there was no shortage of money in tech, and after so many years of waiting to be here—it felt like she had finally arrived. There was so much she was going to do. That year, her parents’ rent doubled. And so—quietly, efficiently, Alex packed up her dreams. She accepted the offer without telling her family, called them two weeks later from her new apartment, her first Google paycheck already on its way. It had felt worth it, then. It had felt like the best thing she had ever done.
