Yes last one year has been completely adventurous for me at this new location: Ocean City (OC), Maryland. For I believe that being on vacation for a complete year, would not be possible again before (and if) I retire and it would not be, for sure, as adventurous as this has been. July 2013, I completed my graduation and in August 2013 I moved from Michigan to Maryland for work. The little that I knew about this place before I reached OC, I was surprised, this place was actually an island, you could find a hotel easier than a place to rent and live, there were more bars and restaurants than Offices, entire OC was full of visitors, crowded roads and beaches; man a total paradise.
The heading of this post "My One Year Vacation in OC" could be a little misleading and should not be misunderstood by lying on beaches, drinking and enjoying with friends. Yes it was definitely a part of it but not all of it. I call it a vacation because I guess "time" sent me here to learn and move on while having an amazing fun experience in life. If you are going through tough times (personally or professionally) or have gone through at some point in time then you would most likely be able to connect to my story and for others it could just be an alert for the times to come (there are other people for whom life just could be "EASY & FUN", my post or any of my posts are not for them).
I could not have ever been at any better place to realize my own strengths and my weaknesses than OC. I started working with a start-up company in OC. Little that I knew about this company (which is funny), I was their first full-time employee whom they planned on supporting and keeping to the best of their capabilities. Well this situation was very weird but exciting at the same time. It took me no time to think about the growth of the company as a whole rather than just focusing on my job tasks and my performance. I felt like I was an integral part of the company while my friends and family have been constantly suggesting me to look for better opportunities but I thought may be this is the best opportunity, to work with a start-up and learn not just engineering but how a business is run. It has been almost an year working in OC and now I stand stranded in a position where the roads ahead seem more and more difficult with each passing day. Need a new job badly now. Sometimes I feel like I took a wrong decision and may be I was way too optimistic with what I can get out of my current job but when I look back at the entire scenario, I observe few good things and a series of hardships that have helped me into growing as a better person, increased the level of my patience and gave me an opportunity to understand how a business is run especially the don'ts of a business.
Before I started working, everything in my life was so much planned ahead of time and by god's grace everything happened as per the plan but recently I have learned that these uncertainties in life and the risks of life is what makes it more exciting to live if you look at it the right way. Things never happen for bad if you try to extract the lessons that you can learn from your hardships. In my case this phase has made me realize that if I have it in me, I will get a good opportunity, may not be soon enough but definitely. Another big thing that I recently learned through my friends (Nirupam, Sayantani, Upamanyu and Balaji) that time is not going to stop; there is no point worrying about the things that you can put your sincere efforts into (applying to jobs in my case) and achieve it. And this is exactly what I have been doing for a month. I do not have an offer in hand but currently I am being interviewed by some of the top solar companies in the US (which obviously was a result of my efforts, still continuing) and 3-4 hours in a day I spend either chilling with my friends or by contributing my time towards my passion in poetry, political speeches, social work and learning how to establish a solid business.
If I was not positive about the difficult situation I am in (and tonne of thanks to my buddies for that), probably I would be wasting my time and energy worrying about it, which actually most of us do (I have done that several times in the past). As a person it made me strong enough to control my mind to not think about negative stuff that could happen if I do not get another job in time. And friends, one really needs to put in a lot of efforts to do that. I have failed many times and few negative thoughts have managed to sail through but if you fight it every single time then your mind will be in good shape soon. Happiness is a mind game after all. Key is- Do not blame the situation/people, have confidence in yourself and keep moving. Keep moving with patience!! Trust me even if you have talent and confidence but not patience then its simply not going to work. Tell yourself that "Whatever the outcome may be, all I know is I have to give my best and I am giving my best". If things doesn't work (it didn't work for me for like a month), then change your approach (I learned using LinkedIn for my job search and all my interviews have been a result of that) but keep trying baby coz its coming...ohh yeah its coming baebehh !!
I am sure all of you would have read these so called inspiring philosophical lines somewhere and so have I, but my reason of blogging it is just to let you know that it works. And yes, when it works you feel absolutely amazing about yourself because by then you know that if ever again you are into a deep shit situation, you would be able to sail through it. No one else can be a better guide than you yourself. Feeling bad/discouraged at times is very much human but its illegal to have those feelings effect your output. Mind it !!
