Push It

2011 is my year to be pushed, I've decided.

I switched jobs, and so far, it is definitely a learning process. Picture being a freshman at a new high school - you understand the general gist of going to school, but you're surrounded by such newness that you're constantly feeling like a small fish in a big pond.

It sure is a different feeling being new at a job where you're expected to know things. When you're an intern or a recent college grad getting hired at entry level, there's that understanding that the learning curve will take some time. But in my case, I've been in PR for 3+ years, and even at my new agency I have to stop and Google the most rudimentary things.

That's the hardest part for me - going from feeling comfortable in my capabilities and knowledgeable about clients & company practices, to feeling overwhelmed, out of the loop and back at Square 1. I absolutely love what I do, and I don't regret my decision to leave my old job one bit. I just struggle with feeling clueless at times. I don't want to hold my company or clients back - I want to be the best! I'm sure I'll get there one day...just requires some patience and optimism. The people I work with are brilliant. I have some amazing teachers for sure.

I'm also being pushed physically this year given that I am now dating a regular Mr. Mountain Man. OK, that might be an exaggeration, but it's still a big change to go from weekends of laundry and gentle yoga to excursions in the mountains and going electricity-free....willingly. Don't get me wrong - the boy is not fastening me to a rope and forcing me to scale Mt. Kilimanjaro or anything, but I can already tell I'm going to have to toughen up when it comes to my outdoor skills.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm a delicate flower by any means, but I also wouldn't describe myself as Annie Oakley either. Old home videos can attest to my romanticism of being outdoorsy - on one trip to the Grand Canyon at about age 10, I sported my neon orange fanny pack and told the camera repeatedly, "I like hikes. I just love going on hikes. Hikes are the best," only to later walk for 10 minutes, quit and ask when we were leaving town for Vegas.

In my mind, the outdoorsy activities always sounded fun, but who was I kidding? I was choreographing bad ass dances to Paula Abdul as a kid, not tromping through the mud trying to get dirty. I didn't really climb trees - instead, my dad built us a playhouse with a carpeted ladder and actual drapes.

I guess you could describe me as "soft," which isn't a bad thing per se. It just means that when you're 25 and about to go stay with your boyfriend at a cabin in the middle of nowhere, you better fasten that fanny pack tight and actually like hikes this time.

I'm really looking forward to the trip, actually. It's up at his family's cabin about 2-1/2ish hours away - no electricity, no cell phone service. This isn't too far off of what I did for years as a kid with my best friend Marilyn. We'd stay for 7 full days on a lake in the middle of nowhere - no running water usually, but there was a nice little outhouse. I got plenty dirty and loved it! So I'm hoping this weekend will be no different. We'll be going kayaking, swimming, hiking and exploring. And not to be a totally stereotypical "soft" girl, but I just bought new swim/land shoes that are purple and adorable!