Well, the tassel on my cap has been turned, my W2 forms filled out and my first days of work at a Raleigh PR agency are officially over. What all did I learn in the first 48 hours on the job? A lot, actually.

There were some administrative tasks to attend to, like getting my own set of office keys, learning my daily to-do list and filling out paper work. And, then there were the more sentimental/emotional/personal lessons to learn, like the deeper and deeper realization that I really like it here.

I loved the people (and dogs – shout out to Billy and Charlie) at Clairemont immediately. When I first met Dana last year, I knew I could see myself at her agency, and when I met Josie the following week, the deal was sealed. I withdrew from the interviewing process at a big PR agency in Raleigh and officially joined a small PR agency team as Clairemont’s spring intern.

Now, fast forward to today, and my decision to chose Clairemont only seems that much more brilliant. I’ve moved on from part-time intern to full-time employee, and I can’t picture myself working anywhere else.

And, that is my most important lesson from these first two days. For anyone out there looking for a job, this is my advice: Who you work with is way more important than where you work. Here’s why.

Graduating, leaving my student status behind and taking on a full-time job was a huge transition. My personal identity had been tied to being a student for so long that I felt a little lost without that categorization. But, these past couple days made me realize that losing my identity as a student was just part of the process of making room for an identity that was way better – being a Clairemont-er. These people are awesome, and I’m one of them now.

At the end of my first day, my friend (who started her job the same day) sent me a text, “A lot less worse than I thought…you?” She’s right; the first day wasn’t bad at all. But, I would love to reword that text to: “Even better than I thought it could be.”

Starting your first day of work should be a little nerve-wracking. But, at Clairemont it just felt natural and easy, and I can’t attribute that to anything other than the people working here. Where else could you walk into work on your first day and have a vase of pink tea roses on your desk? Or a ton of pink markers and sticky notes? Or a pink keyboard cover (are you catching a theme here? I like pink…)?

Dana and Josie know me too well and that’s been part of my first lesson in the real world at a Raleigh PR agency– these are people who want me around, and who I want to be around. Yeah, your first day of work could feel like work, but it shouldn’t have to feel like a chore. Work doesn’t feel like work when you enjoy what you are doing…or, more importantly, if you enjoy who you are working with each day.