After three and a half years at Philadelphia’s largest advertising agency, Digitas Health, I’m joining another amazing Philadelphia agency, LevLane, as a Social Media Manager. As I transitioned projects to new owners and wrapped up loose ends, I realized that agency folk must have the strangest collections of desk accessories of any professional group. When I packed up my belongings from the past three years, I found the following:

12 notebooks, filled from spines to edges with checklists and notes and doodles
10 conference and event lanyards and name tags
6 No. 2 pencils emblazoned with Psych nicknames
4 gigantic tea cups, including one with brass knuckles for a handle
3 boxes of headphones (Skullcandy and UrbanEars)
2 neon sweatbands from the Razorfish Health (now Razorfish Healthware) launch party in March 2010
2 event t-shirts
2 NERF darts, shot lovingly my way by coworkers
1 copy of “The Rules of the Red Rubber Ball,” given to me by a great friend and creative director
1 flowchart on the criteria for the proper usage of “oh snap!”
1 Alaskan moose hat, given to me by another great friend and ACD, because antlers are the new black
1 sheet of Lisa Frank stickers
A candy collection that included Pop Rocks, Ring Pops, and Jolly Ranchers

Despite the fact that this list could also easily be a listing of what an emotional preteen girl might find in her locker at the end of 8th grade, I think it’s safe to say that I grew up more in my first job out of college than I did in school. I learned about working well with other people, writing for different audiences, collaborating to come up with the best ideas, managing projects, copywriting, content strategy, PR, social media, and a million other things. I found friends that made me laugh and smile and think further outside the box.

And the best part is, all of that learning and discovery (and accumulation of ridiculous desk knick-knacks) doesn’t stop now that I’ve packed up my desk; it keeps moving forward with me with each new step. My career – and yours, too – is a lot like a snowball rolling down a hill. As it moves on and picks up speed, it’ll grow bigger and better and more powerful because of all the great things I learn along the way.

Originally posted on the Advertising Week Social Club by yours truly here