leaning in

Ah, the quintessential Southern California sunset.

A few weeks ago, Dane & I decided to have a little happy hour in Venice Beach at a place called the Waterfront Cafe. The cafe's patio sits right on the boardwalk, across from the ocean. Great for both the ocean views and the people watching (Venice has to be the USA's premiere people watching location).  Also, the Waterfront Cafe has the most amazing giant hot pretzels served with homemade sweet mustard. I couldn't even snap a photo because we gobbled it up so quickly.

I've been reading the popular book Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg recently (she's the COO of Facebook and also worked at Google and for the US Treasury). I wasn't so sure about it at first--as an Anthropology major, I had extensively studied the topic of gender roles in multiple areas of the world, and the idea that girls and boys are raised differently and accept societal roles differently didn't seem groundbreaking to me-- but I'm about halfway through now and can say that she definitely has some great observations about pursuing a career as a woman. My workplace is having a mini-bookclub to discuss Lean In after we're all finished reading it, and I'm excited to share all of my opinions and hear others opinions.

If you think that this book is only applicable to the woman pursing a career in business or technology, I would say that you are dead wrong. I am already applying her lessons not only in my "day job" workplace, but also in my creative career. In fact (although I'm only halfway through Sheryl's book), I'd say that her writing is a great asset to a creative career since the "entry level" of this type of work is basically considered "trying to be a _____".  Although I have performed in many professional plays, I am still seen as "trying to be an actor" unless I continue to work my way up (or around, and Sheryl suggests). We have to lean in and find new ways to grow or our career seemingly doesn't exist.

It seems like everyone is reading the book anyway, but I would say that picking up a copy from the library or bookstore is a good idea, especially if you're a twenty-something like me trying to piece together a career path.

I don't think Lean In was on my mind during this gorgeous sunset, but I'm sure I'll be applying its lessons to both of my careers.