I’m a first generation Iranian-American. And so the beginning of this year was especially worrisome when we learned that the our president had ordered the assassination of Iran’s General Soleimani, the leader of the Foreign Wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, raising already heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S.

Like many I was really scared about a war erupting…and more lives being sacrificed over something that I honestly don’t think can be solved on the battlefield. Subsequent to this, Iran admitted to accidentally taking down the the Ukrainian jetliner that killed all 176 people on board.

In its aftermath, as this is a financial podcast, I thought, what could I share here that was of relevance to us?

Well, I recently came across an NPR interview with Farnoush Amiri, who is an Iran-born U.S. citizen, and thought she would be a fantastic guest. In the NPR interview she described a great secret that she and her family kept after a terrifying incident in their home in 2005.

She shares this in our conversation, too, but the bigger takeaways from our discussion are her immigrant experiences – lessons both unique and universal, as well as her life today as a financially independent Millennial living in New York City. Listen to learn how she’s creating a SO MONEY life in the context of all that is happening between the two countries she knows and loves.

More about Farnoush: She is Iranian American journalist at The Associated Press, based in New York City. She was born in Iran and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of five, where she grew up in Orange County, California, with her parents and younger brother. Farnoush has reported from across the country and in Puerto Rico, where she covered the intensive aftermath of Hurricane Maria. She currently serves on the board of the South Asian Journalists Association.

Connect with her on Instagram @FarnoushAmiriNYC and on Twitter @FarnoushAmiri