Will & Way is a monthly round-up of resources & jobs intended for Women of Color, mostly within the tech + creative fields. This newsletter is supported entirely by sponsors, donations, and patrons.
Hello!
So this month marks THREE full years of running Will & Way … I can't believe it! Thank you so much for being part of the journey. I've been thinking about making some changes to the newsletter and am letting some ideas marinate, so stay tuned for more info in the coming months.
Before I get into more serious topics, I've been surviving this heinous humidity in Houston with LMNT electrolyte mix, which I was introduced to by some folks here in the fitness industry. It's all-natural, which is always important to me, and I love it with a big glass of ice-cold water. I've drank enough by now that I have my own referral link, so if you want to try it out and get a free sampler, click here!
Now that that's out of the way … I've been thinking a lot about being okay missing out on things. I'm not a person who suffers from FOMO in any traditional sense of the word, and I'm generally good about upholding boundaries and saying no to things I don't want to do.
However, I have felt a need to “keep up” in certain ways. For a long time, I wanted to watch all of the best TV shows and movies. I wanted to read all of the best books and be able to talk about them with people. I wanted to scour the internet to find the best (insert thing I'm shopping for) so that I know I made the absolute right choice for myself.
This year, I realized that I'd given up on being able to keep up with all of those things. I can't know every new trend or understand every meme that comes out or listen to every podcast and audiobook at 2-3x the speed so I can cram in more content and feel relevant. I've even stopped watching shows I previously watched because I realized I was mostly watching them to be able to talk about them with others, not because I loved them. (Looking at you,
Bridgerton.)
The reality is that there is so much content out there, across all mediums, that I just physically and mentally will never be able to be “on top” of all of the things that might interest me.
I've felt this way before in my life. As a kid, the library was my favorite place on earth to be—so much so that I signed up to volunteer at the one across the street from my house in Germany. I'd spend hours there reading books at the front desk, checking people out (back in those days, you had to stamp a notecard with the date and write people's names down by hand to check out a book!). On my breaks, I'd wander the stacks of books and browse the titles and feel sad that I'd never be able to jump inside every single one of those works and live in someone else's shoes for a while.
When I got older, I hungrily searched for new music using Napster and Limewire and curated my individual downloads into playlists to burn onto CDs. I couldn't imagine anything better than the rush of stumbling upon a new band or artist I enjoyed. I couldn't imagine ever feeling satiated or like I'd found enough new music. Yet, years later, when I could essentially find any song in the world via one app, I'd find myself feeling totally overwhelmed and just searching for music I already knew.
It sounds so obvious that one person will never be able to do all of the things they want to do, but really accepting this has been a weight off my shoulders. For all the traveling and exploring I do, I may never make it to some of the places on the “must-see” lists all over the internet—and that's fine. I'd rather thoroughly enjoy the trips I do take. I'd rather relish the books I do choose to read. I'd rather savor the shows I select, instead of race through them to get to the next thing on my list.
To sum it up in other people's words:
The sheer volume of culture makes it easy to feel as though we are trapped within a huge content-spewing factory working harder than ever to keep up with the production line.
- Daniel Dylan Wray on why people in their 30s stop listening to new music
If you’re constantly inundated with stories you don’t care for, can’t relate to, or aren’t learning anything from, then what’s the point?
- Emma Garland on why she gave up trying to keep up with pop culture
In writing news: I feel like I've been working a lot, but I've been told much of it is in a queue waiting to be published … so here are the few links I have to share this month:
I wrote a piece for Indeed on how to concentrate on work during periods of global turmoil (spoiler alert: most of the tips have nothing to do with work)
I loved writing this profile on Kelly Glass about her work telling stories that matter to Black families
Watching: I watched Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (cw: child/sexual abuse); The Jinx bc I had to after a trip to Galveston (where Robert Durst committed one of his crimes); Untold on Netflix about the Manti Te' story; F Boy Island's latest season (great mindless watch); the Woodstock ‘99 documentary on HBO (just wow); Nope in theaters (so good!); and my boyfriend and I are now making our way through The Sopranos. I also started Mo, which is set in Houston, and I’m looking forward to continuing.
Listening to: my favorite podcast, The Read, is back after a hiatus, and I'm so thankful. I've also been listening to Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee (author of Pachinko) for my next book club, and it's giving a very Bravo TV meets Crazy Rich Asians feeling so far.
TheSkimm has all the info you need for the upcoming midterm elections
On why it's so hard to do nothing: "Part of the reason many people resist leisure, no doubt, is that we have been taught to monetize our time. As Americans have heard throughout our lives, time is money. We may work to have leisure time, but actually spending that earned time feels like forgoing wages."
I was moved by The Visiting Room Project, which allows prisoners in Louisiana serving time without the possibility of parole to share their stories with the outside world (h/t Marcia)
{September 7} Listen to Puerto Rican and Nuyorican poets, musicians, and other artists in performance and dialogue during the monthly Beatnix series from Nuyorican Poets Cafe
{September 9} The Loyalty Bookstore will host Helena Andrews-Dyer in conversation with Shilpi Malinowski to discuss Andrews-Dyer’s new book The Mamas: What I Learned about Kids, Class, and Race from Moms Not Like Me!
{September 17}Speak the Word is hosting a poetry and spoken word workshop
The American Institute of Indian Studies is accepting fellows
Receive a free guide on how to pivot into a higher paying job from Flynanced
The Public Policy lab is accepting applications for a Design Fellow
Happy almost-fall!
