My First Anniversary

In just a week from today, I will have spent an entire year working at my current job. As you know, it has been an interesting year full of both joy and pain. As a come up my first anniversary as an administrative assistant and a full-time contributor to society, I've decided to reflect on where I have been, what I am doing, and where I am going in light of this past year.

At the end of my college career, I took a nearly three week trip to Ireland and Scotland to sing with the Notre Dame Folk Choir and have one last trip and time with college friends before looking for the next step in my life. I returned from that trip refreshed and ready for life, but also anxious to know where I was going and what might be next for me. I admit that my faith, my Catholic faith that I love, suffered in the years before, and it was difficult to return to the peace and trust I had felt when I was in my high school and earlier college years. I was afraid I wouldn't find anything. I didn't even know what kind of work I was looking for to be honest. Perhaps this is what God wanted me to learn from, that I needed to trust in Him even when I have no clue what it is that's next.

I found the job at WRT within the first week and a half of searching, proving all my fears of the unknown to be entirely unfounded and worthless. But though my fears had subsided, the adjustment period had begun. The first few weeks in June and July were somewhat difficult, as it was my first time spending all day every day in the same place. I think what made me the most unsettled was that though I was fine with doing this for a year or two, I knew that this job is not where I was meant to be forever. And it scared me that once I was in, I might never get myself out. I don't devalue my role in the company. In fact, early on I learned that what I do here is among one of the most important and essential roles one can have in a company. If I don't do the work I do, no one else will be willing to do it, that's for sure. But it is all work that has to be done. I am certain that if anything, this job will make me eternally grateful for all the assistants and receptions I work with in the future. I know that their job is not easy and the rewards are not immediate, but surely they are most essential to the work that gets done anywhere.

Through the next few months I struggled with being at the office as well as figuring out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. It was in late September or early October that I first started thinking that the choice of what was next for me might not be my own. WRT started going through some tough decisions, beginning with firing the CEO and followed by two large scale lay-offs which took out about 1/2 of the company. I certainly lost any hope in job security and I realized that I needed to take my future into my own hands--I couldn't just assume that something, whatever it was, would come along.

It did and it didn't. The Catholic Studies program at the University of St. Thomas has been attractive to me for years. My interest was piqued in my junior year of high school when the new theology teacher, Mr. Gerlach, spoke highly of the program. When choosing which college to attend, the possibility of completing a Catholic Studies major weighed into my decision. When applying for jobs and thinking about my next step after college, I thought about applying for the masters program in Catholic Studies then. The one thing I did know, was that were I to go and get a masters degree (whether it was Catholic Studies, English, or something else entirely) I would have to have a definite goal in mind. That goal has continued to take shape throughout this year. So when I happened to check out the website in the beginning of February, I knew that it was not just coincidence that I had just enough time to get an application together to submit by the deadline.

I was accepted and with a few bumps along the way, I decided that this is the path I need to take to continue in my personal, professional, and spiritual development. This also meant that WRT was most likely not that path. Though there are a few things I still need to get into place before making any more life changes before starting work in the fall, I can say a few things about my first year as a "working adult" and my year at WRT.

I learned a lot about myself, what kind of worker I am, what my potential is, and where my talents lie. I need direction in my work. I believe I also need to be committed to a goal in my work that means something to me. Perhaps the main reason I am not excited about my job lies less in the work I do as an administrative assistant, and has more to do with that digital signage simply doesn't interest me. If my work is committed to a goal that I think essentially makes this world a better place, I imagine I would feel much more satisfied even in the mundane. But the fact is that I don't necessarily think that we are helping anyone or anything by contributing to the "more, more, more" attitude of materialism and marketing. Of course, there isn't anything inherently wrong with digital signage, and from the point of view of WRT, I am glad they have provided jobs, albeit less and less, for people to create a livelihood and a life.

The bottom line is that at WRT, I have so far had an irreplaceable and essential experience. It has been, in some ways, necessary for me to make the leap into my next stage in life. So, in a moment of nostalgia looking over the last year, I've really enjoyed being where I am. And though I look forward to the next step, I will surely always look fondly on my time here.