At Lava Lamp Lab, everyone eventually writes a blog post. This is mine.

I was told I could write about anything – which is a bit dangerous. I was this close to giving you a full breakdown of the Fallout game franchise or explaining why the Moth Man is the coolest cryptid in Appalachian folklore.

But no – I’m behaving. Mostly. Instead, I figured I’d keep it (relatively) safe and talk about what it’s like going straight from school into the world of design and development.

The Beginning

When I joined, I didn’t have a degree or any real professional experience. I was self-taught – mostly through trial and error, YouTube rabbit holes, and sick Photoshop tutorials on halftone effects. I genuinely thought I was being hired as a designer when I was first contacted. I mean, surely they wouldn’t hire me for something I wasn’t already good at… right?

Wrong. So wrong. ABSOLUTELY WRONG.

The plan was for me to do web development – something I had zero experience in, aside from some basic HTML we all half-slept through in high school CAT class.

Everything I knew up to that point came from loving how things looked. Now I was being hired to build actual websites – the kind real people use? On the internet?! I had no idea how I was supposed to be useful to anyone.
Naturally, I started second-guessing everything.

I wasn’t sure I’d fit in. Or keep up. Or contribute anything meaningful. And honestly, I probably didn’t for the first while. Most of my time was spent learning the ropes, Googling everything under the sun, and asking my poor mentor an ungodly number of questions.

But slowly, things started to shift.

Around the second week, I started getting actual tasks. Nothing huge – just some small maintenance jobs. But holy moly, was I scared. Because as we all know, centering a button has the potential to bring down an entire website and destroy all life on Earth in the process.

Despite my fear of doing web development in my web development job, it turns out if you care enough and you’re willing to learn fast, you kind of just… figure it out. Sometimes it takes five minutes. Other times, five hours and a breakdown over why your <div> refuses to behave. But you get there.

And little by little, you realise you’re not just faking it anymore – you’re actually doing the work.

So that’s what the job itself looked like at first – overwhelming, terrifying, and somehow still exciting.

The Office

A whole other thing I had zero expectations for. Keep in mind: this is my first job. I had no clue what real working life looked like. I assumed it would be like in the cartoons – dim lighting, everyone hunched over in silence, no fun, just fear of messing up.

I thought it would be super formal. Strict dress code. Everyone speaking in hushed tones. So on my first day, I rocked up in a white shirt and black tie. Look at me being a try-hard. I still wear that exact outfit to this day – partly out of habit, partly as a reminder to myself that I care, even when I feel clueless.

But what I didn’t expect – at all – was for the office to feel like a second home.

It’s light. It’s fun. It’s chaotic in the best way. We talk nonsense, share memes, roast each other, and get our work done. When it’s crunch time, we lock in. Knowing when to work and when to have fun is second to none here.

And despite being heavily outnumbered by coffee drinkers, I’ve found solidarity. Me and one of my colleagues – the only tea drinkers in the building – have quietly formed an alliance. We’re building a tea-m. You know, because… tea. (You get it. I won’t apologise.)

Oh, and on a side note, I’ve been cursed. One of my colleagues occasionally speaks Latin at me when I annoy him – which is often – and I’m 97% sure it’s some kind of ancient hex. I haven’t turned into a duck yet or anything, but I’ll keep you posted. If I suddenly vanish into the walls, you’ll know why.
Just thought I’d let you know…. Moving on….

The office is a space where people, health, and work are treated like they all matter. Because they do. We check in on each other, we support each other. It’s genuinely impressive and it gives me hope in humanity. Being able to work with such amazing people who are experts in their fields is incredible.
And hopefully in a while from now, we’ll have a new greeny come in and see me the way that I currently see my colleagues.

Reflection

Being here at lava lamp lab for 3 months has made me realise something else.
When I wake up, it’s not: “I have to go to work.” It’s: “I get to go to work.”
Having a job gives me purpose, a reason to wake up.

Sure, that early excitement fades a bit when reality kicks in and you just want to sleep for 5 more minutes, but nooo – you’ve got 10 minutes to get ready and survive traffic before 8. But even on those days, I wouldn’t trade this for anything.

Three months in now, and I still don’t know everything. Far from it.
I worry that I’m slowing others down or making life harder for my mentor. I have moments where I stare at my screen and wonder if I’m cut out for this.

Imposter syndrome? Oh, it’s alive and well.

But I’m trying. I’m learning. I’m growing. And that’s all anyone can really do.
If you’re just starting out – fresh out of school, no idea what you’re doing, full of doubt – I see you. I am you. And I promise: you’ll get there.

It’s not about knowing everything. It’s about showing up, asking questions, Googling like a maniac, and doing your best. Progress comes in bits and pieces, but it does come.
And hey – once you start earning your own money, you realise you can do ridiculous things like buy an entire milk tart just to eat alone (pssh no I didn’t do that…). Because you earned it. And you deserve it.

Working at Lava Lamp Lab has been amazing.
I’ve helped design and build real websites – things I can actually show people and say: “Hey, I made that.” And that feeling? That’s something school couldn’t teach me.
There’s still so much to learn, and a million things I don’t know yet. But I’m here. I’m growing. I’m contributing. And I’m ready for whatever comes next (as long as it doesn’t involve Mobile Responsiveness).

So yeah – that’s my story so far. Still scared sometimes. Still full of questions. But also full of excitement and ambition. Actually, I have a lot of websites to build and maintain. Seriously, send help…(Jokes….Kinda)

Good luck out there, wherever you’re at in your journey. Enjoy your day. And remember:
You’re doing amazing.