Today’s #reverb10 prompt absolutely made me think. 
Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (via@JeffreyDavis108)
This past year seems like it was all about wonder. New experiences. New people. Creating this new life has been full of wonder. I know yesterday’s prompt was about feeling alive, but I think cultivating a sense of wonder is nearly synonymous.
To me, a sense of wonder is an awakening. This awakening can be triggered by taking steps outside your own comfort zone, thinking outside the box, and becoming aware of what is possible.
For me, my job is the hub of the wonder in my life.
It’s surreal, really. Our lives are relatively planned out from the day we begin preschool. We know, barring any extreme circumstances, that we will attend school until 12th Grade. I grew up with the same circle of friends — some coming and going, but many remaining the same. Since preschool. When I was 15 I got a job to begin saving for my car. And at 16 I began driving. At 18 I graduated high school. I was fortunate enough to know I was going to college and when I got into the University of Colorado in Boulder, it was no surprise. Four years later, I graduated college.
And then what.
It was at that moment, recovering from the hangover from a lifetime, I realized that I didn’t have a plan. The rest was up to me.
Two months later, I moved to San Francisco, and from there, it’s been all wonder.
In a meeting of luck, hard work and right timing, I began working at Context Optional. And that’s where I spent most of my time for the first 6 months of my new California residency. And ooooohhh the wonder.
Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. I thought I did. I interviewed like I did. And the biggest surprise is that, well, I kind of did.
What I have learned over the past year and a half at Context Optional is irreplaceable. I surpassed all of my own expectations — not knowing that this amount of learning, experience, “expertise” was even possible.
Each day is different. Each day I learn something knew about the business world, internal politics, relationship building, and being a professional. I feel like a completely different person from the wet-behind-the-ears reporter I graduated as, to the social media and community management professional I am now.
And that’s wonder. (And wonderful).
