#50StrandsofGray — Marketing
If you’re reading this, you know the start of this first episode begins over on my LinkedIn profile (Rochelle Valsaint) so go check that out before picking up the story here. Now, onto what I was saying about the series of unfortunate events that happened before I landed in Atlanta to start my advertising (what it was called back in the day) career.
… Those unfortunate events were: (1) Graduating without a job like many of my college peers did. But I was at least able to identify what I wanted to do after someone helped me name advertising as the industry I wanted to pursue when I told them I wanted to do what Darren did on ‘Bewitched’ did. I can’t remember the White person I was talking to at the time. But, it’s my first memory of professional code-switching. To the Black people I talked to about my job interest, I told them I wanted to help get different commercials on BET because I was tired of seeing the same ones over and over. But, I knew I had to switch it up when I was talking to someone White. That interaction led me to the name of my career interest most importantly. And having an industry focus led me to an interview at a career fair for a job at, Leo Burnett, a major Chicago ad agency. I didn’t get the job. But, it gave me the goal of getting back to Chicago after my summer job at Upward Bound back in New Orleans, my hometown. I had a goal and plan and that’s all I needed to keep me pushing. (2) But, here comes the next unfortunate event — breaking my leg at said summer job, delaying my Chicago ad agency job pursuit. (3) Eventually I got to Chicago in September and stayed with family members of my parents' close friends. Let’s just say staying with strangers; catching the bus into downtown Chicago from Calumet City for my temp job; Chicago winter setting in; a fling with a Chicago roughneck. All of these things added up to the longest two months of my life. So I left to go to New Orleans for the Thanksgiving holiday and never returned. All of this added up to the third unfortunate sub-series of events.
Those unfortunate events landed me right back in New Orleans but I was determined not to stay. A young, Black, educated woman in New Orleans without the right connections could flounder in my city. I somehow knew that at that young age. So I determined I needed to be in the Black Mecca of Atlanta, the Wakanda of my time. The home of Freaknik and Buppies. That was the place for me so that’s where I was headed. To my surprise, I was headed to Atlanta with my parents who had decided near their 50s that they wanted a fresh start away from New Orleans, too. So here we all were (Me, Mama and Daddy) in December after the drive up, staying with my Mom’s cousin and ready to take on our new journey in Atlanta.
That picture above is an actual journal entry I wrote shortly after we moved here. If you can get through my handwriting, you’ll see it’s actually pretty hopeful, youthful, optimistic and so me.
#50strandsofgray Lesson 1: Take the leap, even if you’re not sure you’ll stick the landing. The jump will give you a new perspective. That alone is the gift.
Stay tuned for episode 2 of #50stradsofgrey on the adventures I’ve had on the journey to becoming the marketing maven I am today.
1995 Signs of the Times:
What I Was Reading: Susan L. Taylor’s ‘In the Spirit’ column in Essence Magazine
What I Was Watching: Living Single; Martin; Video Soul and Rap City
Music Behind My Moves: I’m a New Orleans girl at heart so music is essential to my life. So let’s see, it’s the end of ’95. What would I have been jammin’ to? I’m sure TLC’s Waterfalls was heavy in rotation on V-103, the go-to radio station on in the car when I got to drive my parents car around. I actually still have the Crazy, Sexy, Cool CD. Ha! This song is so apropos for the time and still hits today.
What else would you add to the playlist? Here’s a l’il help from Napster’s Top 50 Best R&B songs of 1995
https://us.napster.com/blog/post/the-50-best-rnb-songs-of-1995
