My Story: A Case for Education, Savings...and Resilience

I've been broke many times during my adulthood, as you would read below in this crazy long post, but thankfully I've never been poor. I've always counted on my family's support, especially my mother's. Besides telling my story about work and money, I want to bring to your attention how important it was for me and my family members to have an education, and how pursuing it outside the US was completely valid and affordable. It provided me with a chance to overcome these 'broken' periods in my life. 

I grew up in a middle-class household; my mother was (and still is) a physician, and my father was an agricultural engineer. All my education consisted of private schools, after-school enriching activities, new outfits for birthday parties, and the brand-new first car when I was 18 years old. I went on my first trip to Disney when I was 9 years old, and we even invited my best friend to join us (this trip was decisive in my choice to come to live in the US, but that's a story for another post). After that, I probably went to Disney at least 5 times more. We lived a pretty good life.

When my parents divorced, Saturday trips to McDonald's diminished, but didn't disappear altogether. My mom did a great job of keeping us afloat in a nice "lifeboat". She had a private practice as well as being the director of her department in Panama's Children's Hospital (Hospital del Niño). The house was paid off, and I believe her biggest expenses - if any - were probably mine and my sister's school tuition. 

After I got my bachelor's in music at the University of Panama (the 4-years program, including tuition and fees, was probably around $150 total), I started working as a piano teacher at many schools throughout the city, landing at my own piano teacher's studio as one of her instructors. I was making enough to go out, date, and go party now and then, not worrying about anything in the world because I was still living with my mother. When I broke up the 3-years long relationship with my first boyfriend, the whole situation was so traumatic that it became an eye-opener experience, that showed me how irresponsible I was being with my life and my time. I decided to get another degree - just in case -, this time a bachelor's in financial engineering (a 3-year full-time program was $6,500 total). Something in the back of my head was telling me that I was going to need it. 

Right before I came to NYC to pursue my master's degree in piano performance at 27 years old, I took a small loan to help support myself and not depend too much on my mother, even though she got me covered. My tuition at CUNY was paid in cash, as well as my living expenses at the International House (IH). I applied for all the scholarships and fellowships under the sun to "help" my mother, but it was mostly to ease my guilt of wanting to study and explore the world instead of getting married, buying the house, and having a family. Thankfully, I got one of the few progressive mothers in Panama - love you, mom.  

I had an amazing time at IH. During my time living there, I discovered that I was an amazing administrator. I got the Performing Arts fellowship and got to fill up the concert hall every time I managed and presented a performance series; we used to call it Salon Nights. When I finally had to move out of IH (they only let you live there for 3 years), I rented a fully furnished apartment with one of my friends from IH and another girl we found on Craigslist (yeah, this was a long time ago). I thought the magic was going to continue through that new period, but reality rapidly sunk in. The rent alone was $800 and the only real work experience I had was teaching piano. I started looking for jobs and I didn't get any for MONTHS - broke era #1. I was barely making it to the end of the month, and every time I had to reach out to my mom, my shame was so heavy that I preferred to wait a little bit longer and see if a miracle would happen. 

Finally, after 4 months of looking and applying, I got a job at a music school in Bayside, NY. My commute was 1 hour if I took the railroad, or almost 3 hours by subway. In the beginning, it was exhilarating to finally get a job in the US, but the feeling quickly faded out after that crazy commute almost every day. After realizing that working during the week was not enough to pay the rent, I decided to teach at the same school during the weekends, which paid more, and the demand for a piano teacher was bigger. My financial situation improved and, since I've always been good at savings thanks to my middle school teacher, who by opening a savings account for all of us taught us the power of saving money. I managed to have a small emergency fund. After almost 4 years with that insane schedule, I decided to start applying to schools in Manhattan.

That small transitional period between getting my brand-new piano teaching job in Manhattan and leaving my Bayside job took me to start broke era #2. The way that piano teaching works is that you get paid an hourly rate for the lessons you teach, and the more you teach, the more you earn. Every time you start teaching in a music school as a new faculty member, the admin team has to get your students and build up your studio. This process takes at least 3 to 6 months, and it's never steady for you and your paycheck because students withdraw, move, fall out of interest, etc. At the same time, my friend and I got another apartment in the same building with a new roommate, this time bigger - and more expensive.

I started with 4 students and then my studio quickly filled up, also because I started teaching other classes and performing other duties besides private piano lessons: group piano lessons for early childhood, choir accompanying, etc. But after all this effort, I was still living short on cash, not being able to do anything besides work, not even relaxing and enjoying my hard-earned money. I was tired of putting in so much effort for so little stability and zero peace of mind. I was tired of being so broke. Not only that, but I was suddenly craving the steady pace of a reliable job to be able to have a house, a husband, and a family.

My tipping point was one day while I was teaching at that school - the former Turtle Bay Music School, in case anyone that is reading this post remembers it - it suddenly stroked me: I HAVE ANOTHER BACHELOR'S DEGREE! - I quickly offered my services to the Financial Manager and explained to her that, even though I have zero experience in the department, I have a finance degree, and I'm a fast learner. She hired me as a front office backup and as a staff accountant at the same time. 

My life suddenly changed. It was like destiny was waiting for me to make that decision because right after that, everything started to change VERY quickly: I started my brand-new job at the end of 2018; by mid-2019, the school announced that it was out of funding and was closing its doors - almost broke era #3. I started to apply to many schools as quickly as I could, as a piano teacher, and as a staff accountant; and at the same time, Nicko and I were planning our civil wedding and moving in together. Thankfully, right away I started working at another school near our new address, but then COVID hit, and we had to cancel our religious wedding in Panama. Thanks to serendipity and the power of boldness, I went into lockdown with a steady job as a Finance Coordinator, but left behind broken dreams and friendships. 

God works in mysterious ways. I'm still trying to figure out why everything happened so quickly and so harshly. It's like life is paying me back for the time lost, but at the same time is not letting me waste it on nonsense. I cannot feel thankful enough for having those pieces of paper (degrees) under my belt, and all the hassle I went through to graduate from some of them was nothing compared to what life throws at you sometimes. Study, save, and leverage opportunities; you won't regret it.