Colorful Outlook + What’s Next

Remember when I was in the middle of exams and I said I would have a little exciting “life update” post after May 20 (my graduation)? I know, I know, it’s June 2nd. I really just wanted to make sure I was sticking with my decision before sharing my post-graduation plans with everyone!

ENTER STAGE: MODELING

As most of you know, I started my blog in July 2015 after my first year of law school as a hobby…or a creative outlet, rather. Law school was always so black and white and well, a lot of gray too. But I needed more. I needed color in my life and a way to let out my creative urges. Blogging allowed me to do that and so much more.  This July will be my 2-year blogging anniversary and it’s such a surreal moment for me and I’ll share with you why. Growing up, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life, but I did know I was never one for the 9-5 gig. I actually wanted to model for a long time (hah!) but I didn’t go down that path simply because it’s not common in the Indian culture to pursue such a career and I was always one to listen to my parents. That and because I’m only 5’4 and for the most part, modeling agencies only accept giants. 🙄  so COOL.

ENTER STAGE: SINGING

After I went through a modeling phase, I then wanted to pursue a career as a singer. I spent way too much money on singing classes and even performed live at some bar in Dallas. My friends were so kind and supportive the entire time (a little too kind) even though I was awful! I kind of wish someone was real with me so I saved myself the embarrassment of singing in front of tons of people but it was definitely an experience nonetheless. After realizing I wasn’t meant to be in the entertainment industry, I continued my education in finance and worked at JPMorgan for a few years. I enjoyed the corporate job for a while but eventually found that I wasn’t quite satisfied with what I was doing there and decided to quit and further my education instead.

ENTER STAGE: LAW SCHOOL

I found an article on Facebook relating to the way animal shelters euthanize dogs in shelters (with gas chambers 😣) and spent an entire summer working with legislators, writing letters, and eventually worked with Texas Humane Legislation Network to help put an end to gas chambers in the state of Texas. I even went to Austin for the hearing and yes, ultimately the bill to ban gas chambers as a form of euthanasia in Texas did pass! 👏  I’ve always been an animal advocate but I wanted to help animals in a more long-term way. After working in the policy and legislation world for 4-6 months, I ended up interning for ASPCA and aiding the team in their government relations department. This was back in summer of 2014 (right before I started law school). I actually moved from Texas to D.C. and it was THE BEST 3 months of my life, till this day. Working for the ASPCA was incredibly rewarding and I took that feeling with me to law school.

When I started law school, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. I went in wanting to help the animals and that’s it. Truth be told, part of me felt like an outcast amongst all the students around me because they all talked about pursuing their dream corporate job earning $160k/year. Kudos to them because that’s amazing and I know some people really do love that but it just wasn’t for me. My heart was in nonprofit and I know, I really didn’t have to go to law school to help animals but I still wanted to learn more about the law and educate myself to keep my brain churning. Long story short, I made it. I made it through the highly competitive world of law school and I’ve learned more than I ever could have imagined. I honestly think I know a little more than I desired about contracts, constitutional law, family law, torts, etc. haha but hey, I was always taught knowledge is power and that’s something no one can take away from you.

THE LAST STOP: NEXT WITH NITA

After 3 years of law school and 2 years of blogging, I was torn. I fell in love with the blogging industry and the idea of making a career out of my creative outlet. My love for writing definitely grew during law school and so did my love for fashion and beauty. After graduating, I took some time to soul search and really ask God what I’m meant to do. I knew in my heart that I still want to help animals throughout my life, but I also wanted to nurture this new found passion of mine that involved creativity and connecting with others through my blog. Although it wasn’t an easy decision because I did invest quite a bit of time and money in law school, I knew I was ready to take Next With Nita full-time. I can’t even begin to tell you the emotions that have been pouring through me the last few weeks while I was contemplating my next move. Fear was one of them…the biggest one actually. Like I said before, I’ve always been one to listen to my parents and take the safe route throughout my life.

However, if I don’t pursue my dreams now, when will I ever?

When I say pursue my dreams, I don’t mean part-time. I really want to dive into the blogging industry and give it my all for the first time in my life and I truly feel Next With Nita is ready for this new journey. I’ll be spending the next few months building my brand and focusing on helping others through my blog instead of taking the BAR exam. I need time to strategize, plan, and come up with creative content and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do to the best of my ability if I were studying for the BAR and that leads me to next confession!

I know there will be questions about what I’m going to do with my law degree and I don’t have an answer quite yet. What I do know is I will be taking the BAR exam at some point in my life. I’m planning for next July but no concrete decision has been made yet. I have absolutely no intention to stop pursing animal law and animal advocacy. I will do what I can by raising awareness about either animals in need or legislation near you that needs a little constituent push. I will keep fostering dogs for as long as I can and donate as much time and money possible to help animals in need. The good thing about the blogging industry is I have the ability to make my own schedule (for the most part) and I can still incorporate animal law into my career. The fact that I won’t lose sight of my passion for helping animals is what really helped me finalize my decision and so don’t worry fellow animal lovers, I’m still here!!! 💜

With all that being said, I really want to take a moment to thank each and every single one of you for being there for me. Whether you’ve been there from the start or just now joined my journey, I couldn’t have made this decision without your constant love and support. Without you, Next With Nita wouldn’t be possible and I’m forever grateful. I’m even more grateful to those that stuck around with me throughout law school and all my rants, hah! 😇

Anyway, it’s such a relief to be able to share this intimate detail of my life with you all! I’m so excited to work on growing Next With Nita. I feel like everyone has heard of the success stories (and the failures) of people taking a leap of faith and pursing their dreams, but no one has really shared the in-between and taken you along in that journey and that is what I hope to do with you now. I want to share the ups and downs with you throughout this entire venture with each and every single one of you, step by step! I have a lot of fun projects coming up so stay tuned for that and as always, if you have any requests or something you’d like to see from me, let me know because I’m all in now! I’ll have more time for creative content and curated posts so I can’t wait to get started and I hope you will follow along to see what’s up Next!

THE TAKEAWAY

Ultimately, I wanted to achieve two things when writing this post. One, I wanted to share my story from my eyes and in my own words. Two, I hope to motivate you to pursue your dreams and what makes you happy. I’ve had a lot people ask how I got to where I am today and at the end of the day, it comes down to your own personal willingness to put in the work. I’ve worked tirelessly throughout the last two years and put it a lot of effort in both law school and the blog. I lost a few friends along the way and I have by far the worst eye bags from lack of sleep!! I do believe in work/life balance so there were days I took a break and that’s acceptable but I always made sure to work twice as hard when I got back in the groove! It all comes down to your willingness to put in the effort and work towards your dreams so if you want it, go get it. Nothing is stopping you except yourself!

OUTFIT

I felt it was most appropriate to share my most colorful two-piece set with you all today! My life is all about color and creativity now and this outfit really does share my emotions with you. Fear, love, joy, relief, pride… it’s all there. As always, you can shop my entire outfit via the images on the bottom!! Chat soon, loves!

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