As I sit here writing these words, I realize I have a lot of learning, a lot of growing and a lot of room to improve. In my former life, I was a reporter. I covered the gamut from high school sports, county government, education and cops & crime. A far cry from high-tech PR.

But that’s the path I’ve chosen. It’s brought me to some great companies and I have learned a lot.

And now it’s time to continue that education.

I am happy to announce that I am joining the global PR firm Waggener Edstrom as a member of its SWAT Team.

A new opportunity

Now a new era of opportunity begins. I am joining a renowned firm and will be working with Microsoft on a variety of projects. I get to further my education while working alongside some of the brightest minds in the public relations space. Leaders such as Tac Anderson, innovators such as Micheal Foley and a myriad of bloggers on the official Waggener Edstrom blogs (maybe they’ll let me post there occasionally) will be my coworkers and that has me pretty jazzed.

I know that agency life can be different and the company is quite a bit larger than others I’ve worked for. But that’s all part of the adventure. I’m hoping to add some value to WE and its clients. I’ve met a few of my future teammates and I think that there’s a lot of room for ass kicking.

So, this has been an exciting few weeks for me. First the announcement of Baby Berto and now this. On to rock 2010…

I bought a house. I bought a dog. I changed full-time jobs. I even changed BBQs. It’s been quite an interesting year, which is why I wanted to share some of it here. I also have a “personal” blog, but that’s mostly for ranting. This is more of a “rave.”

Growth as a person

Getting older means nothing if you are incapable of learning from the past. The ability to take lessons away from your experiences are what will help make your future better. Lessons like, it’s great to be able to say yes, but it’s even better to be in a place where you can say no.

Or one I learned this year myself: Having patience and understanding will help you get pretty far in life. It’s OK to be wrong wonce in a while and I think a lot of us forget that. When you are patient enough to take a deep breath or three and acknowledge your mistake, you can often come out further ahead than if you had dug your heels in to be “right.”

Another lesson I’ve learned is on what a true “friend” is. I’ve written about it on this site in the past even. But having folks that you can rely upon is one of the most important things in life. One thing I learned recently was the “Soup Metric.” A concept that can really affect your outlook on who you associate with.

Growth as a professional

I recently took on a new challenge and joined a company that has been pushing me to be better than I thought I was. Being able to succeed in this role is very important to me and I am finding that I have the skills and talent to be great.

I am meeting new people and making new relationships that are helping me realize some of my goals. I have learned a lot from the people I have met such as Micah Baldwin, Geoff Livingston and, recently, Drew Olanoff. I have had a blast with people such as Aaron Brazell or Erin Koteki-Vest or Aubrey Sabala.

I have also recently joined the board of Social Media Club Seattle. I am viewing it as a “practice what I preach” adventure. But I already have found many exciting opportunities and look forward to seeing where this pathway of life leads me.

A birthday without gifts?

I simply couldn’t have a birthday without gifts. But this one’s for you, the readers. What I have is a copy of Hugh McLeod’s book, “Ignore Everybody” that I am going to give to somebody who comments on this post. I want to hear about who you are and why you’re here and how you have grown in the past year.

To put a nice little bow on top, if you’re in the greater Seattle area, I’ll hand-deliver it over a beverage of your choosing.

So tell me, how have you grown in the last year?

UPDATE: I have closed comments. Send an @ reply to me on Twitter to vote for who gets the book.