Like The First Day of School

As I left home for an interview, my son said that I looked like a kid on the first day of school. I had to admit he was right. Wearing bright new clothes, and with an excited, but slightly apprehensive, look on my face, I must have looked just like a school kid.
 
I suppose that looking for work is not so different from starting a new school year. In both cases, you have a load of experience under your belt. You've done the work before, yet this time is a little different--similar enough so that you'll be able to handle it, but different enough that you're unsure. In both cases, you are going to a new place (or at least a different part of the same place). You are meeting new people, some in the same position as you, others far above you. Will they like you? Will you like them? You dress your best, to look older or younger or hipper or more serious. You travel equipped with a bag full of what you know you'll need and all the things you figure you might need. And despite all of your careful preparation--doing the reading, dressing the part, bringing your materials--you can't help but have a bit of a pit in your stomach as you head to the bus or the train or whatever will get you to your first day.
 
When I left home, I looked like a kid on the first day of school, and a few hours later, I returned, having survived meeting new people, conveying what I knew, and navigating a new space with new expectations. There will be many "first day of school" experiences--I suppose that even when we are far past school, we continue to face days that are brand new, and not just in September. Armed with our "first day outfit," a little preparation, and an excited (even if slightly queasy) smile, we can handle it. And each time we step out the door, we stand to learn just a little bit more.