Grad school ended with a flourish last month. The two years were an intense and remarkable experience which I'm thankful to have had the chance to pursue. Now it's back to the working world and all the changes that are associated with that shift: having relatively consistent working hours, rather than the haphazard schedule of a grad student; adjusting to a new city after two years in New Haven; having a paycheck again (hopefully) after going without; applying what I've learned and proving to myself this experiment was all worthwhile.
For my return to the working world, I've decided to make a very big move to start things up in Europe. For the moment I'm in Madrid, but expect that the role I'm searching for will be elsewhere. It has been exhilarating so far to soak in and internalize all the ways things will be completely and thoroughly different. It all feels new for so many reasons.
The changes I will encounter as I shift away from school are compounded by the new environment I've chosen. This includes the minor differences -- the detergents have different names, the crosswalks look different -- as well as the bigger changes -- government systems and cultural norms.
There has been lots of observing so far, listening and watching and asking questions. I expect there will be plenty more of that as well as a handful of mistakes along the way as I push forward. Clearly my education didn't end at commencement last month. I'm excited about what's next.
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| Madrid's bear and tree symbol |
The changes I will encounter as I shift away from school are compounded by the new environment I've chosen. This includes the minor differences -- the detergents have different names, the crosswalks look different -- as well as the bigger changes -- government systems and cultural norms.
There has been lots of observing so far, listening and watching and asking questions. I expect there will be plenty more of that as well as a handful of mistakes along the way as I push forward. Clearly my education didn't end at commencement last month. I'm excited about what's next.