There’s been a mistake

Good morning gorgeous. You are looking fabulous this morning. Grab a mug of coffee and pull up a chair. This week was a lot. It's time to dish.

I spoke at an International Women’s Day event on Monday, and as much as I wanted to dig into some meaty feminist tech issues (there are oh, so many)— something pulled at me to get real and talk about the first year of my career. I spent the first 365 days of my career in tech waiting for the tap. You know the one. I was 21, one of the only women at a startup, and one of the only non-engineers. So every day, I waited for someone to come up and tap me on the shoulder:

“I’m so sorry, Miss, there has been some sort of mistake. You don’t belong here. You’re going to have to leave. Please quietly exit through the gift shop.”

I didn't think I was worthy of taking up that space. I was wrong. And babe, if you’re thinking the same thing, you’re wrong too. But you’re not alone.

We’re really good at telling ourselves scary stories. Stories like ‘you don’t deserve this’, or ‘you’re not smart enough for that promotion’, or ‘they’ll find out you don’t belong here and ask you to leave’ (just 21-year-old me?). Here’s the thing, you become the stories we most often tell yourself, and only you can change that narrative. I spoke a little on this on International Women’s day, and maybe it’ll help.

You are worthy of your accomplishments. You deserve to take up space. You aren’t fooling anyone, darlin’, you’re right where you belong.

Now, go show them what you can do.