Hi my name is Joana Gutierrez, and welcome to my online journal of random ruminations.
I am a Brooklyn-based first generation American early millennial. Some of my personal and professional interests include:
- achieving my highest Maslow's needs,
- spending time with people I love,
- Anthony Bourdain / Richard Ayoade level of travel, food, and cultural consumption,
- exploring different forms of spirituality,
- sports and other recreational activities,
- multifarious forms of design ( vintage European cars, architecture, CPG, UX Design, etc.),
- investing,
- an eclectic taste and appreciation of music and entertainment,
- technological advancements in AI, saas, cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, clean energy, smart cities
- industry and societal advancements in healthcare, the environment, political systems, equality, mental health awareness /care, and educational systems
- 1990s New York Knicks
I'll most likely use this as a place to share my interests with you.
It is October 15, 2020. Yes - 2020. This year has warranted this type of reaction and much more. As you have read earlier, I stated that I was a New York based millennial. This essentially means that in my short lifetime, I have already experienced one major course of history shifting terrorist attack on 9/11, graduated into one of the world's worst economic recessions, observed riots ignited by racial injustice, several mass shootings, environmental challenges of climate change, witnessed the revolutionary advancements of equality for women brought on by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and with her death worry about the regression of said advancements, have been quarantined at home for more than half of the entire year due to a global COVID-19 pandemic, and am on the verge of one of the most important elections of US history. (As IMHO, the US is living with a maniacal and divisive president in office who needs to be voted out.)
Yet, despite all of these extraordinary events, I still have hope.
I have hope not only because, as humans, we are programmed to exhibit this emotion for the sake of survival, but because I choose to embrace all the great that as happened as well. In my lifetime, I have experienced advancements in gender, racial, and sexual equality with the election of our first black US president, President Barack Obama, the rise of Gen Z social and environmental activism, legalization of same sex marriages, and equal pay for women. I have experienced technological advancements in the use of the mobile phone, internet, and software that have made it possible for humans to survive a work from home economy through what could have been a global economy crippling pandemic. Social media and the internet, with all of its pro and cons, has democratized access to information, networks, and each other. These advancements have made it easier and faster for human to connect and drive global movements that affect positive change. For all of this, I am grateful.
Change is inevitable in life. I feel like we're in for some good change in the near future.
