life update of march 2025

March has been an utterly chaotic, all-over-the-place, unexpected kind of month. I’m definitely glad to be at its end. It’s raining at night while I write this to you, and I’m looking forward to warmer, spring days to come.

After months of waiting and hoping and uncertainty, it feels good to come to the blog with news to share.

I have officially started my part-time corporate job!

On one hand, that feels like an oxymoron–part-time corporate job. On the other hand, I’m grateful to have a job in this economy. I have spent lots of time over the past few weeks looking at LinkedIn posts and Reddit threads, and all I can say is that I’m grateful. 

My new job is in corporate communications, and I’m an intern. This job really fits all of my preferences for a role, except that it’s part-time. Which was almost a reason I thought about saying no to the offer. I had my last interview on a Monday morning, got the offer on Tuesday afternoon, then spent two days praying and thinking about it. And I said yes. 

I applied for the role in mid-January, got the email for an interview in early February, did two other interviews in February, had another interview in early March that was more relaxed, and then got the offer. Job hunting is a huge waiting game.

Related Post: A New Season: Losing Teeth and Entering Fall

The more that I see what’s out there in terms of the current job market, the more I am grateful to have a job and one that’s in the industry and a position I really was seeking.

My job is hybrid, so I do two days in person, and one at home. My commute is only 30 minutes, which is half of my Columbia commute, and I just feel really lucky. I have the internship until January 2026, but I’m not sure I’ll stay that long. (I’m really hoping against hope I become a full time employee, but I have no clue how likely that is.) The only downside is that my office is right next to the water, so it’s extremely windy and my eyes tear up every single time.

It’s so funny. I feel like so many people hate corporate jobs, but I found that working in journalism, I felt I never really turned off. It’s a 24/7 job. Finding new ideas was always in the back of my mind. With this job, I give it my full attention for my hours, and then I shut off my work laptop to do my own thing. I’m grateful to have work-life balance (it’s in the early days). 

Related Post: life update of august 2024

I know at least one friend is job hunting, and it can be so stressful and isolating. I’m probably going to go back to job hunting in a few months because this role isn’t full time. 

This is my first time at a large company. I’ve worked for a small management consulting firm, a nonprofit, and a small, dedicated newsroom. It’s just cool to meet new people and have a new structure and have people who are interested in training me. 

Life Lately

Because I work part-time, I realize that I can work on driving when I’m not at work. I need to get my license this year and with the changing ID happening, it’s a good time to get it. So wish me luck as I attempt to drive these New York City streets.

I’m so close to finishing Paradise Lost (~40 pages) but I’ve fallen off the wagon of War and Peace. Reading War and Peace as a slow read feels impossible. Even though my life is stabilizing (somewhat), I don’t always have the time (or desire) to pick it up. 

Related Post: returning to the dear place I called home

I’ve been feeling homesick, if that’s the right word to use. I miss Virginia and I miss Charlottesville. I’ll have flashes of walking to class or to the bookstore or around the kitchen table. I had a plan to visit soon and prayed about it and it wasn’t right. There was so much wisdom and depth in the people around me during that time that I really don’t get now. And it’s not that my life is shallow. It’s just that those people really were rich fertitilizer for bringing me to ask questions of how to really walk with God. Plus I really miss the beauty of the mountains. Waking up with them was a privilege.

I’ve been trying and failing to find a good loafer that is solid quality without being hideous. On the subject of workwear, I did not realize that the scope for business casual is so wide, and with the “office siren” trend, I’d rather be on the safe side. 

Considering my last trip was to New Jersey, I am feeling major wanderlust. I’m not 100% sure when my next trip will be. I really want to see Karen, but she’s hunkering down for her last semester of grad school. (I had a lovely brief phone call with her this week.) So nothing’s booked yet, but I’m hoping for something soon.

A taste of March 2025 sonically:

Madness by Citizens

Make a Decision by The Staves

I’m Not Okay by Liv Douglas

Hungry and Thirsty by Torchbearers

Crown Him by Citizens

Thank you all for being with me on this journey! If you’re job hunting right now, my heart goes out to you and let me know if I can be a potential resource into the journalism/media industry.

Signing off,

Gigi