Life is awesome because I am awesome at choosing my F.R.I.E.N.D.S. And yes, there have been some least expected people whom I did not even consider close but they helped me keep my spirits high all this time. God bless such good people. Time to say good bye to OC and these awesome fun loving people. Alas!
Please do share if you have any such experience(s). I would appreciate it. Keep reading, love you all !!
The heading of this post "My One Year Vacation in OC" could be a little misleading and should not be misunderstood by lying on beaches, drinking and enjoying with friends. Yes it was definitely a part of it but not all of it. I call it a vacation because I guess "time" sent me here to learn and move on while having an amazing fun experience in life. If you are going through tough times (personally or professionally) or have gone through at some point in time then you would most likely be able to connect to my story and for others it could just be an alert for the times to come (there are other people for whom life just could be "EASY & FUN", my post or any of my posts are not for them).
I could not have ever been at any better place to realize my own strengths and my weaknesses than OC. I started working with a start-up company in OC. Little that I knew about this company (which is funny), I was their first full-time employee whom they planned on supporting and keeping to the best of their capabilities. Well this situation was very weird but exciting at the same time. It took me no time to think about the growth of the company as a whole rather than just focusing on my job tasks and my performance. I felt like I was an integral part of the company while my friends and family have been constantly suggesting me to look for better opportunities but I thought may be this is the best opportunity, to work with a start-up and learn not just engineering but how a business is run. It has been almost an year working in OC and now I stand stranded in a position where the roads ahead seem more and more difficult with each passing day. Need a new job badly now. Sometimes I feel like I took a wrong decision and may be I was way too optimistic with what I can get out of my current job but when I look back at the entire scenario, I observe few good things and a series of hardships that have helped me into growing as a better person, increased the level of my patience and gave me an opportunity to understand how a business is run especially the don'ts of a business.
Before I started working, everything in my life was so much planned ahead of time and by god's grace everything happened as per the plan but recently I have learned that these uncertainties in life and the risks of life is what makes it more exciting to live if you look at it the right way. Things never happen for bad if you try to extract the lessons that you can learn from your hardships. In my case this phase has made me realize that if I have it in me, I will get a good opportunity, may not be soon enough but definitely. Another big thing that I recently learned through my friends (Nirupam, Sayantani, Upamanyu and Balaji) that time is not going to stop; there is no point worrying about the things that you can put your sincere efforts into (applying to jobs in my case) and achieve it. And this is exactly what I have been doing for a month. I do not have an offer in hand but currently I am being interviewed by some of the top solar companies in the US (which obviously was a result of my efforts, still continuing) and 3-4 hours in a day I spend either chilling with my friends or by contributing my time towards my passion in poetry, political speeches, social work and learning how to establish a solid business.
If I was not positive about the difficult situation I am in (and tonne of thanks to my buddies for that), probably I would be wasting my time and energy worrying about it, which actually most of us do (I have done that several times in the past). As a person it made me strong enough to control my mind to not think about negative stuff that could happen if I do not get another job in time. And friends, one really needs to put in a lot of efforts to do that. I have failed many times and few negative thoughts have managed to sail through but if you fight it every single time then your mind will be in good shape soon. Happiness is a mind game after all. Key is- Do not blame the situation/people, have confidence in yourself and keep moving. Keep moving with patience!! Trust me even if you have talent and confidence but not patience then its simply not going to work. Tell yourself that "Whatever the outcome may be, all I know is I have to give my best and I am giving my best". If things doesn't work (it didn't work for me for like a month), then change your approach (I learned using LinkedIn for my job search and all my interviews have been a result of that) but keep trying baby coz its coming...ohh yeah its coming baebehh !!
I am sure all of you would have read these so called inspiring philosophical lines somewhere and so have I, but my reason of blogging it is just to let you know that it works. And yes, when it works you feel absolutely amazing about yourself because by then you know that if ever again you are into a deep shit situation, you would be able to sail through it. No one else can be a better guide than you yourself. Feeling bad/discouraged at times is very much human but its illegal to have those feelings effect your output. Mind it !!
Life is awesome because I am awesome at choosing my F.R.I.E.N.D.S. And yes, there have been some least expected people whom I did not even consider close but they helped me keep my spirits high all this time. God bless such good people. Time to say good bye to OC and these awesome fun loving people. Alas!
Please do share if you have any such experience(s). I would appreciate it. Keep reading, love you all !!
