This week was my official first week back at Amazon—except this time I’m a full-time software engineer in Vancouver, which is honestly wild to say out loud. I take you along for day one nerves (thrifted cardigan, practical backpack, and me trying to locate my “one brain cell”), commuting to the office, and getting settled with onboarding tasks like setting up my laptop, taking notes on the team/product, and meeting my onboarding buddy. I also show a peek of the newer office across from mine (the cafe is definitely better), and talk about why I chose to return: my internship threw me into new tech, system design, big data, and writing design docs—stuff that gave me way more confidence than I expected. I also share what the day-to-day feels like early on: lots of docs, jargon in meetings, and the reality that a 9–5 is exhausting at first (plus… way too much caffeine). Midweek, I get some unexpected news that I’m switching teams, which really forced me to embrace change and not get too attached to a plan. I chat about Amazon being huge with totally different org cultures, what my org (Amazon Financial Services) does, and my best tips for getting in—LeetCode prep for the OA/interview, and focusing on ownership/learning during an internship to convert. Outside of work, it’s cozy resets: a run, a sandwich I was thinking about all day, and quiet time to unwind.