It has been a while since I posted here. But in the spirit of wanting to write more and improve, I think I’ll post more, starting with this one. I used to write a lot, both online and offline, but at some point, I stopped. So here we go.

Looking Back

I joined HostPapa in 2017. It was a great opportunity, and I really enjoyed my time there. I met a lot of great people and learned not only about the hosting industry and how to deliver a great customer experience but also about myself. How I work as part of a team rather than for myself. What I like. What I don’t like. And my tendencies.

One thing I learned is that I tend to say yes to everything. I overextend myself. As a result, I progressed quickly. I became a team leader within two years and joined the support operations team a year later.

But the side effect of this? I took my job way too seriously. I was too hard on myself, constantly analyzing my performance, whether I was doing well or falling short. My days started to feel like a swing between good and bad, entirely dictated by my own perception. Life outside of work felt like a distraction.

At that point, there wasn’t even a work-life juggle anymore. I was just throwing the same two balls labeled work against a wall. I answered emails on weekends. I stopped going out. It was bad.

Then came COVID. The chaos of the pandemic, combined with growing burnout, made me realize that my work obsession was actually affecting my work itself. And when a family member got sick, it put everything into perspective. Maybe it was time to take a break.

So I resigned. That was 2020.

Finding My Way Back

It took a few years of reflection to realize I missed being part of a team. I missed striving for something bigger than myself. But if I was going to return to work, I wanted to do it on my terms. One thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to commute. That was one of the best things about HostPapa. It was fully remote.

In mid-2024, my sister got married, and something clicked. Maybe it was seeing her start a new chapter, but I suddenly felt ready to start mine. I was planning to get married this year, and if I could also secure a bit of job stability (though, at this point, maybe job security is an illusion), that would be nice.

So I started looking. In September, I decided to apply to the one place I had always wanted to be. Automattic, the company behind the very platform this post is being written on.

The application process was long, with several stages including an application, an interview, and a paid trial, but somehow, I made it through.

In November 2024, I officially joined Automattic as a Happiness Engineer.

A New Beginning

One of the first things I noticed after joining was that a few people from HostPapa were already here. In fact, one of them had even been on my team. That made me happy. I had missed these people.

Since November, adapting to a new job has been busy and, at times, chaotic. New processes, new expectations, a new team. But this time, I want to do things differently. Hopefully, I’ve learned from my time at HostPapa.

No burning out this time.

More than anything, I want to contribute to something bigger than myself without losing myself in the process.

Let’s see how it goes.