I couldn't leave my last post on such a pessimistic note. Something a friend of mine told me is that when it's meant to happen, it just happens. And that couldn't have been more true for me. Just when I had my ideal cardboard box layout in mind and officially lost all hope of ever finding a "real job," I got the phone call that set me on a new course completely.
The time it took from the first callback and the offer was approximately one week. During that time I went through 2 phone interviews and was flown out to Chicago for an in-office visit/interview. It was crazy how it all happened, but I couldn't have been more relieved when it did (and neither could my bank account).
Two days ago I made the 12 hour drive from upstate NY to Chicago. With my car loaded with nothing more than every piece of clothing and every pair of shoes I've ever owned, I made the drive fueled with coffee and my trusty iPod.
I got my second wind somewhere around Sandusky/Toledo and hit my third when I experienced Lakeshore Dr. for the first time. White knuckling it and praying I would live long enough to make it for my first day of work, I made it my destination... well sort of.
Before even making it to my surrogate uncle's apartment, I parked my car on the street and ventured into a dog-friendly bar for a round or three. I was greasy, I was smelly, I was exhausted but more than anything I was so excited just to be there.
Monday at 8:30 am will be my official birth into adulthood.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
what no one ever told me about life after graduation
I graduated with my Master's degree at the top of my class from a big name university about 4 months ago. All anyone ever told me was that my future would be bright, exciting, and how lucky I am to have this great education.
But what no one ever told me, and this seems to be a common theme among many of my friends, is that the months following graduation would be the most difficult. You're knocked down from your high-horse and begin to realize that you may not be the young, savaay go-getter that you thought you were. No one cares about your degree when you have very little "real-world" experience to back it up.
Forget about any sororities/fraternities you may have been in or the number of games of beer pong you've won. The type of car daddy bought you no longer gives you an unlimited pass to wear big sunglasses, while talking on your cellphone and somehow managing to balance a cigarette.
What no one ever told me is that the second you get that long anticipated degree, you're on your own, and that the months following graduation and before landing your first real job would be the most trying and personally revealing.
During that period of limbo you will find yourself questioning every decision you ever made in college... Should I have gotten my degree in this? WHAT do I actually want to do with my life? Do I have what it takes to make it in a job? Am I even employable?
There will be moments where you envision what it will be like living in a cardboard box while all your friends go off and live the corporate lifestyle. You begin to think, "maybe I can bring myself to become a stripper... after all it pays well." And worst of all, there will be moments of severe, earthshaking despair when you've had one too many job rejections, and you finally begin to realize that maybe your mom was wrong, maybe you aren't really all that special after all.
This is what no one ever told me about life after graduation.
But what no one ever told me, and this seems to be a common theme among many of my friends, is that the months following graduation would be the most difficult. You're knocked down from your high-horse and begin to realize that you may not be the young, savaay go-getter that you thought you were. No one cares about your degree when you have very little "real-world" experience to back it up.
Forget about any sororities/fraternities you may have been in or the number of games of beer pong you've won. The type of car daddy bought you no longer gives you an unlimited pass to wear big sunglasses, while talking on your cellphone and somehow managing to balance a cigarette.
What no one ever told me is that the second you get that long anticipated degree, you're on your own, and that the months following graduation and before landing your first real job would be the most trying and personally revealing.
During that period of limbo you will find yourself questioning every decision you ever made in college... Should I have gotten my degree in this? WHAT do I actually want to do with my life? Do I have what it takes to make it in a job? Am I even employable?
There will be moments where you envision what it will be like living in a cardboard box while all your friends go off and live the corporate lifestyle. You begin to think, "maybe I can bring myself to become a stripper... after all it pays well." And worst of all, there will be moments of severe, earthshaking despair when you've had one too many job rejections, and you finally begin to realize that maybe your mom was wrong, maybe you aren't really all that special after all.
This is what no one ever told me about life after graduation.
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