some capacity.
Having no creditable evidence that these strategies worked, I needed to find a way to highlight their effectiveness based on my own experience. That's how I started my blog and thus resumed writing after many years.
I chose another project to apply the accelerated-learning strategies I was writing so much about [to place it in the present]. The decision came about after looking up different ways to make money writing. Copywriting stood out to me. Much like when SLC stood out to me when I searched "affordable and upcoming tech hubs."
I took copywriting courses on Udemy and Skillshare because I was [and still am] intrigued by solopreneurship & how business ideas can improve life. Most recently, I taught myself Existentialism which is a philosophy I resonate with now.
Presently, I write, hike, take online courses, search for a community to connect with, and apply existentialist philosophy to my personal life.
