It’s hard to believe it’s all ending. Summer’s last days, in the way summer ends
when school begins, are drawing close.
Our very first day, when we didn’t know each other at all, but we were
eating each other’s favorite cereal, feels like yesterday. But it was 12 weeks ago. Every year this comes around, and it amazes
me. Summer days are supposed to be
longer, but summer itself feels ever shorter.
And so,
as it all ends, this is, of course, the last week anyone will be writing these
blog posts. Thanks for reading! It’s been a treat, to get to reflect on
different aspects of my time at Dwellworks each week, and share it with those
of you who read these.
I will
certainly never forget my time at Dwellworks, and I’m sure it will shape my
career in some ways. I know I’ll never
forget that workplaces don’t have to be boring.
I’ll never forget that people are worth more than the tasks they can do. I’ll never forget that the ways things have
always been done in American office culture is not the way things have to be.
Who
knows where my career will take me? At
some point down the road I could be in a position of power where I’ll get to
decide what kind of culture to create in an office. If that opportunity ever emerges, I know I’ll
think of Dwellworks: open, honest, fun, and team oriented. In my mind, that’s the right way to run an
office. If it weren’t for Dwellworks, I
don’t know if I’d be so willing to challenge the status quo. If I hadn’t seen this type of workplace in
action, I’m not sure I’d believe it exists.
But it does exist. It
exists and it’s exciting. I’ll miss
coming to work at a place where people genuinely want to be, because everyone
is kind of friends with everyone else.
It’s a pleasant, dynamic environment, and I wish everywhere I’ll ever
work could be a lot like it.
But it has to end sometime.
Everything does. I couldn’t work
here forever if I wanted to- this type of law just isn’t my port of call. Even in the best environment, doing what
you’re not meant to be doing is eventually toxic somewhere down the road. And so, with the close of the internship, I
must be moving on to more enlivening endeavors.
As much as it fits the industry though, I don’t think Dwellworks’ office
culture is uniquely or impossibly inherent to the relocation industry. There’s no reason any other office I’ll end
up in has to be a dull and impersonal place.
, I’ll do my best to brighten wherever I go. I now know what an office can be, if everyone
works together to make it that way. I
want to inspire the desire for better workplaces. That’s the most important thing I’m taking
with me from Dwellworks.
It’s been fun. It’s
been real. Sometimes it’s been really
fun. But it’s over. In 2 weeks, I’m back in law school, going
ever and ever further up and further in, to the place I’m supposed to be in
life. Dwellworks has been a pleasant inn
along the journey, but only a fool mistakes a pleasant wayside inn for the
destination. It has been an incredible
summer, but it’s back out on the road of life for me. I’ll never forget Dwellworks and the time
I’ve had here. And yet, when it’s time
to go, it’s obvious, unmistakable, and unavoidable. As much as I might dislike leaving
Dwellworks, it’s invariably the right thing to do, and it’s right on time.
Adios,
-Zack
If you’d like to continue reading (much less frequent)
blogposts by me, please visit www.postmoderncleveland.com
