Today is my last day at work and it is a pretty bittersweet event.
Bitter: leaving my new friends I’ve made in Atlanta (all at my job), becoming unemployed, knowing I will never be a part of such a cool office, the end of my first real big girl job, fun Fridays with my coworkers where the laughing never stops.
Sweet: free to pursue my dream of teaching, now we are on a mini vacation for 2 weeks, saying goodbye to a white headache, no more workplace drama, and no more ********* (some things I just can’t say in public).
Bitter: leaving my new friends I’ve made in Atlanta (all at my job), becoming unemployed, knowing I will never be a part of such a cool office, the end of my first real big girl job, fun Fridays with my coworkers where the laughing never stops.
Sweet: free to pursue my dream of teaching, now we are on a mini vacation for 2 weeks, saying goodbye to a white headache, no more workplace drama, and no more ********* (some things I just can’t say in public).
I have learned a lot since that hot summer day in July 2008 when I walked into my big 30 person office for my first interview. Most of what I learned I can’t really discuss in detail – b/c I don’t want to offend anyone, nor do I really want to talk specifically about my company.
In terms of what it means to have a REAL JOB though, I learned that in every workplace there is a boss and even if you don’t like this boss you have to just suck it up and deal. I learned that working 8-5 is bearable, but only when you take your hour lunch break with friends. I learned that I can’t type all day long unless I have a wrist guard. I learned that at Christmas time companies are usually very generous and there is nothing better than the snacks that come in a Holiday Gift Basket. I learned that people love to let loose at work functions when alcohol is involved. I learned that going out on Thurs night is an event of the past b/c you have to come to work on a Friday regardless of a hangover.
I have also learned that in the 24 years I have been alive, I have encountered a bajillion different kinds of people. There are some I wish I could forget, but probably never will. Such persons have shown me human characteristics I never thought could exist in real life – how is it possible to have NO compassion or sympathy? To have no respect for others but yourself? To be a selfish ‘giver’? How can a person be mean to another person and not feel remorse?
I think I could write a whole book about the various personalities I have come in contact with and the experiences I have had with such people. I am only 24. I can’t imagine what other kinds of yucky people I’ll have met 10 years from now.
I was googling articles about human nature and came across this quote, “Human behavior is a product both of our innate human nature and of our individual experience and environment” (source). If I pretend that this quote is true, than I can sort of understand why mean people are the way they are…sort of being the key word… and that is because they have had bad experiences in life AND they were born with part of the devil inside them. =0)
At 4pm I will finish another chapter in my life… this chapter I shall call “My First Real Big Girl Job.” Then I will go home and snuggle up against Mr. Bear all night long b/c its cold and rainy outside and I do not want to be anywhere but next to him.
Weedle I hope you have a good 2 weeks off!! It sounds like you need it, call me when your home for a wine night!! We put up our first X-mas tree, a little charlie brownish, but I love it!! So excited to hear about your new adventures in MD and that you will be MUCH closer!!!
I love this post! It’s so true what you learn at your “first big girl job.” I’m still at the same company, but I’m sure it will be a bittersweet ending to a chapter when I leave. Have a wonderful weekend!
I love this post! So true. So very true!
Yaaaay for beginning a new chapter in your life, girlie! Even though I know you’re going to miss all your fabulous friends, think of all the fun you and Mr. Bear are going to have building your new life together and making Baltimore your new home! You two will get to pick out new favorite restaurants, new favorite bars, new favorite parks and gyms and malls! There are sooo many wonderfully incredible possibilities waiting for you guys!
You have such a fantastic outlook on life, on people, and on the world around you! Reading your blog makes me a little happier each day! 🙂 I cannot wait to hear about all the new people that you meet in the next 10 years! Boy could this be exciting!
Bittersweet. Lots of new things to come your way!
It’s so true what you learn at your “first big girl job. great post, thanks for sharing.
Congratulations! This is a big time in your life! Enjoy every moment!