Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

As you may remember, Thanksgiving is the US holiday where it's all about food, family and gratitude.  And sometimes football.  And large balloons on parade.  And dog shows.  We're a multitasking society.   

For sure, it's a controversial holiday given the history of the holiday and the resulting treatment of Native Americans by European/American settlers.  And given the recent racial tensions emanating from Ferguson, Missouri, it's important for America to remember and assert on Thanksgiving that Black lives matter, indigenous lives matter - all lives matter.  But, for the purposes of this post, I'll stick to the merit of the day - giving thanks.  

This year, I'm grateful for many things.  I'm grateful for my health and the health of my family.  I'm grateful for the support I get from my family and friends.  I'm grateful that you all seem to be doing so well!  I'm grateful that I have you all to entertain and inspire me.  I'm grateful for all the adventures I've had, and the ones to come.  

I've noticed, as well, that things seem to be changing.  A shift is occurring.  In the last month, friends have moved away, while other friends have announced their pregnancies, or bought houses.  Cousins have gotten engaged or had children.  My dad is about to retire, while my sister's career is about to take off.  It feels like the end of many eras, and the beginning of new ones.  For all of these great things, I am grateful.  But I am also grateful for the fact that this time, with this shift, I feel ready for it.  It doesn't intimidate me.  I don't feel jealous or left behind.  Instead, I'm honestly really excited for all these loved ones and for all these shifts, and it just feels like it's lining up perfectly with my own evolution.  I'm excited to ride whatever wave this is, and see how it manifests in my own life.  I guess my point is that, after a bit of an awkward period, it feels like a lot of really great things are finally colliding, and it couldn't feel more natural.  It's a cool feeling, and I'm excited for the ride.  For that, I'm truly grateful.  

Thanks again for checking in, and I hope to see you all soon!  

I'm turning it over to Nang Sengaye for the month of December.  Excited to see what she's up to!

xo

Megan

Autumn in Central Park

Aloha from New York!

Aloha Ohana!

I hope you and your families are all well.  It's been such a pleasure reading all your posts, so special thanks to Ahila for coordinating it all!  Apologies for not posting until this late in the month – it’s been daunting to try and cover almost two years (!) since I’ve seen most of you, which made it easier to put off until now.  So, you get a long one instead…

Life Post-APLP:  The Basics

So, a brief synopsis to “get you up to speed,” as we say. 

First…GIST!  I think many of you graciously followed along with our GIST and personal blogs at the time, so I won’t go into that much except to say that it was a wonderful (though somewhat exhausting) experience and – at many points – a true honor. 

First rain of the season at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon - April 2013)

MFE!  At the same time, we were working on the Myanmar Futures Exchange in Yangon, which was a lot of work but a lot of fun.  It was a very busy and rewarding semester, and I want to give a shout out to all my fellow GISTers, along with Mon Mon, Nang Seng and Alisha for all your wonderful support and delightful company throughout that whole period.

GISTers at the MFE!

Reunion!  It was so great to see so many more of you again!  I can't find my pics from then, but I think many of them are better kept off the internet anyway...

Job Hunting and starting a company!   

When I came back home, I returned to the task of finding a job.  That whole summer was spent either co-drafting the MFE Summary Report with Alisha and Scott (with help from Kate and Gretchen!) or applying to jobs.  Based on the experience I had on GIST, I started my own consulting company, Makai Strategies Inc.   I did a great training with the Shared Value Initiative as CEO of Makai Strategies in October 2013.   The training was in London, so I got to see Taku as well!  The energy at the training was really great, and I left London feeling inspired and excited about the corporate responsibility field. 

Finding a Job! A couple weeks later, I got hired by a sustainability consultancy.  The work was interesting, and I got to go to the Middle East for the first time.  (Check out Oman!)

 
Family Travels!  This past summer, I was able to travel to Portugal, France and Belgium with my sister and then Montana with my sister and parents.

Reunion in Tulum!  Had a great trip to beautiful Mexico in late July 2014 with Kate, Alisha and Dina.   We had a great time, and it was really nice to see us all evolve.  Joys and struggles always remain, but it was clear that our approach to dealing with it had changed, including in some really amazing ways.   It was really inspiring. 

I'm currently looking for new opportunities while I do some short-term legal work.   Now that I'm not traveling as much, I'm also able to see friends more.  I actually just saw Gretchen and Alisha for G's 40th birthday party up in Boston!  (No pics, sorry, we kept meaning to and forgot...)

So, them's the basics.  It’s been two years of incredible adventures and maddening waiting periods. Highs and lows aplenty, so that sometimes its hard to tell what my real truth is, but I know the best is yet to come.  Sounds like life, right?