Great book
Conquering your Quarterlife Crisis by Alexandra Robbins has been such an excellent book to help those just coming out of college or anyone adjusting to the whole new work/city/adult lifestyle thing. It has been an encouragement and carries great suggestions on how to get out there and enjoy this new phase rather then pray it will just pass quickly. I highly recommend it for those who find themselves in similar predicaments as myself. :-)
Work Social
My job had a social today at a local bar and I thought it'd be a great opportunity to meet people. Not being one for the bar scene I was a bit uneasy of how this event could go. I've been to random events with strangers before and it wasn't a big deal because if things went bad or super awkward, no big deal you'll never see them again, but a work social carried some risk for awkwardness which one could relive everyday at work. Although the risk was great with my lack of the social etiquette on the bar scene I decided to go for it. A good amount brought their significant others, which at first was...just different, since they kinda have a safety to go to if there is no one to talk with. However the work social wasn't too bad. It gave me a great opportunity to put myself out there to get to know people better instead of just focusing on the work at hand. Although there were some awkward times when I feared I was clinging to one person too much, I made the conscious effort to move around and talk to people. In the end I think sucking up my fears and going for it was a blessing and a good step in the right direction to get to know my colleagues at work.
Conference
So a next step in this effort to meet people with hopes of making friends, I was invited to a Medical Conference, which sounded interesting since there would be people there my age and I could learn about healthcare. I was expecting a mix of nursing, medical students with nurses and docs and dentists spread abroad...a good potential for great convo. When I arrive, however, I find that all is not as it seems. The conference was mostly geared towards medical students which I am not. Also the people I came with were in a different room and my roommates were nice, but older residents/attendings. Although the weekend wasn't as anticipated as I was hoping to find other medical professionals in the same awkwardly new predicament I was in, I still managed to have some great conversation. Joining a group from each school for a meal was fun and as my mom reminded the situation could be what I make of it. At first I made of it an unfortunate event leading to another path of random encounters with people that would lead to no potential friendship, but as I heard to amazing stories of these physicians and healthcare providers helping people in such dire conditions God helped me to be able to step outside my little bubble and focus on what I can do rather than what can be done for me. I guess when you stay to yourself to long, you is all that seems to be occupying your mind. Although I didn't make any lifelong friends at the conference it helped me step outside my routine, put me outside my comfort zone and God enabled me to see something far greater than my problems and the privilege to realize I could help.
Dancing Lessons
So I decided a great way to meet people and do something I've wanted to learn for a while is to join a dance class. I wasn't really particular about which genre as long as it wasn't lyrical jazz as I explored the options on the internet. To my surprise I found dance lessons that were only a block from my house! Furthermore the lessons were tonight! For free!! Yes, it'd seemed to good to be true. Although dance partners were encouraged, they also boasted that their place was an "unlikely place to meet singles" so I thought it'd be okay going alone...I'm here to
meet people right?
As I arrive, I can only see couples and most of them between the age range of 30-60s, which I have nothing against but was hoping to meet some young professionals, like myself. I thought about immediately darting away, but decided to give it a worthy try. We started out just going over the dance steps, but then the time came to pick our dance partner. As everyone else had brought their designated date, who was the lucky one to go in front of the class to dance with the instructor? Oh yes, my friend. It was I. We switched partners a couple of times after that, so I didn't have to be the example for the whole time. After learning the cha-cha by dancing with some nice older men and women (the women outranked the guys 3:1) it was time to "party" where they opened the dance floor up for everyone to dance salsa, meringue, ballroom, swing, you name it. I opted out...I usually only try to stand awkwardly alone in a mid-life party once a night. Back to the drawing boards of how to meet young professionals....
Networking via the Internet
There were various “social networks” that offered various events to attend or the opportunity to host your own event in an effort to get to know people in the city. After check out some member’s profiles, which seemed friendly enough, so I figured I’d join two of these networks and check out any events that were of interest to me. Most of them involved Happy Hours, which didn’t really fit me, or extravagant outings, which I currently couldn’t afford, but there were some that offered just want I desired. A chance to get to meet people in a small group setting that didn’t sound too sketchy with an entertaining activity that would still allow you to get to know other people. My first event, the knitting club.
Although in fact, I was not in my mid-sixties and didn’t even know how to knit, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out this social networking, since they were meeting at a known coffee-shop and hopefully there wouldn’t be too much forced conversation since I could concentrate on crocheting if I felt uncomfortable. The time was actually pleasant. Although the majority of people were in their late twenties or thirties, it was nice to be apart of normal conversation that wasn’t revolved around work and gave me a great opportunity to just get out there and try something new. The scene seemed quite comical to me, as this random young 22 girl, who didn’t even know how to knit, but simply crochet was graciously welcomed by these women that seemed to grow accustomed to this routine in the weekly schedule. There were some other new attendees as well, which help break the ice. Although, I didn’t see these people becoming new best friends, it was an excellent way to start my internet networking while working on my crocheting project, so I give the knitting club a thumbs up.
Orientation Day
The day had finally arrived. The first day of my job. Hopefully this would be a mark to a successful career that would be a springboard to growing into a career that I was born to live out everyday.
The first day held some excitement as well as question, very similar to the first day of high school. First, the new people that you would share this day with could turn into a friend, a role very much missed in this new environment. Secondly, dressing to impress would also be important as this marks your first day as a member of the company. Lastly, all the questions about what to expect and what would be expected of you could finally be answered. For my first day, I arrived….a little late.
Despite waking up early and having a set plan in motion for the steps it would take to get ready for this big day, I still couldn’t find an outfit that seemed to shout out what I wanted to express for the day. Professional, yet comfortable and still an expression of me. Finally, after realizing I only had 20 minutes to get to my location, I rushed out the door and ran down the street with my high heels clicking as I strived to make it to the building on time. Finally arriving to the office building, just a little out of breath, I was blessed to find some lotion in my bag that would cover the slightly sweaty aroma of my jog to work. With enough time to primp while on the elevator, I was able to re-gain my confidence as I met the lovely recruiters that chose to hire me. The recruiters were gracious enough, not to notice my few minutes of tardiness and gave me the packets that would help guide me through the rest of the day and me become oriented with this fine institution.
Orientation day as well as the two orientation weeks that followed didn’t feel so different from school. For the majority of our days, we would sit in a classroom and wait as various lectures shared with us their knowledge about the institution, the vision and values of the company as well as the expectation and roles we were expected to play. It was nice to have a steady integration into employment as well as become acquainted with the other new employees, which made the whole transition more manageable. I had hoped through these budding relationships, I would be able to make a friend or two, and although these individuals had potential, each seemed to already be rooted into some type of stability with either a boyfriend, husband, etc., which seemed to mark them out as an exploring buddy to see what the new city had to offer. With these relationships, I knew it would take time, but I also didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, which caused me to find other avenues to meeting new people in the city.
