Not Your Average Blogger

Hey there!

I'm Hope, the creator of The Unshaken Female...

& Here's a little bit about me!

Don't worry, I'm not your average blogger.

I'm a Registered Pharmacist by trade {PharmD, RPh}, but my true passions lay outside the pharmacy.

Nothing excites me more than finding inspiration via a new travel destination or a uniquely themed interior design.

Random fact: I'm obsessed with lighting, especially when I stumble upon string lights somewhere enchanted!

I love creative writing and have always had a wild imagination since childhood. I used to write fictional short stories as a kid inspired by everything from Goosebumps books to Beanie Babies!

I have a newfound passion for investing and have taken the last few years to learn more about personal finance & becoming financially independent.

Being born & raised in the greater Boston area, I naturally have a bit of a chip on my shoulder {haha}. It's actually, no joke, a natural birthmark! (See photo below)

Kimpton Seafire Resort, Cayman Islands, BWI

If you couldn't already tell, I'm an only child. Therefore, you may encounter some of my sassiness & sarcasm throughout the blog {my apologies in advance}!

I'm actually a very caring and passionate person, so when I'm into something new, I'm all in.

Having spent a good portion of my life by myself {to this day}, I have adapted to becoming an independent and fearless human being.

While I used to be more of an extrovert in my high school & college years, I’ve become much more of an introvert going into my 30s. In fact, call me an ambivert!

I've been blessed with two precious cats {Sir Leo & Princess Luna}, both of whom I’ve raised since they were just 8 weeks old. They're now turning into obedient little house lions! That said, I’m definitely more of a homebody now and feel most comfortable in my humble abode {with Leo & Luna of course}!

Whilst living on my own for years trying to find a balance between hard work & play, I’ve pursued new hobbies such as digital hand-lettering & calligraphy, interior decorating, and best of all, traveling {in any of my spare time, that is}. I am extremely fortunate that my pharmacy career has given me the opportunity to explore those passions, all while earning a solid income to pay the bills.

Now, as this may all sound well & fabulous, a day in my shoes is anything but a walk in the park. Making good money always comes with a price tag!

Essentially, the time we put into our work is an investment. At the end of the day, it's still a question of whether you're investing your time into your future, or someone else's.

Whether you're sipping the corporate Kool-Aid or hustling to build your own wealth, the common denominator is time spent working.

I’ve persevered through loneliness, internal conflicts, countless hardships, devastating break-ups, and failed opportunities in my life to name a few {...but who hasn’t?}.

Nonetheless, I recently took a sabbatical from my corporate job as a retail pharmacy manager to prioritize my well-being & mental health.

I had a hard time balancing work/life and was disrespected by many of my employees who were under my supervision. With no true break from retail throughout half my life, I encountered horrible burnout caused by high stress levels and a toxic work environment.

This decision has been a huge sacrifice for me, as I've been a dedicated employee with great work ethic for many years. However, with a mortgage, expensive taste, & mountains of debt still hovering over my head, it was a continuous hamster wheel of working to pay the bills. I never thought it would end, nor did any of my plans to start a different career path.

Shouldn’t you love the work you’re in? Is there an “it’s complicated” for that answer?

As my transformative personal journey continues, I will share my adventures and endeavors with you along the way!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy more of my posts!

Yours truly,

XO Hope