Week 2

For me, that exuberant burst of insight frequently vocalized by a triumphant and/or ecstatic “Aha!” arrived to me yesterday more in the form of a gradual and welcome realization—a realization precipitated by a sizeable amount of internal musing and external influence. This week’s Lunch and Learn, which consisted of a panel of Fairway employees who shared with us the varied and often totally indirect trajectories of their careers, was equally enlightening as though quite different from last week’s event. If there's one thing I’ve carried away with me from yesterday, though, it's a simple but wonderful reassurance that everything after the rapidly approaching end of college will, indeed, be okay…that I will eventually (be it after several months or several years of working in the fearsome real world) find an occupation I truly love and at which I excel. I’ve been thinking (hoping) for some time that it’s just not normal, or at least not completely common (or imperative), to figure out exactly what one is meant to do immediately after graduating from college; yesterday’s speakers, a majority of whom talked about how they sampled a myriad of different career paths before finally settling into their current positions, only solidified my hopeful notion.

All that being said, I’ve certainly learned a great deal having worked here for nearly two full weeks now—not necessarily “Aha!”-worthy learnings, but learnings nonetheless. For example: work clothes are surprisingly delightfully comfortable. There is definitely no use in crying over spilt milk, or spilt tea. One can never go to bed early enough. Researching scientific laboratory procedures is so much more interesting (and somehow so much more understandable) when one is no longer a pre-med student. Talking on the phone really isn’t scary at all but actually enjoyable. Just this afternoon I discovered that test tube racks are actually a pretty awesome science tool, and the sort of thought that pours into their design and sale is kind of fascinating. The list goes on, and I’m sure more will be added each and every day here at I work here.