Put yourself in situations to maximize learning & growth

I brought it up in my post last week, but I touched down in San Francisco last Sunday and started working for a small tech startup called Siftery on Monday.

Week one

I had a really solid first week. Learned a lot at work, met some awesome people (both at and outside of work), and I am starting to get a feel for SF as well as the culture out here.

Learning and growing fast

I realized over the past few days something that seems obvious when I write it, but feels quite substantial to me.

My situation for this summer lends itself to a tremendous opportunity for personal growth and development that feels larger than anything I’ve had before.

1. I’m working 45–55 hours a week with an awesome team where I can learn a lot, and where the impact that I make will be very tangible

I’ve done work before for a variety of companies, but this work is in growth where moving quickly and reaching more people is very important, so there’s an element of high stakes as well.

2. There are so many amazing people in San Francisco

I got the chance to begin to meet some last week, but that is an endeavor I am going to continue throughout the summer. Hearing people’s stories, how they got to where they are, why they are passionate about the field they are in, and the advice that they have for me will be a tremendous chance to learn a lot. Plus, I am always up for new opportunities so if I end up talking to someone that has a side project they need some help on that I am interested in, there’s always an open door for that.

3. There are tons of events

Being in a city with so many people that want to learn, meet other people and get involved yields all of the events that are happening in San Francisco. This goes from meetups to speakers to networking events and even to workout groups. Throwing myself into these things will give me the chance to learn even more, meet even more people and continue to explore different fields and professions to see how I feel about them.

4. I’m living unconstrained with tons of flexibility in my schedule

This is something that we often don’t think we have at school, even though being out here is beginning to make me question that. Either way, I will be living with three friends from school out here. I have my responsibilities at work and that will take up a fair amount of time as it is my number one priority out here, but there’s so much other time in the week that remains. And although being in college is living by yourself in some sense, I have felt through this first week that being out here is a totally different animal. I have to navigate how to get around, how to balance my budget so I don’t spend too much money, what to do on my weekends, and all other things related to being relatively on your own in a city you’re unfamiliar with. These experiences will push me and teach me a lot about myself, which is something I am already getting a sense of, and something people who have lived by themselves can probably attest to.

Is this really unique to living in San Francisco for the summer?

This is what I’m realizing, though. These experiences, between gaining real-world skills that I can apply when working for companies, meeting a lot of people, finding my passions, and being pushed to be independent aren’t unique to spending a summer in a new city.

Or at least they don’t have to be.

At school, it’s easy to get in your comfort zone and ride that through. I get into a routine between class, student groups, and during the weekends I just go downstairs in our fraternity house to parties. But this monotony, as I’m thinking about it can be slightly detrimental and totally a missed opportunity. I go to a school with 8,000 kids so why spend each Friday and Saturday night just dancing in a fraternity basement? I might not be in a city with as many amazing people as there are in SF, but there are still great people in St. Louis, and it’s easy enough to jump on a phone call with someone that lives across the country. And while my living situation and having to be super independent don’t have to be as needed at school, I can push myself out of my comfort zone by checking out new areas of town, hanging out with different groups of people, etc. And doing all of this would not only be something that would push me more, but thinking about it, it’d be more fun with more memories coming from it.

Moving forward

So to conclude, I’m stoked for this summer. Feel like I am going to learn a lot, and I’m going to push myself in some of the ways mentioned above to really go out of my comfort zone and experience something special out here.

In addition, though, I am going to take note of what works for me and what doesn’t, what I like, what I don’t like, and what I don’t like at first but end up realizing is actually quite good. So when I get back to St. Louis in August (although I try not to think ahead too much, and won’t think much about school until it’s August), I’ll have the tools and be more equipped to make the most out of my second half of college.

It’s a fun ride :)

Cheers.

Year 1, Article 5