Crossing the other side of the bridge
Yesterday was the last day of the quarter. Naturally, it makes for a good day to reflect on the past three months. I mentioned in my last post that something new was on the horizon, and I'm now excited to share it.
ORD -> SFO
On March 1, 2019, I had my first one way flight booked from Chicago to San Francisco. I never actually thought I'd move further away from my friends and family. Today actually marks my first official month living in the city. But before I go any further, let's address the elephant in the room.
So why did I move to the most expensive city in the country?
It really boils down to a few reasons why:
- I was comfortable, and it was too easy to remain that way
- I landed an opportunity at a company with a mission to do good for the Internet
- I wanted to discover a different version of myself in a new city
Doing good for the Internet
I joined the security team at Cloudflare where I'll be helping build their threat detection and response program. Prior to choosing Cloudflare, I interviewed a ton with different companies located everywhere from Washington, D.C., Chicago, to Denver, and all the way to the Bay Area.
I was extremely picky (no seriously). I had it down to specifically the size of the company, the type of company, their mission, and their environment. I knew I wanted to work in a smaller environment, and my happy number was 1000 - 5000 employees, with preference on the lower end.
I knew I wanted to try something different, and that meant working in an environment that was built with the future in mind. That meant an environment primarily made up of macOS and Linux workstations and servers. That meant an environment that was primarily on the "cloud". I wanted to work with the latest technologies and be challenged by different problems (let's be honest, there's only so much you can really investigate on Windows after a while of doing the same, repetitive work).
But most importantly, I wanted my work to be truly impactful in the world. I wanted every person I met with to be really excited about what their company was building. I didn't want just a "job." I wanted a real opportunity to do something amazing. I also had an itch to build. I didn't want to support something that someone else built. I wanted to do it from scratch. I wanted to feel the thrill of going from 0 to 1. This is why I chose Cloudflare. It's only been a few weeks, but I'm really excited to contribute to the team and the company's success.
Don't be afraid to do scary things
Change is scary because you never really know what's waiting for you on the other side of the bridge. But wondering what if, and never knowing, is scarier. I spent several months searching for the thing that I felt was missing. I had a few opportunities to settle for something less - to be comfortable in my "safe zone." But I learned to say no. I learned when to pass on something that didn't make sense - a lesson I wish I would have learned a long time ago.
Everyone will always tell you to know what it is that you want to do and to pursue it. But I found out that it's not always that easy. Sometimes you have to just do something to know if it makes sense or not. Anyway- I'm rambling now.
What's next?
For now, I'm going to stay put for a while. I want to see what's out here. I want to discover something new. I want to continue to learn and grow. I want to be scared again, because that's how I know I'm growing.