Well my life without a job has officially started. Definitely a weird feeling. But first I should reflect back on where I left. When I think back to my last semester of college, going through the interview process, I really had no idea what I wanted to do. I wanted a job. A job that paid a good salary so I could pay my bills and buy cool stuff. A job in a big city in the Southeast, preferably Atlanta.
I interviewed with several companies, some ending better than others. And then I went into the Home Depot interview process (with something like 25 other developers from other colleges there) and thought I crushed it. But I still didn't really know what I was interviewing for (a generic IT Developer position). Turns out, I did crush it, enough at least. I finally got the offer (the only offer I ended up getting that cycle), I was excited but more so relieved. I checked the boxes...I got a gig in Atlanta with a good salary so I could pay my bills and buy cool stuff.
I started working on a software I had never even heard of, but somehow managed to figure it out, mostly due to having a very helpful and patient manager. Through out my years at HD, this pattern continued to repeat...meeting and working with amazing, helpful people. It's what allowed me to be successful. My strength has always been building relationships with good people and learning from them as much as I can, and Home Depot was no different. But beyond that, I met so many people that I can truly call friends. Maybe I initially thought that work friends were just for keeping me sane while at work. But I'm as close to these people as I am anyone. I've laughed with them, traveled the world with them, and had way too many beers with them. It's what made leaving last Friday tough. But I find comfort in knowing regardless of where any of us are working in the future, we'll always remain friends.
Now back to the present. I'm doing my best to make these 3-4 weeks before leaving as productive as they can be. There's always a fine line between being productive and being busy. But there is a difference...I want to do more than just 'not sit around', time spent needs to be focused on accomplishing a goal. My two current goals are: get as prepared for my trip as possible, and spend as much time with friends and family as I can. I feel pretty good about what I've accomplished so far, but it's still only 2 days in. I'm also working on developing a morning routine, but I'll post about that later.
That's enough for now...until next time, I'm logging off.