NSFW: The Chronicles of a (Free?) Girl, Chapter 4

It's my life, it's now or never.

"Yeah, but we coined 'turnt up' and 'lit.' What have they done?"

I shared this blog on LinkedIn and immediately took it down. After I posted it, my boyfriend was like, "NSFW? People are going to think that's a sex blog!" And I was like, but the featured photo is of my dog, Mr. Willie. How could this possibly be sexualized?

It had me thinking: NSFW was a tag I chose to declare my departure from the corporate world, an acronym representing freedom from the chains of the C-Suite and PTO request overlap. It was supposed to be silly and fun, but now random people on LinkedIn thought this was an OnlyFans promo disguised as a blog series???

In the LinkedIn post, I shared that I would be working part-time at the flagship Glossier store in Soho--yes, as an "offline editor," which is just a nicer title for a sales associate. "Oh wow, that Isabella has gone downhill. I wonder what's next, shoe shining at Penn Station?" This is one of many thoughts that swirled through my mind.

Bringing yolo back

On Friday at my friend's birthday dinner, I told everyone about the Gen Z slang words my new Glossier coworkers use, one of which is "period." Here is a use case:

Me: "Hey Mindy! I got a new shirt yesterday."

Mindy: Oh, period.

I guess it's the equivalent of "word." I'm not sure. Anyway, I say this because I used the word yolo the other day and felt old, too old to be working on the floor at Glossier. But I'm working there for a few important reasons:

1. I've created this elaborate scheme to quite possibly get into corporate Glossier. While working at the Soho store, I'll have the chance to meet Emily Weiss (the founder), Kyle Leahy (the CEO), and other corporate people from marketing and beyond. Also, I can apply for jobs internally and access corporate email addresses. Yeah, call me Little Finger.

2. I wanted to fully immerse myself in the beauty world and get free stuff while I was at it. I'm already fluent in humectants, skin types and tones, and the full product catalog at Glossier. Someone called me a natural during my first hour on the floor!

3. I needed consistency for my mental health. I've been freelancing here and there, but I needed a commitment every week that paid me something, gave me coworkers, and grounded me in a routine.

Thanks, Patti Smith

Why did I remove the LinkedIn post? It's complicated. I didn't want others to determine my worth or think this was my admittance of defeat. Taking a retail job after having a corporate career is a step back. But this is New York, a city of tireless dreamers doing whatever they can to get where they want to be.

In her memoir Just Kids, Patti Smith details the "odd jobs" she, Robert Mapplethorpe, and many other artists had while rising to fame. Patti chose to work at bookstores because she loved to read. I chose to work at an iconic beauty brand because I want to be a beauty copywriter. Already my mental health has improved dramatically, and now I'm motivated to work on story pitches for a big (beauty!) magazine.

I also removed the LinkedIn post because I didn't want my blog to be public, even though it is public. I guess I'm not ready to let go of this secret world I'm building. I don't want to be watched, you know?

P.S.

I've mentioned LinkedIn one too many times for a blog series featuring a "NSFW" tag. Sorry if I've reminded you of work. That's the worst.