Kiely Dolce’s Post

When I saw #Meta in the news this morning followed by the words "massive layoffs" I searched the internet for something good. I scoured our internal Workplace for a slice of it'll be ok. I didn't find what I was looking for, so I wrote my own: A time to bend If you're like me, you read the news first thing in the morning. It's a habit that began as a kid with the actual physical newspaper. While I'm no longer starting with the comics and penny saver sections, it's a habit that I hold onto and it feels important, although on days like today, potentially distressing to start each day with hard news. Tough news. You know who's tough? I am. I dropped out of college and went back. I'm a mother of twins - I made two human beings at once with my one body. I bought running shoes on Jan. 23, 2020 having never run a single second and I put them on my feet and went for my very first run. I've run hundreds of runs since. And when the news is tough, I put those shoes on and I run. I bleed my ears out with The Walkmen or Led Zeppelin or the Beastie Boys and I scream with my feet. Because I'm tough. I spent 537 days with my children trapped at home during a global catastrophe. Because the work is tough. Integrity is tough. Being a mom is tough. Because being a 40 year old woman finally finding the best work she's ever done in the middle of a pandemic is tough. It's all tough. But I, I am strong. So as we make our way through this week, whatever it may hold, tighten up your laces. Keep moving. We didn't get here because we're average. I didn't. And I'm sure as hell not leaving less than I came in. A setback is a setup for a comeback. Last Thursday I stood in the middle of the hotel lobby and listened to our Design conference keynote speaker Platon look me straight in the eyes as if no one else existed and tell me to be like the willow tree. To bend. The oak tree breaks. I will never be the same. Embrace the wind. Fly with it. Keep your shoes handy. And don't ever let it break you. Because you're fucking tough and don't you forget it. And that's my weekly update.

I was recently included in this Bloomberg News article on how remote work at Facebook changed my life. Working from home has been the most transformative moment in my career - I’ve never done better work and I’ve never been happier…and I work on some of the absolute hardest/most challenging real-world social platform problems there are and I’m still happy and thriving. That says something to me. Incredibly proud to work for Meta and all the opportunities and challenges I’m lucky to have every single day. I hope I never work 9-5 in a cubicle ever again 🎉

I had a lot of feelings yesterday when I picked my kindergarteners up from school. It was their first lockdown drill. I wrote this poem and I want to share my writing and feelings here because everywhere is the right place for this. I can’t imagine the number of parents, teachers and children who feel like I do. I feel powerless to have meaningful impact and so I turn to my words. Thanks for reading the heart of a mother: Birthday candles On the day Columbine happened I stayed home sick from my high school. Tucked into my parents plaid couch my reruns of The Peoples Court interrupted by the unfolding carnage. I witnessed the kids my age going through windows to escape. Walking across the parking lot with their hands up. Their classmates murdered on the library floor. And just like that I am nearly 40 standing in aisle 3 at Heinen’s picking out your 6th birthday candles. I cry silently under my sunglasses and mask that you’ve grown so big and beautiful and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. We pick you up from kindergarten meeting you on the lawn with wide open arms. You both can’t wait to show us the beaded necklaces, or to go to the bathroom, and you’re so excited to open the next advent calendar door. Your backpacks are filled with drawings of rainbows and the letters you’re mastering and that’s when you tell us about your lockdown drill. You had a great idea to turn off the lights, and even though there’s a virus, you got super-duper close to your friends. Mr. L turns down the blinds and locks the door and everyone ducks. It wasn’t real you whisper to me, and your sister looks at me with her moonlight eyes and whispers too, it’s just practice. It’s just practice. - Written by Kiely Dolce #writing #poetry #uxdesign #contentdesign #parenthood

A great example of how Facebook is working to protect groups and users from harmful experiences. Proud to be part of these brilliant and incredibly hardworking teams and proud to help tackle some of the most complex challenges at FB. There’s more to Facebook than what you see in the news and Facebook integrity is built by regular people like me everyday.

How to become a Content Designer in 17 steps Start college, major in English Get through first 3 years Drop out Waitress Waitress Waitress Finish college degree Dental office assistant Marketing copy Nanny Retail First UX copy job Digital media manager Birth of twins Podcast producer Social media manager UX copywriter UX content strategist Content Designer Content Designer Voila! If you like, read more about how I started my UX journey right here #contentdesign

Last September I achieved the next step in my career earning a place on the Content Design team at Facebook. Unfortunately, I knew this meant we’d have to move from Chicago to the outrageously expensive Bay Area. Our dream to own a home and give our kids a yard to play in disintegrated along with time spent with our aging parents. Long commutes and pricey childcare realities crept back in. And then…a choice. I was given a choice. Be at the heart of FB in Menlo Park or be permanently remote. As a lover of collaboration and sharing human-centered design, an office goof and instigator of coffee chats, it was actually tough to decide for a moment there... but that moment was brief. Three weeks ago, we moved into our beautiful “new” 100 yr old home we bought in Cleveland and I’ve never been happier. To be able to work while I watch my kids play in our yard is absolutely priceless. I don’t need an office to be successful and FB is wherever I am. It’s a remarkable change in my life to have so much choice professionally and I’m so grateful to call Cleveland and FB home.

Keeping it real during The Great Distancing #WFH #mural #kids