Loss and Reflection

The last few years of my life have been marked with loss. One by one I've watched some of my favorite humans die-- the most recent of which was my Uncle Gueddel, my father's younger brother.

Despite him living in Sweden or Gambia my entire life, he was a constant presence in my life. It's amazing how a person's love can be felt from 4,000 miles away. For as long as I can remember, I'd randomly see a +46 phone number pop up on my phone. As soon as I said "hello" he would say "Linguere N'Jie, it's Uncle Gueddel." He would then always go into a family history lesson.

 Losing him has been so hard for many reasons. It has meant recognizing that my parent's generation is slowly going, followed by a lingering dread of grief to come. It means facing that there were conversations I didn't have, family stories I might not have documented, and memories I didn't have a chance to make together. Above all, my uncle's death has inspired me to reflect on the values he taught me and how I can embody those more now. 

If you don't know me already, I'm a financial planner, RIA firm owner, wife, and mother. I've lived and breathed personal finance and investing for the last 12 years. While I have loved and still love helping Black and Latino people build wealth in a values-aligned, abundant way; I am also a whole person with other interests. In an effort to stay consistent in my messaging and market "how I should," I've put aside many parts of myself. That was cool for a while, but it has felt a bit hollow for some time. 

I wish it hadn't taken something so tragic, but Uncle Gueddel's passing has pushed me to finally make that leap. To get back to my roots and flow which will mean a whole lot of personal finance content, industry commentary, and other random things cuando se me antoja(when I feel like it). 

I'm not going to promise any specific cadence, publish date, or topic from this blog. If I'm serious about the liberation of marginalized folks, I'm going to start with myself.