Nikki
Want to reserve sponsored space in an upcoming newslettter? Learn more here.
This month's feature is Porsha Thomas, who's originally from Lubbock, TX and is currently living in Atlanta and working as a brand consultant and copywriter. Read on to learn
PS: Want to read past subscriber spotlights? Sign up for the newsletter archive here.
Q: How has being a WOC impacted your professional career?
A: I've spent the majority of my career working for myself in some capacity. Back in the day when social media was new (circa 2009-2011), I was convincing small business owners to let me run their business Facebook pages. I freelanced for DailyCandy and other digital publications. I sold graphic design and copywriting services. I started lifestyle and career blogs and morphed my most successful career blog, Ladypreneur League, into a thriving IRL and digital community.
I never felt uncomfortable bringing my whole self to work the entire time that I was in charge. It wasn't until I jumped from my freelance world to work at corporate businesses that being a WOC in these spaces meant having totally different experiences. And you know, it was all the usual tales - being passed over for promotions handed to less qualified people, making less money than folks who look different from me but have similar work experience, etc. Once, my manager at a marketing agency I worked for accidentally CC'd me on the email offer she sent to a woman she was hiring to split marketing duties with me. The amount was for 7K more than I was making!
Working for myself at 37 is a lot different than when I set out to live this life at 24, though, lol! And I'm grateful for those corporate experiences because they showed me how humans really are in the world - at work. I was in a little solo freelancer bubble where people chose ME and my personality to provide a service for them. No office politics!
Corp living also made me realize how much I have to advocate for myself in ALL spaces. My clients have to pay me what I ask for because I'm not going to short myself out of cash as my old manager did, you know? I know my worth, and working in the corporate world as a WOC helped solidify that.
Q: What is your top piece of career advice for other readers?
A: Advocate for yourself… and keep receipts!
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: I love food, I love cooking, and lately I’ve been getting into baking, but paleo. So that’s been fun. I tried this recipe for a paleo pound cake this week and it was definitely amazing.
Q: What are you most grateful for right now?
A: I am grateful for my life in general. My best friends and I always talk about how manifestation is real, and I feel like the life I’m living is a testament to that. I 100% planned all of it when I was like, 7 years old. Little Porsha did good!
Q: What was the last random act of kindness or compliment you received that really resonated with you?
A: A client recently told me how much she loved my work and enjoyed working with me and it was just amazing! It feels good to know that my clients are happy.
Connect with Porsha @porshathomas on Instagram + Twitter and @gowrkgrls on Instagram. You can also visit her website here.
Opportunities
Note: Oftentimes, these companies have other positions on their websites and I've only shared one here. I recommend browsing their jobs page to see others! PS: Want to access the archives? Sign up here.
We aim to equalize opportunity by helping organizations from startups to Fortune 500 companies to build and leverage stronger relationships to source, drive and close more deals. The 4Degrees Relationship Intelligence CRM Platform empowers relationship-focused professionals to identify the right connections to focus on while helping them strengthen those relationships and activate their network when they need it.
Kickstarter campaigns make ideas into reality. It’s where creators share new visions for creative work with the communities that will come together to fund them. Our mission is to help bring creative projects to life. We believe that art and creative expression are essential to a healthy and vibrant society, and the space to create requires protection.
The Lower Eastside Girls Club connects young women and gender-expansive youth of color throughout New York City to healthy and successful futures through free, innovative year-round programming and mentoring.
Health In Her HUE is a digital platform that connects Black women and women of color to culturally competent and sensitive healthcare providers, and offers health information and content that centers their lived experiences.
Radical Health works at the intersection of community health and tech. We combine meaningful conversations with Natural Language Processing technology that helps people understand what's going on during a visit, build trust, and develop self-advocacy and agency.
OmniSpeech develops AI noise suppression and noise cancelation software designed to enhance voice communication and experiences across devices. Founded by world-renowned electrical engineer, Dr. Carol Espy-Wilson, and based on decades of research into the physiology of human speech, OmniSpeech takes a novel approach to the challenge of ensuring clear voice communication in noisy environments.
Through capital and commitment, Capital Impact Partners helps people build communities of opportunity that break barriers to success. We work to champion key issues of equity and social and economic justice through mission-driven financing, social innovation programs, capacity building, and impact investing.
Nomad Health is the first digital marketplace for healthcare jobs, efficiently connecting quality clinicians with rewarding career opportunities and taking the busywork out of finding clinical work.The U.S. healthcare system is experiencing a staffing crisis. Employers spend $25 billion per year recruiting clinicians to provide care for patients around the country. Nomad replaces antiquated staffing agencies with modern technology to efficiently source, qualify, and hire medical talent on demand.
NEW INC is an interdisciplinary program of the New Museum that brings together 100 creative practitioners and entrepreneurs annually from a wide variety of fields across art, design, and technology, promoting an environment of collaboration.
At Mayvenn, we are creating the future of salon retail - one hairstylist at a time. Our mission is to empower hairstylists and salon professionals while changing the way people purchase hair extensions and interact with hair companies.
Testimonials + Support ❤️
It's very difficult to undo the 40-hour-a-week+ hustle/productivity mindset. It is so ingrained. Nearly five years into freelancing (and two years into graduate school) and I still feel guilty when I'm not working. Thanks for sharing your experience—I felt less alone! Let's remind ourselves to feed our souls, rest, nap, go for a walk and not feel guilty :)
-Terri H.
(Yes to all of this!)
If you want to support this project, please consider clicking below. I appreciate you! xo
