We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Izze Stein. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Izze below.

Alright, Izze thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

Most people think of investments as monetary. But we also invest in people, pouring our precious time into building and maintaining relationships that we feel provide us with some sort of value. Sometimes we invest in acquaintances who become lifelong friends. Sometimes we invest in colleagues who turn into major business collaborators.

Sometimes we invest in people who are one way in our minds, but completely different in reality, which is what I did with Dario.

I met Dario on a dating app in the summer of 2020. He was very attractive, had an exciting career, and expressed how much he loved homemaking activities such as cooking and gardening. I was pretty much all in from the start, and though I was taken aback when he kissed me by pulling my mask down on the first date, I thought it was exhilarating.

After a few weeks, I asked Dario about defining the relationship, to which he responded that he wasn’t ready to do so. Dario was 9 years older than me, so I trusted his wisdom in regards to timing. But when we still hadn’t defined the relationship and he surprised me with a party with all of his friends, I began to feel uneasy and insecure. My discomfort leaked into every aspect of our connection – every text, conversation, and evening together – but I felt strongly about continuing. He finally ended the relationship after two and a half months, saying on the phone that he felt it wasn’t the “right time” for us.

Unwilling to fold the investment, I reached out to Dario over the holidays, to which he responded that he thought I was his person. I then began to think of myself as his person, convincing myself that if I could just grow in the right way and catch up to him, soon it would be the “right time” for us. In between dates with other people I would periodically visit Dario at his apartment, hoping on each visit something about me would appear different to him and it would finally be the “right time.” But it never was.

After one and a half years of our connection, Dario informed me he was in another serious relationship. I was devastated. How could he be with anyone else, when I was his person? I blamed myself and tried to move on, but in the back of my mind I held on to the thought that I was still his person, and that he would end his current relationship once he realized this.

When the relationship did end Dario reached out to me, and I giddily rushed to see him. But when we got together, something felt different. After all of the time that had passed, I had grown in the right way as I had hoped, but with my new set of eyes I was finally able to see Dario for who he was. Because we spent far more time apart than together, the Dario I knew was the Dario in my head, but the Dario sitting in front of me was a separate person entirely. I finally accepted that he wasn’t my person, let him go, and never looked back.

I invested two years into seeing myself as Dario’s person. During those two years, I unknowingly shut myself off from fully connecting with other partners so I could preserve myself for him. In this sense, Dario was my worst investment, as I spent two years of my life fantasizing a life with someone that never was.

But also during this time, I turned to my piano & notebook for comfort, to write through my despair and hopelessness when I felt completely alone. As fruitless as my relationship with Dario was in terms of partnership, it helped me find my calling to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter. In this sense, Dario was the best investment I could have possibly made.

Izze, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a singer/songwriter based in New York City. I started out in theatre, studying Musical Theatre at the University of Michigan. Nine months after I moved to NYC, Covid hit, and the entire theatre industry shut down. In 2021 I started singing at local bars and clubs and realized that I was even more drawn to music than theatre. I became a full time gig musician in 2022, and at the end of the year, I tested out my original music with a show at Rockwood Music Hall to see how people would respond. The feedback I received was so overwhelmingly positive I knew that I had found my path of pursuing a career as a singer/songwriter.

After the Rockwood show, I field tested the songs by performing them all around NYC and recorded them with an incredible Melbourne-based producer, EMEREE. This year I will begin releasing the recordings, which I am psyched about!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

With my music, I hope to reach those who have experienced the debilitating effects of toxic relationships and offer them solace. My ultimate goal is to inspire listeners to let go of harmful partnerships and embark on a journey of healing and self-discovery.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Connecting with people. Whenever someone tells me that they relate to my songs, I feel as though I am fulfilling a higher purpose. Music is one of the most powerful binding forces we have!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://izzestein.com
• Instagram: @izzestein
• Facebook: @izzestein
• Youtube: @izzestein
• Other: Tik Tok: @izzestein
  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6i26OYNbRkdkEyz6MRRNq8?si=3i6j9q74SS2jpp3c3GkWAg

Image Credits

4 Marilyn Monroe T-shirt photos: Akash Gheewala

1 other photo: Matt Baker