Monday Musing: Transitions

Whether we want to or not, life sends us down a path that involves numerous transitions. Life’s stages change quickly as we transition from high school to college, college to first job and so on. Some of these transitions are from our own choices; some from opportunities; and some sneak up on us, forcing their way into our lives. Whatever the circumstances, these new experiences often include a lot of experimenting, learning and trying new things.

For Julie and I, transitioning to Birmingham has been a huge change in our lives. We left the college world, our friends and family and moved down to a new place with new (and first) jobs. Some of the adjustments were expected, such as learning new recipes to cook, balancing our bank accounts and working 40-hour weeks. However some of the transitions take time. We are still looking for our favorite place on a Saturday night, our go-to niche of friends and stability in a full-time job.

I think one of the hardest things about diving in to a new stage of life is the uncertainty. Everyone experiences things differently, and life doesn’t really come with a guidebook. However, I think with a simple acknowledgement of the past as the past, we can see the future as full of opportunity.

There is this movie, Up In the Air, where George Clooney plays a character whose job is to fire people for companies that were downsizing. He always began his termination speech with “ I’m here to talk to you about new opportunities.” Being laid-off is a huge lifestyle change (one of those transitions that sneaks up on us), and I can imagine it is not something one would see much positivity in. But I think Clooney’s character makes a good point. Every new transition (door closing) is a chance to seek and explore new opportunities!

For me, this week marks the end of my internship at Intermark Group. I am so sad to have this time end (there’s that door closing again), but also excited because I have a few interviews this week that could lead to another opportunity!

During times of transition there is a constant feeling of everything being in flux. Many times we have let go of our old patterns and feel a bit unsteady, but this is when we are most malleable to change. Now is the time to explore, try new things and consider options you normally wouldn’t before your life begins to naturally solidify into new patterns. And guess what, there’s probably another transition hiding right around the corner!