For anyone who knows me, getting personal information out of me is like pulling teeth. Feel free to ask Candice; getting me to finalize this “About Me” has probably been her biggest headache over the last 3 weeks. I’m going to follow her lead & lay everything out for you (As much as it goes against all the grains in my body).
Who is Sydney as an Individual?
My Beginning
I was born on May 12, 1996 in Greenville, SC. Just so everyone knows, that was on a Sunday & it was Mother’s Day. I was a difficult birth, cord wrapped around my neck, around my tummy, & through my legs. I was hunkered down & refused to leave, so being difficult is something that comes incredibly natural for me. My mom & dad raised my little brother (Alex) & I until the start of the 5th grade when my parents split, shortly after my mom’s Breast Cancer diagnosis. This split wasn’t a shock for anyone – my brother & I asked them to do it. But from that split on my mom raised us as a single mom and she played both roles well. She learned basketball to help support my brothers favorite sport & worked late, picked up extra tasks for overtime & waited tables to pay for my year-round travel softball team. She made me from scratch, making sure I had the right values & morals, a perfect head on my shoulder, & constantly worked to ensure I kept my faith & balance in life.
My Past
I graduated from Wade Hampton High School at the age of 16, & I crossed the stage right after my 17th birthday. After only 3 years of High School I was over it, I had more than enough credits & after a shoulder injury I couldn’t throw a softball anymore. I attended Converse College the following August & obtained my Bachelor of Science in Accounting… despite begging my mom to let me take a year off. Today I am thankful that she made me go, had I taken the time off I probably wouldn’t have gone at all. I tried the same speech my Junior Year of College… and you guessed it she made me stay. Making me stay was her way of ensuring her financial investment, she paid for my first two years of college, working full-time, waiting tables at night, all while going to Nursing School herself. My last two years I worked 3 jobs to afford school, my dorm/2 bedroom duplex in Greer, car, & bills. It was a rough two years but it honestly helped shape me in so many ways.
My Present
I am 25 years old with 2 Pure German Shepherds. They’re my whole world, ask anyone. It’s why I bought my first house two years ago, & why I bought my second house back in May of this year. I spend my free time split between local bars & breweries & anything outdoors. Hiking with the dogs, camping, & kayaking bring me so much joy & happiness. This year I am choosing to focus on myself & building my circle with people who bring positivity into my life. 2020 was a year full of doubts, regret, 2nd guessing my worth, anger, sadness, heartbreak, more regret, not a lot of self-worth, & even more anger, sadness, & heartbreak. In the moment I thought I was happy & blissful but now looking back, I was gravitating towards the least bad situation. I had convinced myself that the best of the worst was happiness & now that I am truly working towards healing & self-worth, I see that I hadn’t been happy in many years. I contribute a lot of that to knowing that my mom was slowly dying of terminal cancer & that eventually I’d have to face the end of our beautiful relationship, friendship, support system, there are a thousand ways I could describe what we had… none of them do it justice. But today – today I choose to actively focus on Me & what I can do to improve myself & the world around me.
Who is Sydney as a Professional?
My Biggest Fault
I am someone who doesn’t have the full ability to say “No”. I am constantly reaching to improve, grow, learn, excel, & that is why I agree to do just about anything that is asked of me at work. It has led to learning experiences I thought I’d never have, travel experience I had only dreamed of, & the flexibility to do what is truly important in my personal life. It has also led to tears, mental breakdowns, unnecessary arguments on the phone with Candice, & a lot of thought on what I should be doing vs. what I am doing.
The Career
I worked as a waitress & sales associate through college & pretty much up until August of 2018. In August of 2018 I started working as a Project Coordinator. That lasted all of 8 months before I was bored & applied for another job within the same company. 4 Months later I finally was allowed to switch roles. Exactly one year later I went from being an associate buyer to being an intermediate buyer. But thanks to my boss’s suggestion of creating your own title – I call myself something much cooler “SUPPLY CHAIN BUYER”. (Imagine that with the wonder woman logo & theme song).
What does Sydney want for B3H?
Goal
My goal for Balancing Hard Hats & Heels is to give as much of myself, my experiences, my struggles, my successes, my knowledge in this industry for the Women across the country. Being in an industry that has always been predominantly dominated by men, there’s no easy way to find & source advice & information to help excel women. I want to make this industry easier for women to navigate. I do not want women to find themselves in the same situation I was in (Green/New/Confused/Lost/Drowning) and want to give up. If I hadn’t been paired with Candice right off the bat, I would have walked off. Hell I almost did two weeks into my first job. I want more than anything for this to be a place to inspire, encourage, & provide confidence for more people in this industry. I am not open to sharing but I am willing to for the sake of everyone on this journey with us!
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