(Written 2.5 weeks ago on my actual first day of work)

This is my first day of work. 

How many times can you say that? Probably only a handful (if you’re lucky or unlucky, depending on what you want). Even if you eventually forget about them, these “first days” are important and the impressions you make on these days will fuck with you for the rest of your existence in that space. Similarly, the impression that you make on people also directs their overall impression of you. Co-workers will still say, “I don’t remember her being like that on her first day” regardless of how false their first impression of you may have been. Your overall impression adjusts and revolves around that first impression. 

This is only my second real world internship and I still remember the about-to-have-a-freaking-anxiety-attack loss of breath and the dry, clammy palms on my first day of work over a year and a half ago at my first real world job.  Not only had I visited the office the week before to make sure I knew where it was, I had and outfit picked out at least a week before. Dressed to the nines, I arrived 20 minutes early and dramatically walking toward the entrance of the office only to walk away. After a few minutes calming myself down, I walked into the office and things went smoothly.

This summer’s first day was different. I forgot to set an alarm thanks to my Benadryl-induced stupor. I woke up at 9:30 smiling and fully recharged from the weekend, rolled over to squint at the clock, gasped and shot out of bed. Expected in the office at 10:00 for an all staff meeting, I tore clothes out of my dresser. Leaving my house, heels in hand, I hustled to work sweating in the humid Boston heat. Walking up and down Massachusetts Ave, not because I didn’t want to walk into the office but because I was lost, I finally figured out that my office was the largest, ugliest building in sight. Imagining that I would embarrass myself by stumbling into a serious office meeting, I braced myself as I ascended the nine floors. When I entered the office, everyone was quietly working at their desks and the office manager greeted me explaining that the meeting was postponed for an hour. 

On your first day, hopefully, the office manager will greet you too. This is how the first day of work – not to mention the first day of anything – should start. Someone should smile at you and tell you what is what, where the aspirin and the watering hole is, who you call for tech problems. Wouldn’t it have been great if, after you finally left that warm womb, someone had said, “Listen friend, don’t believe everything everyone tells you. Not everyone is good, but not everyone is bad. Don’t fall in love with the first person who has a cute haircut or says something nice about those shoes you fought your parents to buy. Stay away from that Hong Kong restaurant in Chinatown. It will give you the runs.”? What would you want your life manager to have told you? Some life lessons only life experience can drill in, but there are some things like diarrhea which should be avoided at all costs.  I’m excited to see what things in the office I’ll have to figure out for myself.

After the all staff meeting, my boss and I met to discuss what she wanted me to do. She gave me some reading and had to leave. I asked her if I could leave too and “work from home.” Mainly, I couldn’t stop thinking about how disorganized my life was and how I’d like to unpack and relax. And thus, my first day of work ended at noon and I walked home. 

After fully unpacking, Ben showed me around Harvard Square and his old high school haunts.  It’s always interesting to see what people grew up around.  After a few hours of milling around and feeling like a high schooler again, I remembered that I had bought a ticket to go see M83 at the Middle East that night. That’s something I wish my life manager would have advised me about, “don’t buy that ticket, Selena. It’s your first day of work; you’re going to be exhausted.” Although the show was great, I fell asleep. I was standing in the back on this bench so I could see and then I was sitting and then I was sleeping.  After the show, I walked home and fell asleep without taking off my clothes.

Any other good/bad first day experiences?