Have you ever been sitting at your cubicle desk, switching back and forth between spreadsheets and Facebook on your computer, avoiding contact of any kind from other employees or bosses, and just wishing for the clock to strike 5? If this is your daily schedule during the work week, then you’ve probably had an unpleasant experience working at whatever company gave you a job right after you graduated from college. You’ve had dreams of being your own boss and creating your own business, but sitting at that desk is not helping you at all. There is something so tempting about taking the risk of going into business for yourself, but there’s also the fear of failure and becoming unmotivated from sitting in a Starbucks for six hours just trying to network and sell your brand. You know that the cubicle desk thing is an ancient method of work style that for some reason has not vanished yet, but what other kind of work style is there? The answer: coworking. A work environment driven and designed for freelancers of all kinds, coworking gives self- employed individuals the opportunity to successfully and productively work in their own freedom while also providing a structured and organized space resembling that of a traditional work environment. Since 2005, coworking has been on the scene, but in the last six to eight years, this unique and creative idea has sparked a revolutionary, modern, and innovative spin on how people can fulfill their passions through their careers and still be connected to like-minded and hardworking people. While this movement and idea is well known in the areas in which the spaces are located (typically bigger cities like Denver, San Francisco, and New York City), the awareness and understanding of this modernized work environment is still limited knowledge and I can speak from experience. Being from South Carolina, I had never heard of coworking spaces before coming to Boulder and interning at Atomic20. I still really had no idea what I was going to be doing during my summer until my first day. While unpredictability is normally not an appealing feature in life, it’s the perfect element to being a member in a coworking space. Unpredictability is inevitable as everyone is working on something different. But with all the talent exuding from this office space on Broadway in Boulder, CO, I would be crazy to not enjoy, learn, and take advantage of working with amazing people: all with different ideas, lifestyles, and job descriptions but all with the desire to be productive with their own passions. Even though I’ve only recently been exposed to a coworking space, I can already tell how beneficial this type of work environment is for professionals today in our modern world. From my experience, being in a cubicle space is a good way to work because it keeps you focused and makes it easy to avoid distraction; however, the traditional, cubicle workspace takes away from the interaction and community that we as humans crave on a daily basis. Because there are no physical boundaries between coworkers, I have noticed there is more freedom for collaboration, a genuine respect for one another, and a vibrant energy that allows every person to achieve their goals. While these freelancers are dedicated to their respective businesses, I’ve noticed they all want to see each other achieve success,which makes coming to work everyday that much more enjoyable. With more recognition and understanding of the mission of coworking, I think coworking spaces will begin to gain even more momentum in the upcoming years. The desire to be included and accepted in a workplace will always be prevalent; but, with a coworking space, the office politics and competition are completely eliminated, leaving people to feel safe to reveal their talents, passions, and ambitions in life.   [Featured photo image: www.cohoots.info]