Lazy Sunday Cookout at James Madison Park

Beginning life as a young professional (known as a yo-pro for those in the biz) has been a whirlwind. A whirlwind? Of what you ask? Everything. A whirlwind of everything–activities, emotions, credit card charges, new friends, and more credit card charges.

Moving into my apartment.

That is a lot of whirlwind. But it hasn’t hit me in an overwhelming manner. In fact, in some ways it’s been what I was expecting: exciting, fun, and a bit scary all wrapped into one “whirlwind” of experience. Whirlwind’s really the best word for it.

That’s not to say I was ready for everything-it’s certainly been an adjustment having soul-crushingly few hours of down time. Long gone are the days of college lounging hour after hour on the couch. Between work, chores (for those of you unaccustomed-pronounced /CHôr/ : a list of things to do that grows exponentially larger relative to days out of college) and self-imposed social gatherings such as Wednesdays’ Hawaiian-shirt trivia nights or Thursdays’ movie nights I likely have no more than an hour each night before bed to cook dinner and prepare for the coming day.

And yes, I could cut out some of those activities in favor of much-needed sleep–but why would I want to?

When you start off at a new firm in a new city, making friend and socializing are just as much keys to success as polishing off your deliverables. I feel very lucky to be at a company with as many young, friendly and intelligent employees as Epic and squandering that opportunity would be just as wasteful as not taking advantage of any 401K matching program.

Life at the office.

That leads me to my next point: benefits. I’ve spent plenty of time in professional environments prior to my work at Epic. I know how to dress (hint: One must wear clothes at Epic), work, and hobnob with the higher-ups, but as my first full-time professional job, the world of benefits is something entirely new to me as a young professional. I actually daydreamed the A Whole New World song while listening to a benefits briefing except rather than looking over stunning landscapes of the Middle East while an Arabian princess sang to me, options of HMO’s and IRA’s shined and shimmered in my head instead. Luckily we have a top-notch HR team to help navigate through rough waters and sort everything out.

A Whole New World (Of Benefits)

And so far I it has been very smooth sailing. I’ve made new friends, eaten new foods, tried new activities, and learned a lot about myself. Being a yo-pro is a lot of work, but it’s rewarding work, it’s fun work.

I love the whole new world that I’m in, and I can’t wait to continue exploring.

Thanks for reading and check in next week as I write about life in Madison and what I’ve been doing in my free time.

PS: Mom if you’re reading this–I only now have realized how much you have always done for me!

Taylor C. White is a 20-something software worker living in Madison, WI. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, OH. His current interests are politics, self-improvement and entrepreneurship. He loves to make friends.

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