BY TARUN VENKATESAN ON 8TH NOV 2025
I’ve started working. Wow that’s a weird sentence to say out loud. No, on paper. Or I guess on whatever this is.
I started my first day today – we had a week of training and now I’m a fresh hire in consulting. I live in Chicago and everything is very new to me. From my apartment, to the commute to work, to the weather (its 40F as of writing this).
It’s surreal – being in charge of your hours outside work. Adulting. Figuring it out.
But maybe feeling nervous is normal. Or should be.
I have no friends in this city except my roommate who also happens to be a really close friend of mine.
Change feels weird but necessary. Weirdly necessary.
Corporate feels weirdly liberating in a way. I know there’s the stereotype of being stuck in a 9-5 and being a cog in the machine and running the rat race – all arguably true. But there is a certain comfort in working when you need to – and being fully in charge of what you want to do over the weekends. Or after work.
Maybe being fully present in what you’re doing is the ultimate job – a job no one can perfect, but there’s no harm in trying.
I personally don’t know how I’ll be structuring my days – wake up, work, and then what? Gym? Running? Reading a book? Listening to a podcast? Or a mix of two of these like Bill Gates -shouldn’t we all be more like him?
Frankly, I don’t know.
College felt so much easier – just study for the exams, attend classes, be busy being busy, and have a set schedule you can follow until break starts and you can finally relax / spend time with your family.
But work is different. Holidays? Sometimes. Getting to see your friends? Schedule it weeks in advance. Hobbies? On the weekends. Maybe.
All this sounds very morose I know. Maybe I should be more upbeat for someone who is brand new to work (literally, been less than 24 hours).
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