My First Day on the Job

The first day of my internship was not quite as I had expected--now, I had seen my fair share of movies from which I had come to a "realization" of what start-up and company life was like--and DataTorrent was nothing like it. Thinking back now, I realize that my idea of company life was VERY far off from reality, as no company has swimming pools and 5 star gourmet meals (and large TV watching sessions). Although these things were lacking from my first day, I had a lot of fun--the entire environment of programmers coming together to work on a project was truly amazing. Everyone was working hand in hand and silently joking and laughing together. Now, I say silently because at the time, I expected eruptions of talking and laughter, but only heard one thing--silence; in fact, when I dropped my water bottle on the table, I heard echoes for what felt like hours and felt a few glares as well. It was when I was eating lunch that I realized the friendship and stories that everyone shared. Then I got a tour of the facility, and I got more and more excited by the second--kitchens full of tasty treats, tables full of different flavored tea, and the greatest of all, a foosball table, or as I first thought it was, the table of heavenly golden light. It was after 7 hours of being in the office that I realized that I was STILL adrenaline-high (which is a good thing for me), and that the internship was going to be one of the best experiences of my life. Albeit the foosball table and the kitchen had a small fact to play in this realization, I found that the environment itself--all the people working together with mutual respect for each other, the friendships being made, the experiences and feelings being shared-- that is what makes being a part of a something that you helped build with sweat and tears (luckily no blood!) so precious. And that is why my mother kept asking me why I had a stupid grin on my face the car ride home.