Where to begin?
So, where to start? Maybe with a recap of events, starting with when I left my routine and hit the road to experience a different type of lifestyle... Or maybe start with a few events leading up to that moment.
During my senior year of finishing my Bachelor's degree in ECE (electrical and computer engineering) at Carnegie Mellon, I incredulously had a long internship lined up with Intel in a part of the country I had never been to: California. Specifically, at a site in Folsom with close to six thousand employees. I was also convinced I should really get my Master's as well at CMU since we were automatically admitted with a baseline GPA requirement. So I set up the next two years of my life: a year at Intel followed by a year to complete my Master's back at CMU. I merely needed to fill out some paperwork to take a leave of absence from CMU, and that was that.
About six months into the internship and I was getting a full time offer to start right away and take a pass on grad school, but I decided to go through with grad school, so that prompted a return offer to start working after I was finished. Boom! Another few years were planned out. So I finished my initial year at Intel and happened to have a roommate lined up for grad school! Looking back, it's kind of incredible to see how things fell into place...
Too much to say about my first year living in NorCal and then some truly formative events during grad school. Needless to say, I was exposed to an overwhelming set of new experiences. From unimaginable outdoor experiences to breaking out of an identity I had assumed would be static, and everything in between.
Coming back to NorCal after grad school was a very different experience than my introduction a few years prior. It would take a few more years for me to understand why and where those feelings of uncertainty were coming from. At the same time, I had the privilege to grow and embrace my passion for the outdoors. To grow my passion for people. To grow my passion for curiosity and challenging my mindset.
I got to meet people from backgrounds that were completely new to me. With very different personalities than I was used to. With diverse interests. With diverse lifestyles. Initially I made many connections through work, but I started to meet those outside of Intel, and realized there was so much more. For whatever reason, I've always genuinely enjoyed meeting new people. It's honestly one of the most exciting and fulfilling experiences to me. And that seemed to make it easy to make new connections: through the ultimate frisbee league, through the climbing gym, through living in an urban center like midtown Sacramento.
I've experienced time and time again that I've learned a tremendous amount about myself through my interactions with people; especially people very different than I'm accustomed to. And I began to latch onto how others spoke about their careers or studies in a way that was very new to me. There was a fulfillment and deep meaning that I wasn't normally surrounded by. I gently started to ask myself why I didn't feel this way about my career. Many chance encounters and conversations later, I began to understand what I truly valued. What I truly found fulfilling. And that I needed to have that reflected in my professional growth.
I knew I had reached a transitional point in my life. I had five years professional experience and an undeniable urge to "meet" that new career, just as I had with people. So what to do? Well I also realized I wanted to experience a different type of lifestyle. I was enthralled with people I had met who had transitioned into new careers and had taken time off for travel. For a break. To wander. I saw my opportunity and took it. It started with a road trip...
During my senior year of finishing my Bachelor's degree in ECE (electrical and computer engineering) at Carnegie Mellon, I incredulously had a long internship lined up with Intel in a part of the country I had never been to: California. Specifically, at a site in Folsom with close to six thousand employees. I was also convinced I should really get my Master's as well at CMU since we were automatically admitted with a baseline GPA requirement. So I set up the next two years of my life: a year at Intel followed by a year to complete my Master's back at CMU. I merely needed to fill out some paperwork to take a leave of absence from CMU, and that was that.
About six months into the internship and I was getting a full time offer to start right away and take a pass on grad school, but I decided to go through with grad school, so that prompted a return offer to start working after I was finished. Boom! Another few years were planned out. So I finished my initial year at Intel and happened to have a roommate lined up for grad school! Looking back, it's kind of incredible to see how things fell into place...
Too much to say about my first year living in NorCal and then some truly formative events during grad school. Needless to say, I was exposed to an overwhelming set of new experiences. From unimaginable outdoor experiences to breaking out of an identity I had assumed would be static, and everything in between.
Coming back to NorCal after grad school was a very different experience than my introduction a few years prior. It would take a few more years for me to understand why and where those feelings of uncertainty were coming from. At the same time, I had the privilege to grow and embrace my passion for the outdoors. To grow my passion for people. To grow my passion for curiosity and challenging my mindset.
I got to meet people from backgrounds that were completely new to me. With very different personalities than I was used to. With diverse interests. With diverse lifestyles. Initially I made many connections through work, but I started to meet those outside of Intel, and realized there was so much more. For whatever reason, I've always genuinely enjoyed meeting new people. It's honestly one of the most exciting and fulfilling experiences to me. And that seemed to make it easy to make new connections: through the ultimate frisbee league, through the climbing gym, through living in an urban center like midtown Sacramento.
I've experienced time and time again that I've learned a tremendous amount about myself through my interactions with people; especially people very different than I'm accustomed to. And I began to latch onto how others spoke about their careers or studies in a way that was very new to me. There was a fulfillment and deep meaning that I wasn't normally surrounded by. I gently started to ask myself why I didn't feel this way about my career. Many chance encounters and conversations later, I began to understand what I truly valued. What I truly found fulfilling. And that I needed to have that reflected in my professional growth.
I knew I had reached a transitional point in my life. I had five years professional experience and an undeniable urge to "meet" that new career, just as I had with people. So what to do? Well I also realized I wanted to experience a different type of lifestyle. I was enthralled with people I had met who had transitioned into new careers and had taken time off for travel. For a break. To wander. I saw my opportunity and took it. It started with a road trip...
Comments
Post a Comment