I’ve been hinting at something big on the horizon for a few weeks now. This Friday is the last day at my job and I think it’s about time to let the cat out of the bag. After two and a half years in New York City, reinventing myself and adjusting to the curve balls thrown at me, I’ll be starting a new chapter: Graduate School.
As of this Fall, I’ll be pursuing an Master’s in Public Administration at NYU, studying international human rights and environmental policies. It might be a bit crazy to get a second graduate degree, but I couldn’t think of a more natural step. My work had me feeling stunted, I was learning about the intricacies of the fashion industry, but not how to impact change in the global community.
So how exactly did my NYC journey lead me here? I left Hawaii in January 2015 hopeful that New York City would be the answer, that the city would take me in and cultivate my curiosity for sustainable fashion. I imagined a world that would be hard, yet gentle and guiding. What I found was infinite opportunity with people stepping all over each other to grab it.
To be honest, my life since landing at JFK has been filled with uncertain, anxious and overwhelming experiences, with some splashes of accomplishment and excitement. By far the most challenging part has been finding my own balance and acceptance as part of this chaos. It was a crash course in dealing with stubborn, aggressive and erratic people. That’s not to say that New Yorkers aren’t friendly when they want to be, it’s just a different kind of human interaction. Coming from Hawaiian and Japanese cultures, it was a culture shock.
I still remember my first day working in the industry, running around picking up markers, visiting sample makers and checking-in on the factory, all within a few blocks in the garment district. I thought “I’ve done it, I made it, and it will all work out”. How cute I was, thinking it was that simple. Maybe if I had moved to the city to work in fashion, but I hadn’t, I moved to the city to disrupt the fashion industry, to be a changemaker.
At the very beginning, seeing the process from design to delivery at a small Brooklyn start-up helped ease me into the industry. As my role grew and the responsibility piled on, strains in working with complex personalities were magnified. Even more revealing, my limitations were made painfully clear. We were a young team, I craved mentorship and cross industry development. Learning about the fashion industry was important, but I wanted to reach beyond to understand the complexities of community organizing, creating policies and shaping the industry both locally and abroad. So I left, even though I loved the job, the company, and the people.
I’m not entirely sure where this degree will lead me, but I’m excited at all the possibilities and opportunities it will open up. Maybe this is my ever-optimist mindset, but I’m confident that this will unlock the roles that I’ve been craving and the the jobs I’ve been dreaming of (as cliche as that sounds). I can’t wait to share this journey with you and bring you along as I find out where I can make the most impact to make the garment production more sustainable and ethical.