last day at my first job

So everything is coming to a close/end. Our house is getting emptier and emptier as friends and family help us clear out the furniture that we no longer need. It's nice being able to give things away especially since the majority of our things were once someone else's.

I stopped into CC's this morning for my last cup of pre-work coffee from CC's - said my goodbyes to the friendly baristas. Dropped off my mini at the dealership yesterday to get everything tuned up for the 1,100 mile drive. Played my last soccer game with the Team Formerly Known as Prince (and we won 6-3!) Took my last Pilates class last night in B.R. - my teacher made it especially hard for me and when a lady asked why she was pushing us so much, she told the class because it was my last day, the lady then replied "well she won't need to do Pilates for months now!" Ate my last cup of Counter Culture frozen yogurt during my last regular weekday lunch with Jenn.

And so we're at today, my last day at my first (real) job. I've always known that I'm lucky to have had this job as my first job out of school - but the past couple of days as I've gone through files and cleared out my computer and office I've realized how blessed I was to get a job like this first thing out of college.

A lot of friends I know didn't have the luck of getting hired off of their first interview at a job they were really excited about. A lot of them had to work part time jobs or work in fields other than what their degree was in while waiting for the "job."

I've learned so much from my year and a half here. While my degree is in mass communication, my concentration was always (both undergrad and master's) in print journalism. But, after getting to do tons of graphic design at my communication internship, I realized that I had some talent in the area, that it was fun and creative, and that I could see myself doing it full time.

So I applied to graphic design jobs instead of journalism jobs. The main thing I've discovered is that as much as I love to design, I miss writing so badly! The experience I've gained from working here has been unimaginable, and the amount of interesting work that is going into my portfolio is phenomenal. The creative freedom I've had here has been greatly appreciated. And the overall flexibility of working here was great for a first-timer like me.

As I look for jobs in Maryland, I'm keeping my eyes open for all different types of jobs - design, web design, writing, editing, public relations, etc. - pretty much anything that can fall under the huge umbrella of mass communication.

But today is about saying goodbyes to coworkers, clearing out the rest of my office, saving some files and just wrapping everything up. Adios!