It’s been more than five years since I had a first day at work. But here I am: starting my first day at my new job, as a Marketing Director for Thomas Nelson Bibles. And doing the job at my same desk where I worked at my previous job just a week ago.
Starting a new job is a strange experience, especially when doing it remotely. I won’t meet anyone face-to-face, only in a mediated form, through a screen and camera. All the same first-day jitters are there, the imposter complex, everything. It’s a first day at a new company, so I’ve got to give myself grace and expect that I’m going to have a lot of questions and it will take time to get the answers.
As strange as experiencing all this remotely is going to be, and as jittery as I feel, I’m also excited about today. It’s the start of a new chapter for the Armstrongs. It’s not the first time I have changed jobs, obviously, but it is the first time I have as a permanent resident in the United States. Having no legal restrictions, no federally mandated requirements to continue to work for a sponsoring employer, is different for me. It’s like my family is participating more fully in the American Experiment, despite still not yet being citizens.1
So today, along with all the first day jitters, with all the big questions about what I don’t know yet, I’m also thankful for this opportunity that I—that we—have. We are beginning again, but we are not at square one. The journey we started when I accepted my previous role at Lifeway is not at its end. It’s just reached the next step. And for that, how can I be anything but thankful?
- We become eligible to apply for citizenship in another 2.5 years for those who are curious. ↩︎
