New City, New Start

I touched down in San Francisco today, where I will be spending almost the entirety of my next 12 weeks. It definitely feels weird. I was taking a final exam just 12 days ago and now I’m getting ready to start an internship in a city I have never really been to before.

As I embark on the next 12 weeks, I am incredibly excited. I’m working for a fast-growing tech startup that I am passionate about, and I’m on a team that, as far as it seems, is very bright. I know regardless of how I approach the next 12 weeks I will learn a lot. But I want to approach this internship, being out in San Francisco, and the fact that I get to live with three good friends from school in such a way that I can maximize the amount that I learn about myself, the impact I make on Siftery, and the positive experiences that I have. Those can be three difficult things to balance, but I am confident that if I push myself and am deliberate and thoughtful that I will be able to have this positive experience.

What will it take?

The first question is what I will need to do during my time here to make this a great experience. What comes to my mind instantly are a few things. First, I need to do things that might make me uncomfortable. It might feel weird to go up to somebody that I don’t know and introduce myself, or cold email successful entrepreneurs out here, but stepping outside of my comfort zone will undoubtedly teach me a great deal. I also need to process what I am learning each day. The next 12 weeks are going to move by quickly and if I don’t refine my approach from tomorrow until the end of the summer, I will be missing out. There will be things that I pick up and learn each day, and I am making a conscious goal to journal and process what I am doing. Lastly, Hakuna Matata, no worries. Rent is expensive, I’m not getting paid a huge sum of money, I have to pay for food and other stuff. I also have to be in the office early most days. I will have some important responsibilities, but regardless of what’s going on, I want to remember, Hakuna Matata (I just watched the Lion King, which is why I’m saying this). I want to be present in each moment, totally aware and being the best version of myself. By doing that, if I can add on the going out of my comfort zone and I can process what I’m learning, I think it’s going to be a special summer.

I don’t really know what to expect, but I have some goals for myself that I also want to share. Will be interesting to see which of them I am able to accomplish, which I lose energy on, and which I will replace with others.

Goals

1. Lose 10–15 lbs. I want to be in better shape. To me this means eating healthier, eating less, and continuing to work out 4–6x per week.
2. Pick up some artistic pursuits. I think I want to begin drawing and doing graphic design, but that’s an idea in progress. Will have to see as I progress. Regardless, though, I think adding some creativity through art to my summer will both teach me a lot and be a great change of pace from what I’m doing in the office.
3. Read a lot. I brought 12 books with me to San Fran, and I would absolutely love if I were able to get through all 12 of them (or at least the 10 I haven’t read before). On top of that, I am going to have 40–60 minutes commuting to work each day, which is a great chance to listen to Audiobooks.
4. Understand what it’s like to live in San Fran from all facets of life. There are scrappy, successful entrepreneurs, seasoned business people, engineers, wanna bes, hippies and tons of others that live in this city. I’m going to be here all summer, so I want to meet and chat with all of those types of people to really get a perspective of what it’s like to live in the Valley.
5. Kill it at work. Siftery is in a super cool spot and I’m going to have some awesome opportunities to leave a tangible impact. I want to look back on the summer and be super excited about the impact I was able to make
6. Keep pursuing my other passions. I mentioned a few above, but I love to read and workout. I don’t want to let those fall to the wayside. I also want to continue exploring my interest in education by reading certain books (I’m super excited to read “Most Likely to Succeed”) & having conversations. Plus, I want to continue my pursuit for knowledge, hopefully learning more about cryptocurrency, about AI & Machine Learning, and a few other things.
7. Have fun :)