Last year was a big year of ‘new’. New surname, new postal address, new husband. In the mix I also got a new job – a new shiny opportunity that filled my 9-5 and bought in the bacon. But the new and shiny wore off after awhile, and for the last little while I’ve been getting frustrated. My attitude hasn’t been great and being at work was just something ‘to get through’.
So last week I gave myself a little kick in the bottom (metaphorically) and made a mental list of why I am grateful for my job. It took me a moment to get started, but then I couldn’t stop.
If someone asked me what I’d like to be doing five year out of uni, I would have said something like, “Oh, perhaps something overseas, somewhere in Asia or Africa, or working with refugees, or maybe in the HIV/AIDS sector, but I’d love to be able to write and be creative, but also work with and support people, to learn about culture, be using those community development theories I studied, but also getting management skills, evaluation skills, training skills etc. etc.“
The crazy thing I realised is that, just one year out of uni, I have a job that combines everything I’ve listed and more. Sure, I’m not overseas, but here I am in my beloved Brisbane, working with people and communities from various nations (my team alone speaks over 20 languages between them).
I have a job that is so perfect for me right now that it’s kind of unbelievable. Yes, there are challenges, but I am learning so much and really am so grateful for this opportunity.
Plus I get to sit across from CONDOMAN, and who doesn’t love a superhero office buddy?!
