When I started my new job last year, I was all at sea (1). The systems were unfamiliar, the pace was intense, and I didn’t know the ropes (2) yet. My manager, though, ran a tight ship (3)—she expected us to meet every deadline and never rock the boat (4).

At first, I felt like a fish out of water (5), especially in meetings where everyone spoke in technical jargon. But I knew it was sink or swim (6), so I worked hard, asked questions, and slowly found my footing. After a few months, everything became plain sailing (7).

Then, just when I felt I was on the crest of a wave (8), a big project went wrong. We were in deep water (9), and tensions were high. Some colleagues wanted to jump ship (10), but I decided to stick it out. I didn’t want to make waves (11), but I knew we had to speak up and suggest some changes.

The feedback wasn’t easy to give, but it helped. The team came together, and while our efforts were just a drop in the ocean (12) at first, they led to bigger improvements.

Now, looking back, I can say that period taught me more than any training. I’ve learned the ropes (13), and I’m not so easily cast adrift (14) anymore—whatever storms come, I’m ready to batten down the hatches (15) and keep sailing.

When I first joined the startup, I was like ___ (1). Everyone seemed to be moving at lightning speed, throwing around acronyms I didn’t understand. I was completely all ___(2), struggling just to keep up.

Fortunately, my team was patient. Over time, I began to learn ___(3), slowly picking up the systems and processes that made everything tick. A few months in, I finally ___(4) ropes—and that’s when things started to feel like plain ___(5).

The company ran ___(6). Our manager didn’t tolerate missed deadlines or sloppy work, but that discipline pushed us to be better. Still, not everyone liked the pressure. One of our designers suddenly ___(7) after a tough product launch, leaving the rest of us scrambling to cover her tasks.

Tensions rose quickly. Some people tried to rock ___(8), questioning leadership decisions openly in meetings, while others just tried to stay focused. We all knew it was ___(9), especially with the next funding round approaching.

Then came the bug—one tiny error in our code that led to a major client issue. We were officially in ___(10) water. While we worked to fix it, some of the earlier efforts felt like a drop ___(11) compared to what needed to be done.

It would have been easy to feel ___(12) adrift, especially with pressure from investors mounting. But instead of panicking, the team decided to ___(13) hatches. We set up emergency sprints, prioritized fixes, and doubled down on communication.

To everyone’s surprise, not only did we recover—we landed two new clients that same quarter. Soon, we were ___(14) wave, celebrating a series of wins no one had expected just weeks earlier.

Of course, some newer employees were making ___(15) on social media, sharing our comeback story. And while that brought attention—some good, some not—it reminded us just how far we’d come from those uncertain early days.