Yo. Folks, I began writing this on March 6th, then my computer cord died and I had to wait to finish it until I got a new cord. And we all know March 6th was a lifetime ago. Reading through this again makes me miss my job, life, and co-workers so much. 

There are a lot of things I enjoy in life. In fact, I pretty much find excitement and joy no matter what I’m doing – with a few exceptions, of course. My middle name is Joy and when I was a kid my parents would inform me that meant I was supposed to be joyful. I didn’t always want to hear that as a preteen, but nowadays I’m thrilled that I get the daily task of living up to the name my parents choose for me.

Over the years I’ve been blessed to travel all over the world (North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe), experience many amazing things, and been handed incredible opportunities. I’m so thankful for my life and all I’ve gotten to do.

Wanna guess what my favorite thing to do is, though?

Going to work. At night I go to sleep counting down the hours until I get to head back into my job. In the morning I wake up excited and enthused to dance into work (oftentimes quite literally) and start the day.

Of course, I don’t enjoy every single moment at my job. There are times when I’m tired, have a headache, or don’t feel well and leave as soon as possible. But more often than not, closing happens sooner than I wanted and after I clock out I hang around for a few more minutes, just soaking everything in.

In addition to the daily, mundane work (which there’s plenty of that), I also have a plethora of exciting, stimulating, and helpful tasks and experiences handed to me. Today I thought I’d compile some of the things/reasons I love my job. I was recently asked to be a part of a short promo video where I got to talk about this very subject, and I only had a few seconds to share my thoughts, so here’s the expanded version.

1. My teammates – without a doubt, this is my favorite thing about where I work. I love getting to spend time with the other SET members. We have stimulating conversations, encourage each other, and they daily help me become a better person
2. My managers – this ties with number one. There is so much freedom to learn and grow knowing that although mistakes I make will be addressed, it will be done in a private and kind manner without an ounce of shaming. I’ve worked in three different departments under four different managers, and each one of those experiences has been amazing. I’ve felt truly valued, listened to, and cared about not just as an employee, but also as a human
3. The environment – the work environment is full of encouraging, kind, and thoughtful people. Mistakes are addressed in quiet, while wins are celebrated in public. While working hard is a must, building relationships and unity throughout the day is also cheered on
4. Making a difference – I know that what I’m doing each day makes a difference, first of all for my coworkers, and then for the guests who come through our doors
5. Learning new things – I’ve had to leap out of my comfort zone so many times with the job I have, but when I have a strong team standing around me cheering me on, it’s not quite so scary. For the most part, I’m able to learn at my own pace and although I try and always be ready to say yes, if I really don’t feel ready for something they are okay with letting me have more time to prepare
6. The variety – my position allows me to move from task to task at a rapid pace and that makes the day fly by
7. My co-workers – in addition to my teammates (the six people on my actual team) I also love being around my co-workers. We’re taught to celebrate, thank, and encourage each other on a daily basis which is what I thrive on. I’ve made so many delightful friends through work
8. Learning experiences – my boss is incredible at giving us time to not only do our job but learn how to do it well. If he finds out we aren’t fully trained in a department then he’ll help us get the training we need.
9. Staff meetings – multiple times a week we come in early to attend staff meetings where we get to learn about what is helping around the ministry, country, and even world. We have truly amazing guest speakers, wonderful musicians, and talented doctors share with us
10. Feeling truly valued – recently each of the departments spent a day celebrating our team, thanking us for our help. I wasn’t there that week, so one of the departments ever-so-sweetly put together a basket of lovely gifts for me and spent an afternoon showering me with love and appreciation
11. Being listened to – when I have an issue with something I know I’ll be listened to. I’ve brought concerns to leadership various times and every time they’ve given me time, attention, and then either answers that make sense, or else they take steps to find answers. It’s exceedingly important to me to know that what I say is taken seriously
12. Perks – working at the museum provides me with many discounts, free resources, and a plethora of perks that I hadn’t even imagined when I applied for the job. For instance, we can get discounted tickets for family and friends who are visiting, free drinks while working, and half-off all the food in the cafe. Also, there’s nearly always food or other goodies in the break room
13. The guests – we get to meet people from all over the country and the world. Sometimes while walking through the parking lot I’m amazed by how many different places are represented by the license plates. I’ve had delightful conversations, watched peoples face’s light up when they see our exhibits, and had the joy of meeting needs for those who come to our attrations
14. Flexibility – whenever I’ve needed time off (such as when some of my family was in a car wreck last year, or for my sister’s gender reveal party, or when my family decided to move), my manager has graciously worked with me to make it happen as often as possible. In return, they’ve won my loyalty and I will do pretty much anything I can to work extra when they need it
15. Resources – not only do we have access to all of Answers in Genesis resources in digital form for free, but we also can attend most conferences for free. Plus, in our daily team meetings (which is different from the aforementioned staff meetings) we get taught so much cool stuff
16. Feeling Safe – there are a lot of people I come in contact with every day, which means the potential to run into an unsafe situation is always at hand. But I’ve never felt at danger. Not only do we have a great safety department (they’ve even graciously escorted me to my vehicle when I wasn’t parked close to the building and had to work late and had co-workers who were worried about me walking across the parking lots late at night by myself), but we also have a great cleaning crew. That means not only do I feel safe from anyone with bad intentions, but also from germs. Plus, we’re always provided with the correct equipment and training to make sure each job is done with the utmost safety
17. Unity – and one of my very favorite aspects of where I work is the unity. I love being part of a team. I love knowing that when I go through something difficult I’ll have people praying for me, asking about me, and taking care of me. And, I love that I get to do that for others as well. It’s one of the best examples of being part of the body of Christ that I’ve ever seen, and I’m so thankful for where I work and who I work with