Hello, Corporate America.

Tomorrow is my first day of employment in the corporate lands. It will be such a huge change from my time at a non-profit mental health facility. Wow.

I finished my past job last Wednesday, and the kids and fellow staff were totally wonderful. Over the course of the day, I received cards, letters, posters, colored pictures and a lovely scrapbook. Somehow, all of their kind gestures made the two years of minimal pay, 14+ hour shifts, scary moments of injury and threats, and all the other sacrifices worthwhile. From the perspective of our kids, it was often a thankless role, but the comaraderie among the staff was my driving force. One of my co-workers had a house party for me on Thursday night, and we all stayed up until 3 am laughing, talking and sharing crazy stories. I will miss each and every one of them so, very much.

So then why move on? When I looked at the people above me in the organization, I did not want to do their jobs. I lacked motivation to move up the professional ladder, and working every weekend was exhausting. The aspects of the position that I liked the most were things like coaching and training newer staff, motivating the team, helping staff set and achieve goals, building strong relationships with the kids and staff, etc. When I left college, HR and human services were the two things that really interested and motivated me. I've tried the human services route, and the aspects of it that were most appealing to me were those that are HR in nature. Therefore, I feel I owe it to myself to move onto something new.

As of tomorrow, my job title will be an HR Consultant Liaison. Sounds all too professional for someone who has spent the past two years going to work in jeans and sweatshirts. The company is a staffing and consulting firm, primarily associated with contract IT positions for Fortune 500 clients. Their headquarters are in NYC, with eight locations in the US and Canada. I have spent the past four days in Maine with my parents, trying to gain some clarity and snap myself out of denial that I have moved on from my other position. Additionally, I have been a frequent visitor to the mall to gather professional clothing items.

6:30 am tomorrow will come all too soon. Walking out the door at that time in business dress will be quite the shock. It's certainly a long, long way from an hourly wage of $13.20, sweatshirts and jeans, and working until at least 11pm four days a week.

New Years Resolution?

So 1 year ago from January three friends started on a journey. We had a bright idea to start a blog, with the hopes that it would stretch our limits while drawing us closer. We started off strong and January of 2010 went off without many hitches (for those newcomers, we were vegetarians). We slowly fizzled out, until we reached the end in September. That month we decided to simply blog - which after 6 days and 2 blogs DIED. Yes it must be in all caps, if that can give any indication to the type of death it suffered. Many could have seen this coming, as I rarely stick to things, but we had high hopes. Still being discouraged, I did not think about or discuss any matters to blogging on January of 2011. I did not even think of New Years Resolutions - what’s the good of them anyways? Just as quick as a year flew by, April appeared before I even comprehended the new year and what that meant in my life. Therefore my new year started to form and take shape in April (I have always been a little slow).

April was quite a month of changes for me. I had just gotten back from arguably the most life-changing trip (third - go -round to Mexico City), and I had turned in my notice at work (for full-time at least). A big step in my world - so no judging. I am off to Peru for the majority of June. Off to TN to chaperone the youth the last week of June. Off to El Salvador in Sept. Off to Mexico City sometime thereafter. Big changes in my life are on their way, and I just hope I am making enough room for them. I am tired of standing in their way.

So here I am, the first of May (close enough anyways) to start my new year. While I won’t be doing crazy things every month, I hope my life this year is so much more interesting that I do not need challenges. My life this year better hold challenges within itself, rather than self-created disasters.