Well, it's finally that time. I attended my final university class on Friday. I knew it would be a waste of time, but I went anyway. Mostly, I did it as a symbolic gesture, you know, since I'm so big on symbolism. At least when it suits my purposes. I managed to wear the exact same t-shirt that I wore to my first day of orientation six years ago - yes, I still have it, and still wear it fairly regularly. After the class, as I was walking to the LRT, I ran into the professor who taught me my very first university class, economics. I didn't say anything, again just enjoying the symbolism. Finally, when I got into my car, the first song that played on the radio was Green Day's "Welcome to Paradise", one last sign that it was all finished, at last.
With the end of school comes the need for a job. Much as I would love to spend the rest of my days lounging around, travelling, and doing whatever happens to pique my interest at any given moment, it's kind of hard to find someone who will pay you to do so. For the past several months I've been going through the process of applying and interviewing with a series of companies, trying to find the right one to work for. This search culminated in offers from two companies. Most aspects of these offers were the same - benefits, money, etc. The one key difference was location
One company would keep me here in my home city of Edmonton. The other would be moving me around the world every three months for the first year, after which a permanent (or semi-permanent) location would be chosen for me, with my input. For some people, this would be an easy choice. They may not want to leave their home town, and would therefore take the first offer. Others may jump at the opportunity to travel and immediately take the second offer. I fell somewhere in the middle.
When I first applied with the second company, it was primarily because of the travel. Having someone else pay to send me around the world sounded great. I think, though, that in my head I was envisioning working around the world, but still being able to come home to Edmonton every evening or weekend, which is obviously not possible. However, I've always kind of planned to leave Edmonton to work somewhere else, so that leaving had to occur at some time, I just wasn't sure if I wanted it to be just yet.
The first offer was definitely safer. I don't mean safer in the sense that I fear for my life at the second job, but safer in that it didn't require me to step outside my comfort zone. I would be in a city I knew, with people I knew who could help me out. The second job, on the other hand, would throw me into unfamiliar locations with new people and new circumstances. Just going to the second round of interviews for the second job was challenging enough for me. I'm not, by nature, a very outgoing person. I prefer to sit back and observe until I feel I really understand how everyone in a given group works and then go in a be social. I don't do well with the whole "mingling" thing. And yet that's what I had to do for two days at the interview in Houston; mingle, make small talk, be social with complete strangers, trying to be interesting and look interested. When I finished, I was exhausted, but fairly pleased with the results. If I took the second job, it would be Houston all over again, but on a continuing basis. I wasn't sure if I wanted that or could handle it.
But, I had to choose. And so I did. In the end, I settled on the second offer. It just felt right. Even though it seemed vastly more difficult and less "safe", I think it's where I'm supposed to go. It will give me the opportunity to travel but, more importantly, to push myself, to force myself to grow. All the safety nets will be removed. Now I just have to make sure I don't fall.
Sleep well,
DTE
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