Just a little note...

When I first decided I would jump ship from my life of security - good pay, a great team I had helped build, a 8a-5p job that let me check out, mentally, after the day was over, some may have thought I was crazy. Somewhere deep inside of me though, I was stagnating, almost suffocating. I didn't have an outlet, I didn't feel like I was contributing to a greater good, I didn't see a career, I saw a job.

But that moment where you think you can do it, where you jump feet first into the unknown...it's both hella scary and completely exhilarating.

So many things have brought me to this place. Books and magazines, a vacation to Rome and Greece that made me see what people were capable of, a supportive husband and a stubborn sister that told me that I could do it, an unexpected chance meeting with old friend named Omeed.

I remember sitting down with Sam's parents. They told me (oh so wisely) that this is going to be a 24 hour job. That being your own boss is going to be more challenging than I could ever realize. That I was going to have to make sacrifices in other parts of my life. Was I ready for that?

I guess I was 'cause here I am months later, with a solid social network, with the support of my friends and family behind me...getting ready for the next step. Am I freaked out? You better believe it. The Met has and always will be a labor of love. It's built on the idea that we all want experiences. We want to feel connected, we want to be a part of a great group of people. How can we build onto this group without losing the trust that we've established? But more importantly, how can we deny others all over the world, access to something that's so special?

Has building the Met been a 24 hour job? No doubt. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in months. Would I go back and take the blue pill instead of the red one? Not in a million years.

Why? Because I get to bring all of my past experiences together - my education, my work, my passions (for Marketing, music, hotels, and food). Beyond that, I get to find out more about my friends, which not only really gives me a deeper understanding and appreciation for them, but an appreciation for people in general. And, I get to carve my own path - turn a dream into a reality. Can I do it? Sam says I already have. But I know I'm far from where I want to be. Grace O had once told me that we're only as big as we can dream. I firmly believe this. I'll dream big and I'll keep challenging myself bc I know that ultimately, whether the Met stays at a few hundred or grows into several million members, if we stay true to our original purpose and stay true to ourselves, than no matter what happens we've already succeeded.

Today, through my words, you may not believe me but I hope, through my actions, I can show myself and others that no dream is too big.