DriftToShift

What happens when your dream career and your dream of being a present parent start to clash? For years, I juggled both—chasing ambitious goals in fast-paced startups while raising two little ones at home. I believed that with enough planning and willpower, I could manage both worlds. But when I hit a major life transition, I realized something had to shift. This is the story of how I chose to slow down—not because I couldn’t keep up, but because I wanted to show up differently for myself and my family. The Past: Startups, Success, and Stretching Too Thin Early in my career, I left the big corporate world at Roche. I was eager to do work that felt meaningful, not spend my days stuck in slow processes and internal politics. Startups gave me the adrenaline I craved—a chance to be hands-on, solve tough problems, and work closely with a small team toward a common goal. Sure, there were trade-offs: less pay, no 401K, fewer benefits, and more responsibility. But as someone wired ...

Are you like me—someone who didn’t even know what an “expat” was until a major life change sent you overseas? When my family relocated to Singapore, I found myself entering an entirely new chapter—not just geographically, but in identity and purpose. This is the story of how I transitioned from a biotech researcher in the U.S. to an expat mom navigating life in Singapore—rebuilding my sense of purpose after job loss, international relocation, and a major career shift. In this post, I’ll share how redefining purpose helped me adapt to expat life—and why that shift changed everything. A new chapter begins —relocating to Singapore as an expat family and finding new purpose as a mom on a dependent pass. 🌏 What Is an Expat, Really? An expat , short for expatriate , is someone who lives outside their native country—whether for work, family, adventure, or simply a change of pace. Unlike immigrants, who often intend to settle permanently, expats typically maint...