Tomorrow is the last day of my first job out of university.
And boy, was it ever a case of “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times“!
There were definitely some exasperated Fb status updates for quite a solid period of time in the last year. I was working long hours, holed up in a beige cubicle that had no sunlight, no air-con (seriously, we had to order pedestal fans. How retro) and no love. My boss, who’d been working on this bitch of a case for like, half a decade, was about a million times more frustrated than I was, and that rubbed off on me too. The stress was chronic and contagious. My co-worker and I were not getting along. I’d been told I’d be there for 6 weeks, tops, and that I’d get to return to the fun stuff straight after. Everyone else seemed to be having a GREAT time. I was miserable.
But despite all that, I am still so grateful I had the chance to do what I did.
First of all, I did it. I survived. I learned a HECK OF A LOT, and not just in terms of the Work-work, either:
- I learned about how I deal with stress (and, subsequently, how I can change things to make it better);
- I learned patience;
- I learned about the impact of hope (things got SO much better when we could see the light at the end of the tunnel; even though we were still miles and miles underground); and
- I learned that even when things seem their worst, it’s probably not going to effing kill you, so [have a bit of a whinge if you must, then] get the eff over it.
I also learned a heap about grammar and proofreading (although you might not always see the impact of that on this blog…) — most of what I did involved proofreading the largest legal judgment so far handed down in this country (if you happen to find mistakes in it: STFU. You try doing it for 8 months and see if you don’t miss anything) — and met someone whom [shit: who?] I look up to in so many ways and who[m] I will forever idolise as a mentor in my career and life in general.
Oh, and, I also had the opportunity to work with one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the judiciary. His Honour had the most amazing capacity for knowing the tiniest details about the most mammoth (and horrible) litigation imaginable (for example, facts that occurred over a span of some two decades, two decades ago) as well as the capacity to explain the most complex applications of legal principle in such a clear and effortless way. Just being able to listen while he spoke and read what he wrote was my honour.
Then, once I emerged from that part of the year, things got exponentially better. I can’t express how amazing the last three months have been, and what a joy it has been. I’ve learned SO EFFING MUCH about law and writing and a bunch of other things. Plus I have been able to work with the most wonderful colleagues who are each incredibly brilliant in their own way. I am going to miss them incredibly but I also feel thrilled knowing we’ll always stay friends.
Gods. This is such a lame, soppy entry. I’m going to stop now.
