So July has been an extremely busy month for me, actually the past 4 months have been pretty crazy now that I think about it. I honestly feel like I haven’t had time to step back and realize everything that has been happening. It has been like working three full-time jobs with my paying job, my “recreational” job (as my parents refer to it), and probably the most important job, looking for a new job.

I’ve realized living in Southern California again for the past year, and visiting all of my friends still in the bay area how much I really want to be up there working and living. It’s not that I don’t love the sunny weather and vibe of Orange County, but every time I head out for a quick weekend trip to San Francisco (which has been more of a detriment to my bank account than I’d care to admit) I again realize how much I love the city and the lifestyle it provides to those who live there.

For those who’ve been following my life, I had an interview in Mountain View with a great company called Tiny Prints. They are a start-up company in the online stationery business. I love the quality of their products and the effort they put into them, but more than anything they have an incredible appreciation for their employees and I could really tell that everyone was happy to be at work. It made me realize how much I value that in a work environment.

When you think about spending 40 hours or more of you life each week somewhere, you really want it to be something that you enjoy, something that is fulfilling, and something that keeps you learning. I would love to join their team as a Site Manager and start the career phase of my life in the bay area, however if it doesn’t fit this time, I know there is something else waiting. With each experience I have I feel like I learn a little bit more about myself. One of the greatest parts about this often awkward phase somewhere between student and grown-up is the act of growing. Like the quote says, “Happiness is a journey, not a destination.”

This turned out to be a little more reflective than I thought it would be, but reflection seems to be a common theme among my friends right now. People going through break-ups, big moves, major adjustments, culture shock, and altogether life changing experiences. It is often hard to know how choices affect our lives especially when they are major ones. In the end you have to take a step back and be grateful for all you have and trust that you will end up where you are supposed to when you are meant to.

I recently got two of my best friends into blogging. The three of us were roommates while we studied abroad in Rome. And despite being on opposite sides of the world all pursuing different passions we have managed to remain close. Chiara just graduated from UCLA and was crazy brave to head back to Rome by herself, with nowhere to live, and start an internship with the Associated Press. Follow the adventure of her life and read her incredibly well written insights on politics and Italian Culture on The Clarity Post (Chiara means clarity in Italian).

Lauren, who we more commonly refer to as Valdez (since we were both Laurens living together), just graduated from Cal and is pursing her passions in architecture and solving global poverty. This is one girl who I can say without a doubt, will change the world. She has crazy stories about meeting Al Gore and Bill Clinton, and working in South America. She’s currently working on a sustainable project for an island in French Polynesia and is ready to up and leave to move to Bolivia afterwards to continue a project she started there last year. I just helped her get a site started and you can follow her adventure at LaurenVeronica.com.

Phew, if you aren’t exhausted by now, I present a video of my recent San Franciscan adventure:

PS. I just got my new Mac Book Pro and had fun playing around with the new iMovie making this video. Forgive that I didn’t have much video to work with, but I’m heading to San Diego this weekend and still have lots of video from a recent trip to Vegas which will surely be posted soon! Check back for that :)