I Made Myself Late On My First Day Because I Was Too Scared To Be Early

So here's my embarrassing confession from my first day at my current job. I'm about two months in now, but it still makes me cringe to think back on how I started off. Let me set the scene: it was early September, and I had just landed this gig as an administrative assistant at a small tech startup downtown. It’s been one of those jobs where everyone’s super friendly and accommodating. They told us we could show up anytime before 9 AM to start our day, so naturally, on my first morning, I woke up extra early and dressed in the perfect business casual attire. But there was a problem, as the morning went by, I started feeling more and more anxious about going into this new environment. My heart raced every time I thought about walking through those doors for the first time. I felt like my hands were sweating just imagining it. So instead of heading out to work at 8:30 like I planned, I found myself scrolling endlessly on social media. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, it was almost 9 AM! Panicked, I quickly got ready and rushed down the stairs. I ended up being late by about five minutes, which doesn’t sound like much but felt like an eternity in those first few weeks. When I arrived, everyone was already there, chattering away, and my stomach churned as I approached. But to my surprise, nobody even seemed to notice! They were all so friendly that they just welcomed me right in without batting an eye. It’s been going well since then, but every time someone reminds me of my first day, the memory flashes back and makes me cringe a little. I couldn’t believe how ridiculous it was for such a simple thing to cause me this much anxiety. Oh well, at least now I know better than to let nerves get in the way next time!