This is my newsletter #39: Nina Iordanova
Hi!
My name is Nina. I’m a 30-year-old startup founder living in Toronto, Canada. I wanted to tell you a bit about my life here.
I live in a beautiful historic part of the city called the Distillery District, where the streets are made of red cobblestones and the buildings are preserved from the Victorian era.
The Distillery District is a cultural centre. There are art exhibitions and festivals every season, and it’s home to Soulpepper - one of the most respected theatres in the city. It’s a top tourist destination and I love seeing how people come to explore the art galleries, restaurants and boutiques here.
My favourite cafe is called Cluny Bistro and it’s just a few minutes walk away on the other side of the Distillery. I pick up a baguette, a coffee, and a chocolate croissant there every morning. I know the name of everyone who works there, and they’ll sometimes slip me an extra treat or a coffee on the house.
The Distillery District is very close to Lake Ontario, so I like to take my coffee and croissant on there on my morning walk. Even when it’s cold out, I bundle up, put on whatever audiobook I’m listening to, and try and get outside.
I’ll pass bikers, moms with strollers, old people going for runs, young people going for runs, people walking their dogs, and groups of kids skateboarding. One time, I saw a dance crew practicing in the park by the water, music blasting and everyone laughing.
I work from home building a company called Good People, which I started with my best friend Niloo. We wanted to help people living in big cities feel more connected to the place they live in and the people they’re surrounded by.
It’s something I’ve struggled with for a long time - finding my community, feeling like I belong here.
I was born in Bulgaria. My family moved to Canada when I was five. 25 years is a long time to spend growing up somewhere, but I still feel just as connected to my Bulgarian roots as I do to my Canadian upbringing.
I speak Bulgarian, can slowly read and choppily type it, and keep a lot of the traditions. I talk to my grandparents every week and hold a lot of the values they do. There’s an emphasis on family, community, and responsibility that I try and hold onto and recreate for myself here.
Niloo and I talked to a lot of people who felt disconnected in that same way, and realized it wasn’t a problem unique to us.
So we created Good People to teach people how to build their own personal communities, and as a place to bring people together.
I used to expect my work to be responsible for all my happiness.
I wanted it to be emotionally fulfilling, a creative outlet, a way to meet new people, how I paid my bills, what I was recognized and respected for, a way to keep developing new skills, and something I felt motivated to do every single day.
It took me 5 years to understand that wasn’t a realistic or healthy expectation. It’s been an interesting process to start to separate my personal identity and what makes me feel fulfilled from what I do for work.
I started my own newsletter, Something Good, to have something that was entirely my own. That didn’t have to be a content piece for my job or be responsible for paying any bills. It could stand on its own as a place where I can regularly write and share my personal experiences.
I’m now looking for other ways to untangle the things I value from my job, and finding other ways to feel fulfilled.
I’ll likely find a full time job soon, and that’s how I’ll make money. We’ll move Good People to a part-time project, and that’s how we’ll learn a new skill. I’ll run my newsletter as a creative outlet. I’m joining a local volunteer team to upkeep the urban forest in the city as a way to give back.
I’m excited to see how life will change as I let go of the idea that my work has to be responsible for all my passions.
Thank you for getting to know me - whether you’re living a city over or reading this from the other side of the world. If you want to read more from me, here are three of my favourite newsletter issues from Something Good.
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Sending you lots of love, warmth, and hope, wherever this finds you.
Warmly yours,
Nina