Lessons Learned from Working an Entry-Level Office Job

I still have a few weeks left of the aforementioned office job, but while I've been there I've been doing some thinking. And this is some of what I've thought. Who knows, there may even be more to come.

1. The value of my college education. Not to say I didn't appreciate school before, but I'm extra grateful for it now for several reasons. I get to study things I like, I have a varied schedule, and it means I won't be working at this job level for the rest of my life.
2. How to entertain myself when I can't do anything to entertain myself. This includes making mental lists, like this one, and a ton of imagination.
3. That I have a strong dislike of staples. Not the office supply store chain. The evil pointy metal things that jam up the scanner and give me headaches.
4. And that the staple remover is my new favorite office supply. I can tell that I've been at work too long when I see it next to the pile of mangled staples I've pulled out of papers and imagine it cackling gleefully.
5. How to send an email without agonizing over it for twenty minutes. Story of my life, right there. I'm better at short emails now. People get and send them all the time. I just had to figure that out.
6. The importance of menial tasks. Yes, they're tedious. No, no one wants to do them. But they have to be done, and when they are, they can make a world of difference.
7. How to take joy in the little things. Who knew sheets of paper that are actually not eight and a half by eleven for once could be so exciting?
8. That I appreciate variety. The days I enjoyed the most were the days my tasks changed up a bit and kept me doing different things.
9. How I tend to take technology for granted. Things like computers, networks, copy machines that can sort and staple, and Google searches make things so easy. I am infinitely spoiled to have grown up with them.
10. The encouragement of being valued. Similarly, I was reminded that I don't enjoy busywork. The moments that meant the most to me were when I knew I was doing something useful and that my work was appreciated. And even when I feel like the unknown shadow in the corner, I know there's Someone who sees the shalom I'm trying to bring and values me whether or not I succeed.