Back in March I made a difficult call.

It was difficult because of two reasons. One, I would be going back on my word, and two, making the call would lead to uncharted territory- a scary, different place where I had zero experience and zero knowledge. This is coming from a borderline Type A personality who’s least favorite thing in the world is being the least knowledgable person in the room. (I know, I know, I’m trying to be better about this. I just like having my shit together!)

So what was the decision? Well, back in October I had committed my entire summer to working at a corporation as an IT intern. It was pretty well paid and the housing was free. So all in all, not a bad gig. I also would have been working in an area that I had worked in before, so the upside was that that the department was familiar. The downside was that I hated it. It was more than just the job though, it was also the environment. As someone who was told as a child she was intensely hyperactive, almost to a clinical degree, sitting 8 hours a day in a beige cubicle felt like a personal hell.

By the time March rolled around I had to make a decision. Summer was rolling in fast and I had come to realize that it wasn’t enough for me to be the “employee cog” for the summer. I needed something more. I wanted to learn more, to do more, to make a bigger difference. So I let them know I wasn’t coming and I got a job working at a startup instead, as a UX intern. (This also may or may not have gotten me blacklisted from my school’s student-employer website. Oops.)

So I’ve been working for nearly 3 weeks and here’s the update. Basically I can sum up the experience so far in two words,

It’s awesome.

This is my very first experience in this type of environment… and it’s fantastic. Startups can be notoriously hectic, but what I have realized is that a chaotic and fast-paced environment is what brings out the very best aspects of my work ethic and personality.

Everyday I’m not only learning design principles, UX processes, and technical programming skills, but I’m also listening in on feedback from investor meetings, and learning about budgeting, revenue, and how to execute ideas. Since I first got into entrepreneurship back in January I’ve kind of viewed myself as a sponge. I take in any and all knowledge that anyone is willing to share- from podcasts to coffee meetings. This is what has enabled me to learn so quickly. I see every conversation as a lesson. On top of that, what these past few weeks has shown me is that for all those “sponges” out there? There is no better place to be than a startup.

What I have learned has been tenfold what I did at my last internship. There are a million things to absorb that I can hardly keep track of them all. I am honing in on skills that I didn’t know I had and expanding on those that I had never had the time to explore before. Obviously, I’m not curing cancer or anything but what I have discovered is that it really doesn’t matter if what you do matters to someone else. Does it matter to YOU, is the real question. At thank god, at this point in time, I can give a resounding yes to that question.

So folks, if you’re on the precipice of the terrifying journey of ‘How Do I Adult?’, I suggest you try being one at a young company! Huge corporations have their own lessons to teach and I do believe there lies infinite value in them, but if you want a fully immersive, learning experience, I suggest you check out the local entrepreneurship scene. You won’t be disapointed.

Written by Eileen Guan | Trying to change the world through @billioneffect | #TheUXKid