I Made It

I was promoted from a part-time gig where I worked 26 hours a week to a full-time position with benefits, PTO, quarterly bonuses, and a $3.50 pay raise. This job is usually open to those with a Bachelors degree, but I went for it anyway and ended up getting it.

I’ve been thinking about my career often here lately. I caught myself thinking about work on my drive home from a restaurant tonight. Thinking about work doesn’t sound so strange as it does to think about work in such a positive way. I’m currently in the pricing department of America’s largest food RE distributor, Dot Foods.

This job is different than any other job I’ve ever had. We focus a lot on goals in both a professional and personal sense. We put statistics and actual percentages to these goals which has always intrigued me. I think what most excites me is that I feel like I’m finally doing a “smart person” job. Although I’m still three semesters away from a Bachelor’s degree, I feel like I could really make a career for myself within the company. I often get praised for my work, and from my understanding, I’ve got the best performance when it comes to request turnaround and accuracy.

I don’t know, maybe I sound braggy, but for once I finally feel like I’m appreciated in the workplace. I finally feel like I’m doing a job that aligns with the intelligence that I feel I contain. I’m finally in a role that pushes me, makes me use my brain, and encourages me to be better not only in a capitalistic sense, but also in a way that betters my family, my friends, and my colleagues.

I finally feel like things are coming together and I can’t explain how special that feels after so many hours I’ve spent wondering when/if I was going to make it.

My takeaway: Never give up pursuing your dreams, and when you feel like you’ve finally made it, readjust those goals and set them HIGHER.

I’m happy now, but I’m not going to be complacent. No one changes the world in one day, right?