JOMO is IN (Joy of Missing Out)

I spent months applying to what felt like a million jobs (and maybe it was… when I asked ChatGPT to roast me, it said I was obsessed with applying to jobs). And I cannot tell you how many of those didn’t respond to me, even when I had been referred.

Cover letters, résumés, endless tabs open (like, truly, a million, my laptop kept crashing). And yet, the role that has changed everything didn’t come from an application at all. It came knocking, quietly, through the door I’d been keeping open all along: my LinkedIn profile.

Last week, as I saw my best friend leave after visiting for the first time in 6 years… (I know, insane) I joined HubSpot as an Associate Producer. It still feels surreal to write that sentence. After years of hustling for the “perfect thing,” this one found me…?

I am so excited!

(here’s us on the Brooklyn Bridge)

It also means something else: not only do I now work from home (crazy!), but this will be my first year not in New York City for Climate Week or the New York Film Festival. I won’t be running between work, panels, screenings, and late-night conversations. I’ll be in Europe spending time with the people I love.

And here’s the thing… I cannot wait.

I used to think missing big events and moments meant missing out. But this year, I feel the opposite: the joy of knowing I’m exactly where I need to be and have NO PLANS. I’ll be drinking coffee, writing scripts, and soaking in the sun with my grandma.

And that's not only okay, it’s great. I cannot wait.

This freedom is new to me. For years, I felt tied to the U.S. First because I was waiting for my green card, then because I worked in environments where asking for time with my family was met with shame or suspicion. For those of us who live far from home, going back isn’t a vacation.

So here’s my gentle nudge to HR teams everywhere: if you say you value diversity, remember that it’s not just about who you hire, it’s about how you support them. Cultural diversity means different needs, different rhythms, and sometimes, thousands of miles between “home” and “work.”

Today, I’m grateful to be in a role that understands that.

Confession: I’ve always been against audiobooks. I thought, if I’m going to read, I want to read. But my very American brain recently whispered, You bike and run all the time… let’s make this productive.

So I tried one. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. In Spanish. Which was… strange. But… I LOVED IT.

I haven’t tried non-fiction yet, but I will let you know how it goes.

Also, follow me on Goodreads for some reading info, and please share any amazing summer reads!!!

I recently tried this amazing vegan burger at Black Iron Burger (owned by some guys from my hometown!!). If you go, order the sweet potato fries.

If I were in NYC, here’s where you’d find me between Sept 21–28:

• The Living Screen

• Climate Film Festival

• Imagining Climate Futures: Gallery

• BIPOC Climate Justice Summit — Climate action meets nightlife energy at RUMI Event Space.

• Eco Arts Festival

• Climate Night Live — Climate action meets nightlife energy at RUMI Event Space.

• Tree Planting with Arbor Day Foundation & NYC Parks — Hands-on action in St. Vartan Park.

• WEDG® Networking Event

• Climate Week: Creators TAKE ON Climate and Mental Health

• How to Create Meaningful Climate Action in an Increasingly Authoritarian U.S.

• Digital Climate Reporting Roundtable

• Narrative Change Summit @ CFF

• Food Day 2025

• Climate Storytelling Through the Moving Image

• World Water Film Festival - How to Poison a Planet: PFAS Documentary & Panel

• Climate In The Kitchen: How a More Resilient Home Starts In This Room

• In Dialogue with Nature: Snøhetta on shaping environmental and social sustainability

• Crafting Our Future: Climate, Craft & a Call to Action

• The Power of Dialogue in a Polarized World

• From Waste to Win: How Reducing Wasted Food Benefits Climate & Community

• Introducing Drawdown Explorer: The World’s Most Comprehensive Guide To Climate Solutions

• Pillars of the Green Transition

• The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity

• Exclusive Panel Discussion: The Power of Content

• Elements of Nature Drawing

• The narrative shift: From polarization to mass persuasion

• The New York Times Climate Forward 2025

• Unfiltered: Climate Thoughts Over Coffee

• From the Ground Up: Voices of the Carbon Market — Film + panel on U.S. farmers turning land into climate solutions.

• Designing for Future Climate Disruption and Displacement

• Turning Climate Week Momentum into Impact

• Where Sustainability Meets Storytelling: Aligning CSOs and CCOs for Impact

• Making Circularity Pay-Off

• Creative Climate Forum: Fast Responses, Slow Revolutions – Art, Community, and Tools of Creative Resistance

• Birding & Bagels Bonanza — Central Park birdwatching with coffee and bagels.

• Climate Resilience in Action — At the American Museum of Natural History, with Madame Gandhi performing under the blue whale.

• The Importance of Artists and Art-making in the Climate Movement

• OBSERVER Film Screening

• Women's Leadership in Climate Justice: It will not happen without us!

• The 9th Annual Marketplace of the Future

• HAHApocalypse

• Fire Ecologies Album Release on the Gowanus Canal

• Transformative Impact Summit

• Tools for Building Unity Among Groups that Disagree

Check more official events here…

If you’re job hunting, I just shared a TikTok with the exact tips that helped me land my remote role in less than 30 days.

So here’s to jobs that find you, to freedom hard-earned, to stories in unexpected formats, and to redefining what JOMO really means.

I could say I will be thinking of you in Europe, but I probably won’t.

Love you all.

— Lucía