You Heard It Here First: Life Advice from Your LGBTQ+ Faves
Hear life-changing advice from people who’ve fought for their joy, for acceptance and for themselves. Vibing with what they’re sharing? Click on their name to read their full story.
Anahita
Lead Modeler
Riverwoods, IL
Pronouns: She/her/hers
When I was in grade 4, in the year 2002, Mumbai became the most populous city in India following the census in 2000. My textbook wasn’t updated and still claimed the most populous as Calcutta. My dad noticed the difference and told me to write the answer as Mumbai if the question ever came up on exams. To my surprise, the question did come up.
I wrote Mumbai as the most populous city, but I didn’t get the mark. The experience taught me was that no one, not even the text books or teachers, are beyond the limit of being questioned, and that marks don’t matter if I don’t have the knowledge. I carry this as a value today when I question the trends I see in my data, or when I learn a new technique to expand my understanding of my work. It’s also helped me align my work satisfaction to my performance and not by the amount of praise or bonus I receive.
Stephanie
Loan Review Specialist
Lake Park, UT
Pronouns: She/Her
In the past, I’ve made the mistake of taking on too many projects. I often got stretched too thin and pulled in too many directions. This also goes along with not knowing when to say no. I have a huge fear of disappointing people and I always said “yes.” I was all about helping others, so it was extremely hard for me to admit that I needed help. The best decision I ever made was to start talking to a therapist. I’ve learned to know my limits and not be afraid to say no if I really can’t do something.
Avonlea
Coach
Lake Park
Pronouns: They/Them
A hard truth I’ve learned is that family are the people you choose— not necessarily the people you’re blood related to. I have a group to call my chosen family and am out to all my friends. They’re all super great with using my pronouns. The best decision I ever made for myself was coming out as non-binary to my chosen family. It was the hardest thing for me to come out, but starting with my chosen family reminded me that there are people who accept me for who I am. My family knows my sexual orientation, but not my pronouns.
Amy
VP, Compliance Advisory
Riverwoods, IL
Pronouns: She/Her
A piece of advice I live by is “know your non-negotiables.” Everyone has non-negotiables. Knowing those will drive your goals and take out the stress of the unknown and a lot of “what-if” guesswork. Is your title and work flexibility non-negotiable? Then look for those opportunities. Is it benefits and work location? Then use that as a starting point.
Dawn
Change Management & Communications Specialist
Lake Park, UT
Pronouns: She/Her
I’m still working on caring less about what other people think. When I realized that’s what held me back from coming out sooner in life, I promised myself I’d work on not worrying about it anymore. My advice to my younger self would be, “Accept who you are no matter how scary it is. It’s gonna be okay. You’ll be much happier once you live 100% authentically.” I’m getting better. I’ve done a lot of things in the last few years that I’ve always been very scared to do because of what others would think (i.e., cutting all my hair off, getting tattoo sleeves, etc.)
Bobby
Agile Coach, Cybersecurity
Riverwoods, IL (Permanently remote from Delaware)
Pronouns: He/Him | They/Them
I struggled a lot with accepting that I was Trans, but I finally came out to myself at 30. I wish I had the courage to have done it a lot earlier in life but hey… that’s life, right? Now at 32 I’m really happy with myself and my body. I would tell my younger self: “Dude, you’re definitely Trans and that’s cool. Don’t be so weird about it…just come out already and start living your life as the person you are!” I wish that I could have experienced this level of happiness in my youth when I really needed it.
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