Another Crazy Week but I'm "Trusting the Process"

Hey everyone! Typing out another entry update as another week in corporate America and in general has passed me by. Today's word of the week is trust, because I think it's a good thing for me to keep in mind and for others to hold on to despite this week's events.

This past week I had my job orientation, which was in Chicago. I stayed in a hotel downtown, met my coworkers, listened to hours of experienced executives sharing their stories and functions in the company, had lots of starbucks, and practiced trying to calculate profit margin exactly 832 times. Minus that last one, it was an insanely cool experience. 7 year old Sharon, who used to take trips downtown and swear she would one day work in a cool skyscraper building, sipping coffee in her own CEO office on the 18th floor, would have been proud. I mean this was more of a shared conference room on the third floor and I don't like coffee, but other than that - pretty much a dream come true.

We did plenty of cool networking experiences too (because can you really have a corporate career if you don't say the word 'networking' at least once per day? My linkedin has NEVER been this active)! From shaking hands with executives (anyone master the corporate handshake because my fingers still tremble whenever they lock with anyone important?) to taking a pirate themed skyline boat tour to remembering than thin crust pizza will always beat deep dish pizza (#sorrynotsorry), I had a pretty great time and enjoyed the experience. Other positive shoutouts from this week include an incredible father's day spent boating and eating at Lindy's Landing (despite them being out of literally every menu item) and spending time with my lovely sister who is leaving for a month in Israel this week.

I'm putting this entry in the 'Lost in General' category though because it has definitely been a tumultuous week. The Roe Vs. Wade reversal is just one example. It really made me think heavily about our rights, about how much our world can change because of one decision and one moment on the spectrum of time. My heart breaks for all of the women who will be impacted by this decision, but I also trust that we as a people will come together for those women and give them the access they not only deserve, but need. On a personal note though, it also made me reflect on my own decisions - who I trust when my own world is falling apart and what makes me keep going when I hit the speed bumps along the way. Or in more applicable terms, who makes me keep logging into Zillow when every apartment magically vanishes from the available rentals list day after day (can you tell seattle real estate sucks yet?)

When I was back in London (funny of you to assume the London references would stop), my friend Ellen said to me, simply: "My advice for Seattle is to not see it as something you have to prove, or as something you'll inevitably struggle with. See it as something you might love, or an avenue to find what you WILL love. In other words, stop seeing Seattle as a traffic light frozen on red. Start believing the light will turn green."

Poetic, right? I'll let Ellen know right after this entry.

Too many of us, at the crosswalks of our lives (and by this I mean those "will I won't I" moments) choose to stop trusting in ourselves and in the universe. They trust their assumptions and fears instead. They frantically slam on the brakes because - will they make that yellow light? Do they have the evidence that it won't turn red when they're in the middle of the intersection?

That's a lot of traffic metaphors (and let's be real, when driving, I'm way too cautious and will always stop at the yellow light) but there is a point to all of this and that point is trust.

Trust is hard. It's scary. There's no guarentee that the light will ever turn green, or that you don't get a traffic ticket because you went a little too fast through that intersection. We will all make the mistake of trusting too easily, and we will all have moments that we wish we could pull the brakes in our own lives.

But if we choose to never "trust the process", if we brake at every yellow light and stay frozen in the red, getting to our dream destinations will take for fucking ever. I mean I'm a slow driver (my dad's action adventure driving genes must have been passed to my sister instead of me), but even I don't want a life that's slow, boring, miserable, and steady. Steady driving might be safe, but steady living is meaningless.

The reason I chose this entry for today is because with everything going on in the world and in my life, this week has really made me want to brake (down? lol I'm joking). But one of the super fancy executives came into the office last week and told us that we would be overwhelmed and confused by all the acronyms and responsibilities, but that all we needed to do for now was to "trust the process and let the pieces fall into place". It lowkey reminded me of sorority recruitment, where all of the recruitment counselors told us freshmen that if we trusted the process, we would end up in the right houses. The phrase still traumatizes me three years later...(LML friends)

....BUT, I did end up in the right house. I also ended up in the right study abroad city, finished undergrad at the right university, completed the right major, and found the right internship. So it's time to trust the process and realize Seattle is the right city, my company is the right company, and my career is the right career. Does that mean any of those things are the best forever? No....but I can trust them to make me happy right now.

So this week's lesson is simple even for Tinker Bell: faith, trust, and pixie dust all the way. Just keep swimming friends (and leave one like for every opinion that I should watch Finding Nemo since I've never seen it) and trust the light will eventually turn green.

I've also gotten some blog requests, so here are some upcoming topics: summer recs, interview tips, friendship advice, college and high school narratives, and stories from sorority rush. If you have anything you'd like to add, I'm always a message away:)

P.S.: Shoutout to Hailey for the amazing e-signature!