Last Week Today: Birthday Anxiety?
July 25, 2024 🎊
“What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.” - Sidonie Gabrielle Colette
Welcome to my Substack where I share the best of my week. Think of this as a catch-up between friends with life hacks & advice sprinkled in. Grab your matcha and let's get started 💕
Highlight of the Week 🛸
It’s my birthday and apparently my “Saturn return” 🤨 🤪 I’m not that into astrology, but one of my friends shared this concept with me and I am intrigued. Saturn’s orbit is ~29 years long. Every 29 years, the planet reaches the exact same spot it was in before. So many people say the 29th birthday is important because it signals a time of transformation. See below for the simple Google search which shows many articles written on this topic from The Cut, Vogue, and The New York Times (seriously??)
So what’s coming up in my Saturn return as I approach 29 years old? I feel self-assured. I’m still figuring out career, relationships, romance, and life, but I’m doing it with a sense of inner peace. There are days where I feel stressed, frantic, and anxious, but underneath the waves there is a feeling of calm within. I don’t have the answers — I will never have all the answers — and that’s okay because I have confidence in myself that I can think things through carefully and figure it out. How ADULT.
It’s a huge departure from where I was a few years ago: the anxiety of “not knowing” — not knowing the answer to a question my boss asked me, not knowing if I was good enough, not knowing what was next for my career — it ate away at me. But now I’ve settled in the “not knowing” and gotten to understand it better. And honestly? It’s fun to be in this space. I’ve realized this is what life is about: it’s about getting acquainted with the parts of ourselves that feels uncomfortable. Make friends with these parts. Too deep for a Thursday afternoon newsletter? Blame it on my Saturn return.
Get To Know Me 🪩
SEASON 4 PODCAST LAUNCHED: Get to know me and “why I do what I do” in this new podcast episode where I am the guest, NOT the host.
I’m so excited for this season for Cherie’s Corner. We have some incredible guests coming up who share the peaks and valleys of their career and lives. We get to see behind the curtain — I feel so lucky and grateful to share their stories with you:
Joel Peterson, Former Chairman of JetBlue, Lecturer at Stanford GSB
Katie Harris, Ex-Google, McKinsey Consultant, GSB classmate
Buzz Rubenstein, Co-Founder of Overlap, a Y-Combinator startup, GSB classmate
Jean Luo, my sister and co-founder, HBS grad
João Jablonski, Ex-Bain consultant, International Brazilian GSB classmate
Tega Odioko, finance & investment banking, International Nigerian GSB classmate
Like I said, a STAR STUDDED line up of folks who have so much wisdom for us to learn from. GET HYPED for this season of Cherie’s Corner podcast.
My Favorite Parts of Business School
One of the best decisions I made was to work in Japan for 4 weeks last summer as an intern on a green team farm. Yes - that’s a real sentence. WHAT?! I firmly believe that life is for living. I seek out new experiences that challenge me because that is where I learn the most about myself and the new environment, people, and ideas I encounter. I share the experience and cultural surprises on my YouTube channel.
🚀 Why did experience change me? Learning about other cultures is key for businesses in our increasingly globalized world. Understanding and respecting different cultural norms, values, and customs can make or break business relationships and opportunities. It's like learning to speak the same language, even if it's not about words - it's about understanding each other.
👀 I discovered unexpected aspects of Japanese life, from the fascinating nuances of a cash-based economy to ubiquitous bidets (!!!) I discuss why knowing the Japanese language is crucial and how precision is the key to Japanese schedules. I even explore the world of Japanese car models, the art of removing shoes, and the societal prevalence of dining alone.
I hope you enjoy this vlog — there are few in this series if you’re interested in seeing more 🙏🏻
Dating at Harvard Business School 😇
I was shocked to hear about the dating scene at Harvard. Ayushi (HBS ‘24) and I talked about this in our podcast episode (clip below). She entered business school in a long term relationship, but after that ended she found herself nervous about the dating scene. The Harvard Business School class size is ~1000 and the Stanford GSB class size is ~420 people.
She talks about how her classmates had a “pitch night” (where they pitched their single friends), and even when the dates didn’t work out, she was pleasantly surprised by the dating scene at Harvard. Watch the video to learn more!
In Case You Missed It: What I posted on IG 💅🏻
💰 VC explained so anyone can understand!
🤪 Panicking about grad season and campus
🎤 Motivational commencement speech
🎓 BTS of grad week at Stanford
What I’m Reading 📚👀
Is every job going to be the most interesting job? Probably not. Even the best jobs have their mundane tasks and difficult personalities. But finding some fulfillment and pride in your job – you know, what you spend 40 hours/week doing – is important to your overall happiness. I hope you find this guide helpful.
💌 3 Digital Marketing Strategies That Will Save You 20 Hours Every Week
Automate. Automate. Automate. So much of digital communications is getting your message in front of people over and over again. The famous rule of 7 says a message must be received at least 7 times, in 7 different ways, for it to be “heard” and ultimately result in desired behavior change. So instead of trying to find new things to talk about online, make sure you’re repeating the message that you really want to get out there. It might feel repetitive to you, but your audience is not seeing every single post you put out there.
Meme Reminder: Birthday MOOD
I hope you have the best week my friends!
XO, Cherie