Fifty Cups of Coffee #10: Nicole Cibotti Tu
Date: February 26, 2024
Location: Amuse restaurant, New York, NY
How we know each other
Nicole and I went to Emerson College together and met through our sorority, Sigma Pi Theta. I’m pretty sure she’s one of the people who signed me up for the college talent competition my sophomore year, where my talent was to eat a pound of pasta in one sitting (I tied for second place, thank you very much!). We also had a mutual love of the Beastie Boys.
What Nicole is doing now
Nicole lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two daughters, ages 16 and 14.
She has always been an amazing inspirational human being, so I am not surprised to hear she continues to do amazing things to make the world a better place. Currently she is working for an elementary school with an underserved population. She also continues to run marathons, and travel with her family whenever they can.
Three questions
During these Fifty Cups of Coffee chats, I ask each person the same three questions. The reasoning behind each is as follows:
Question 1 – Social media makes it easy for other people to think that they know us, when truthfully, we all only see a small sliver of someone’s life and who they really are. This is the interviewee’s chance to share something that is important to them that, for whatever reason, other people may not know.
Question 2 – We all have fears, no matter who are are or where we are in life. This helps connect us and show we are all more alike than we are different.
Question 3 – I believe the answer to this question helps show each person’s true values, passions, and their why in life.
There are no right or wrong answers to any of these. I’m including each person’s answers in first person. Their answers have been edited from my notes for length and clarity, but these are their words.
What is one thing you wish more people knew about you?
I don’t share that much on social media because it’s not who I am. I feel like if you know me, it takes a while for me to feel comfortable. I’m a small group type of person. And if you know me, then you know who I am. I don’t feel the need to show who I am or take a stance. You can do the work yourself and I think it’s unfortunate that everyone forms opinion on social media; I don’t choose to do that. I feel like you’re misunderstood; people have a quick take on everything.
What is your deepest fear?
I want to be able to see my children live their lives, so I want to stay healthy and live a good quality of life as long as I can. As a later-in-life parent, I’m motivated to stay healthy and to live a good quality of life and take care of myself, because I want to be able to be active in my 80s. Not only for myself, but for my kids. My dad passed away when he was 64 and he didn’t get to know my kids. I wish he could see my life. I want to see my kids lives, so prioritizing my health is a big thing.
If you had unlimited funds, what would you do with your life?
I would travel. I’ve traveled a lot and I would continue trying new things, meeting new people, and traveling as much as I can to keep learning.
Lessons Learned
I am so grateful for Nicole taking the time to come meet me in MidTown Manhattan for this coffee chat! It was so great to catch up. Here are my biggest takeaways from our chat:
- Prioritize your health. If not just for you, do it for your kids and your family. Do it for your friends and others who may be inspired by you. I am constantly inspired every single time I see Nicole running another marathon or training for one.
- It’s okay to not be on social media. There’s a lot of pressure to share and overshare on social media, but Nicole reminds us that if that is not your jam, then don’t do it.
- Prioritize your friendships. Nicole and I know a lot of the same people, so we chatted about who we still see regularly and keep up with. It was clear that for both of us, making time to see friends on a somewhat regular basis is important to our overall well being. We are all busy, but no matter how busy your life gets, you can always make time for your friends.
Thank you so much for participating in the 50 Cups of Coffee project, Nicole! I cherish our time together and am so happy we were able to meet up while I was in New York!
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