Road trips and Goodbyes.

In one week I will be sitting in Denver somewhere. This means that inevitably right now I am freaking out.

I have a love/hate relationship with saying goodbye. I like to be able to see people before I leave and to tell them I love them and to spend quality time (so often I spend quantity time with people instead). However, I hate the moment you give someone a hug and say that final farewell, there is something finite about it that I do not like. It also means that change is coming and we all know that change is sometimes excruciatingly hard. I’ve had my fair share of change in the past year, finishing graduate school, ending relationships, beginning new ones, moving… twice, changing jobs, leaving friends and a community I had built in Raleigh. However, I feel that the more we change, the less stagnant we get and the more willing we are to explore new opportunities in the future and that to me is so very important. I’m getting off topic again. . . 

I have enjoyed my last times with people, my final goodbyes. Dinners and lunches, chatting in my car, sipping on coffee, going through old memories, just sitting and chatting. Those are the things I really enjoy. Being able to spend simple time with extraordinary people and to express how much we love one another.

So I have said goodbye to my friends and family in the Polk County area and I will now venture on to the middle of the state to say goodbye to my Raleigh family and finally back to Charlotte to celebrate the love of a dear couple with my love. It is looking towards being an Epic week of sadness and joy and when the week finally spits me out at next Tuesday, I will be in Denver writing to you once more. 

Goodbye REI

On my last day at REI Raleigh

Well today was my last day at REI (for now anyway). It has been a great experience getting to work in two REI stores both in Raleigh, NC and Greenville, SC. I so enjoyed getting to know people at both stores and experiencing the different atmospheres each had. I’ve enjoyed helping my customers get prepared for trips, making friends with amazing coworkers, and of course getting sweet deals on gear. While all of this was awesome perks of an awesome job, the REI environment is what really makes the job so rewarding. It’s hard to explain to someone who has never been in an REI what the REI environment is like, but if you have even been in the store I think it is easy to pick up on. We enjoy our jobs, we enjoy coming into work, and we enjoy helping customers find what they need. Sure, it has its downfalls like dressing room bombs, and stocking clothing, and trying to sell pesky memberships, but overall people enjoy their jobs and that shows when you step into an REI. Part of this has to do with REI’s dedication to making their employees happy (there IS a reason they have been on fortunes top 100 companies to work for since the list was established). One thing I will take away from REI is a renewed dedication to service of mother earth. Prior to working at REI I had done a good amount of volunteering, but none of it had been in nature or for nature. REI was able to foster in me a desire to get out there and take care of the places that I love to explore. Another thing to take away from REI is their values and how aplicable they are to my life. REI’s core values are : Quality, Service, Respect, Integrity, and Balance. The core value that sticks out to me the most is balance, because REI became my balance from grad school and internships when I first began there and having balance will be an important part of keeping my sanity as a public servent with NCCC.  I hope to one day find my balance working back at REI part time as a way to relieve stress from a full time job. It truly has been an wonderful experience in retail, which I hear doesn’t really happen except at REI.