A LOVE LETTER TO THE OFFICE
Dear Office Space,
I’ll never forget the first time we officially met. I was youthful and inexperienced with my whole life and career ahead of me. Fresh out of high school and preparing for college, that summer you gave me a taste of a larger world. I knew little about the workplace with its drama and office politics, but you got me up to speed quickly. Those office walls made me begin to realize what a big place the world actually was. Over the next four summers, you would continue to teach me not only valuable real-life work experience, but how to manage my time in a bustling atmosphere, how to read the energy in a room, and how to be somewhere when I was supposed to be (after all, a supervisor was always watching).
After graduation, you changed my life in ways I can only see now looking back on you. You introduced me to my best friend and future godmother to my daughter. You gave me friends who introduced me to my first husband, and then supported me when I divorced him. That was a difficult time, and you gave me the perfect escape I needed from my stressful homelife every day. And then later, you brought me to a place where I’d meet my meant-to-be-husband, who is also the father of my children. Without having met him, there would be no them, and without them where would I be? You provided me one-on-one daily access to mentors who shaped my career and later became valuable clients. You offered me an environment where spontaneous conversation led to creative new solutions to problems that helped build my resume. And access to support was always there - I could walk down the hall to another person’s office and seek advice from a coworker (or just take a much-needed break to indulge in some idle gossip). And remember when Richard Gere filmed a movie at our building? He used our conference room for a dressing area. Thank you for that brush with fame. Our office buzzed about it for weeks afterward.
Some memorable moments were shared with office mates at the proverbial water cooler, over lunch, or anytime really that we just ran into each other in the hall. We’d laugh over the newest must-see-tv (could you get over that puffy shirt?!), compare notes on the latest blockbuster (Johnny Depp actually does make a funny pirate), and we’d joke about how our construction manager seemed to doze off during the staff meeting (yep, I saw it too.) We’d revel in the Bulls championship seasons, and then head to the local tavern later to watch them beat whoever was in town. It was with office colleagues that I heard the shocking OJ verdict announced and tuned in to hear the conviction of Scott Peterson. Over the years there were discussions about hanging chads, Y2k, Jordan retiring, unretiring, then retiring again. Years later, we’d still talk about why he ever played baseball. We watched the twin towers come down together at the security desk and then rallied together afterward in ways that only office comrades could.
Commuting to you every day opened my eyes and ears to new music, audio books, and Howard Stern. I laughed at the radio, cried at the traffic, belted out tunes like I was really Whitney Houston, and honed an effervescent road-rage vocabulary that I still find useful today. I couldn’t imagine my life without you, dear office. The experiences you gave me, the exposure you offered me, and the life that I built because I worked in your spaces would all have been missed had I WFH instead. I took you for granted once, it’s true, but I won’t ever again. Working from home may have its perks, but one thing is for sure – the office is a cornerstone of the life I’ve built. I would be only a shadowy reflection of the person I am today had the office not been a part of my life. And I truly believe you will not lose your luster. What a two-dimensional life we would lead without you.
Yours always,
Laura