Turning 29 is a surreal experience…
Given the sheer amount of time since my last blog post (procrastination has been a regrettably huge part of my 29-year life), it was about time that I not only unveil the big updates over the past few months, but also unveil the snazzy WordPress software that I switched to. One step down, the rest of the website to go…
My 29th birthday wasn’t overly eventful, not that it needed to be. It’s oddly helpful after a certain age to start thinking of it as “just another day”, as overhyping a birthday just makes me feel more existential than anything.
Well…I made it. The Stetson coffeeshop that I spent nearly solid nine months at is closing for the semester. My second stint working there brought along its own share of learning experiences, between learning to multitask effectively, the importance of remembering details, and customer satisfaction…that, and the interesting “social” aspect, as I would often find myself silently eavesdropping on the affairs of my coworkers, customers, and even higher-ups alike.
Either way, working retail — especially in such a fast-paced environment with dozens of details to remember at once — is a challenge. And sometimes, I quite like challenge; it not only gives my mind more of a chance to not be overly wrapped up within itself for one second, but I also find myself viewing challenges as attempts to try to deal with my own struggles with self-confidence and esteem, given that I have a bad habit of being overly critical towards myself for every mistake. Sometimes, the thought of “Why didn’t I manage to double-job between there and Office Depot” intrudes my mind, even though I keep having to remind myself that it wasn’t effectively possible, especially so last-minute.
Regardless, I did it — and the threeway mix between seeing the coffeeshop close up again, my 29th birthday (i.e., the last year in my 20s), and watching everyone else graduate has left me with some…mixed, somewhat bittersweet feelings.
Perhaps part of the reason behind the feelings is that the latter in particular makes me reflect back to my own graduation…an entire seven years ago. Realizing that it was that long ago already makes me feel rather uncomfortable. And the photos of myself makes me realize how much things have changed. For starters? Much more kempt facial hair since then, and gaining a good 60-80 pounds…
Thinking back to the last school year leading up to my graduation, I’ll have to give it credit: the last two semesters at Stetson University were more memorable than I had realized at the time. In addition to that time in my life being when I would start my long-distance journey with Mariah, my time at Stetson saw some changes, including challenging yet rewarding German language classes, and my part-time job that my parents helpfully signed me up for at the Stetson library archives.
As uncertain as I felt after hearing that they were getting me the job, I quickly grew to love the experience of working at the Stetson archives. It may sound mundane, but there was a certain sense of satisfaction between the desire to do my best in each of my assigned tasks (appealing to the nerd/geek side of me) and knowing that I was making a subtle difference through my contributions. It’s something that I’ll have to talk more about sometime.
What am I doing moving forward?
Good question.
In addition to a certain surprise that I’ll divulge at a later date…I’m still working on getting back into music. As I discussed in the first blog post, I can already say that I’m strongly prioritizing more modern styles and a greater focus on collaboration, in order to avoid the burnout that I went through years ago. Just as importantly, I’m also still learning how connections work and how endlessly frustrating it is to find them, as you may have realized during my soapbox rant in blog post #1.
My other priority is moving on in my career. Seeing as I’ve finally gotten long-awaited retail experience under my belt, there’s no excuse to not give my fledgling résumé a fresh coat of paint. Maybe Starbucks will be a good environment?
Until my next blog post (because my executive function drops dramatically after managing to churn out one paragraph), I know that exciting things are ahead. And I’m grateful to everyone who’s helped me out every step of the way.
What am I even saying by this point…