Two years ago, I walked into work as a brand-new employee not sure what to expect. I had never worked a real job before and was nervous about how the job worked and wondered about who I would be working with. As I went through training and began the real portion, I realized that nearly half of the employees were around my age or slightly older, in which nearly all were in college or planned to start or return to college in the near future. I was relieved at this fact, for I was a very shy person, especially towards people in which I believed that I had nothing in common with.

I didn't talk much during training because of my shyness, but quickly those sitting around me started talking to me, asking about my hobbies and about my college experience. I had just started college and like most freshmen, I had no idea what to pursue in life. It was actually because of a coworker who was working towards her MBA at the time introduced to me the subject of marketing, that I decided to research the business major and eventually changed my major for the third time that first semester to marketing. The following semester I saw someone with an international business textbook in one of my classes, did some research on that major and saw that I could tie marketing into it, and I have happily stuck with that major ever since.

Months had passed and I was getting to know my coworkers around me better. We would talk about life and other topics related to our young selves and began to hang out outside of work. As new coworkers began to come in, I was no longer afraid to talk to them and getting to know them, my shyness had slowly worn away with time. After a year of being there, I realized that my new-found confidence had taken place at school as well. I was no longer afraid of speaking during class discussions, something that I absolutely dreaded in high school, as well as being more interactive with my group members during a group assignment.

I want to thank all of those that I worked with these past two years. You guys truly allowed my to break out of my shell for good. We all bonded over the struggles of being new to the adulting world such as college, relationships, money, pets, dealing with parents, and other adulting factors. I truly enjoyed getting to know you all, talking in between calls and hanging out outside of work. Each one of you have such unique personalities and stories, in which made work fun and during both slow and busy seasons, keeping me sane during this interesting journey called college. This was truly a positive experience for me in which those good memories I will keep with me as I seek other opportunities within my second half of college.

Godspeed and I wish you all the best.