About the cloud-breathing Dragon

With coffee in hand, it's that time of the day: Tainá-powered automation writing in the early hours.

In case you were hiding under 15 feet of pure white snow (like me, literally) and didn't hear, the year of the cloud-breathing Dragon began last weekend. The last time we experienced the hot breath of this gorgeous beast was in 2012, a m*therf*cking hardcore year for many of us (I know I did have an intense 2012).

The Dragon symbolizes power, prosperity, and good fortune. It doesn't discriminate and will bring all of these goodies to all of us, independent of how much you believe it or not. And if you are born in the year of the Dragon (2024, 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964, 1952...) expect this 2024 to be YOUR YEAR, you wanting or not.

The first time I ever heard about Chinese New Year, Dragons, and gifting red envelopes with chocolate coins inside, I was 6 years old and living in Uppsala, Sweden. My best friend, Bei Cui, was Chinese and the whole classroom took part in parading this giant collage dragon around the school singing (western) winter songs (the teddy bear one, if I recall correctly).

I see my 6-year-old today defining her identity and personality based on references, people, and things around her. I can see now that learning that I am a 'dragon' baby of 1988 helped shape who I am and where I find the energy to move forward.

Silly, I know.

But it makes more sense now than ever before.

In 2012, I found myself in deep, deep, deep, (for emphasis) deep into depression because of a boyfriend whom I had broken up with. There was no way out of that stinking still water well, but up. With the support of a few friends, including the ever-brilliant shining star Sue Oyafuso, I got back to the grind little by little and kept myself busy working with her at Sephora Brazil. But that still wasn't enough, as the walls of the well were very tall and sharp 90 degrees to climb up. In mid-2012 I applied to open my first startup at ACE Ventures (then the brand-new "Aceleratech", an incubator focused on speeding up the growth of 12 companies with monetary investment).

Yadda yadda yadda and at the end of 2012, more specifically on the "magical" day of 12/12/12 I pitched my startup idea (PhD Galeria) to an audience of 20 white men with ties with a shitty ppt and a logo designed on Word in Times New Roman and was accepted to the "class of 2013", the first group of businesses to join the venture.

Nothing happens by magic in this life, but sometimes it does feel magical. If any fruits fell off the tree in 2012 for me it was because the seed was planted a while ago. In my view, the Dragon brings fertility to a soil that is in turmoil, it makes rain on this ground, supporting the seedlings that you've planted (and might not even have realized it yet) to grow into trees.

Cut to 2024, 12 years later, when the Dragon returns.

It is happening again. The depression is not that deep anymore and the stinking still water well was replaced with the challenges of existing and belonging in a new country, navigating the family life of a single mother with no relatives around, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) every 2 to 3 weeks, and braving into an industry that is still new to me.

Many people have asked me what my "countdown" was for. Moving to a new country? Opening a new business? Major life-changing announcement? Nah, it's just the end of the 1-year non-compete agreement I was forced to sign if I wanted to receive an extra 2 weeks of severance pay (#generositylol). Sounds so silly now, but that's quite all right because the dragon is watching over me, watching over us, is watching over this little girl until next February, guiding her way through the marshes of 2024.