The Start of Something New
Starts now.
It’s so crazy to wake up in the morning and think about where I am today. Freshly graduated out of school and already employed. Especially employed in the States, where the recession is affecting many many people. Though I am certain I lucked out, that’s not what this post is about.
This post is about starting a new chapter, having a fresh beginning. Equipped with everything I’ve learned in the past 5 years, I’m now in the midst of the real world – the working world – where I will get a chance to start fresh with a fully new challenge. That challenge is, how well will you do with your career? How well can you manage your personal lifestyle? And I love a new challenge. Don’t get me wrong, school had its challenges and fun.
Back in school, the main concern is the learning. It’s getting your assignments finished, your CS labs done on time, your essays written. You did not worry about money – mainly because you didn’t have any. You find the cheapest bars, the cheapest food, and places where you and your friends can share a room to split the rent costs – that type of fun. But those challenges got old quickly. By 3rd year, you already knew where to find $7.99 pitchers. You could plot out the dinner specials of every restaurant. Heck, you even learned how to survive on $3/day for food. School and studying also lost its fun. Getting high grades was no longer a challenge – learning in class was easy. There was no struggle anymore, just a grind. It got boring.
Now, everything’s new and different, and the world has been shaken up. Firstly, the start of your career path. Starting at the very bottom – my favorite place to start. Then questions and challenges come up. Can you do well at work? Can you succeed? Can you contribute your ideas and put it into use. New goals are set in place – goals to do well, goals to help the company, goals to network and make friends. Help run projects and facilitate product development. Like I said, a whole new set of challenges.
Your career will be the biggest thing that occupies your thoughts and your time. This will be the thing you spend 40 hours a week doing, so you better love it. And right now, I love the things I’m doing and the challenges I’ve been given. I was actually excited – yes excited – to come home this weekend to do more research and planning on how to solve the issues that came up at work.
When work cools down and you have time to look outside of that, there are many other things to occupy your mind.
Like finding a place to live. Finding a nice place that you can just kick it after work, when you need to unwind. A place you can call your bachelor pad, where people come over and just admire it for how beautiful it is. Looking for that perfect plasma TV that stream basketball in HD so crisp you can see the sweat dripping off Kevin Garnett. Shopping for a nice, large, couch. Buying dining sets, cutlery that matches your place. Buying bedding and a mattress that makes your place feel like you’re living in the Hyatt. Looking for lamps and candles that will help set the mood in your place.
Or finding a cell phone. Now that tuition’s not a worry, you can afford a larger cell phone bill. Blackberry, iPhone, HTC? So many options. Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile? So many providers and choices to pick. Data plan, voice plan, text messaging? MSN at your fingertips, twittering from your phone? How exciting is that. Seeing something I like, taking a picture of it on my phone and immediately sending it to my friends to see.
Savings. How much of your income do you save? 10%? 20%? When are you going to put a down payment for your house to grow your asset? Vacations? How about thinking about buying actually nice gifts for your family for once so they can enjoy your successes with you.
Clothing. You just can’t wear the same pair of sweatpants everyday and get away with it anymore, bud. Sorry, but you’re getting paid now. It’s time to dress more maturely and begin the big transformation over to yuppie life. It’s time to shop at Banana Republic, and get a couple of nice vests, or sweaters. Levi’s for a fitted pair of jeans. H&M for nice european fit dress shirts. Of course, a nice classy pair of dress shoes too.
So many others that will come up eventually. And at the age of 23, there’ s still so much time to go out and enjoy all the nightlife entertainment the city has to offer. Baseball games, basketball games, football games, sailing, hiking, canoeing. Travelling as well – to any city you want, with the vacation holidays you’re allotted.
This is an awesome, if not the greatest, start of something new yet.