Maybe, you are the lucky one...

You've graduated from college, You've researched, you've interned, you've networked, you've perfected several copies of your resume, and you've got nothing. You're a loser? Unless that degree from that accredited university was in underwater basket weaving, there is not a chance that you are a loser. The victim of the worst economy since the Great Depression? More likely. Lucky? Yep.

How many people do you know who graduated from college with big dreams of having "the life" and were going to live their dreams, only to settle for some administrative assistant position and stay there for a maximum of 2 years, and 5 years later are still there, have forgotten what their dream was and have no clue how to get out of it, and you also feel guilty about quitting a job when so many people are unemployed. Plus, if you quit how will you afford the life you are only mildly pleased with. The same life you convince your family and yourself daily that it makes you happy. Why are you lucky? Because this isn't you, this is your friend that graduated 2 years before you, the cousin you keep in touch with, or the girl who seems to have her life together.

You worked for free, at 4 internships, you had decent grades in college, 3.5, you were involved, and you can barely get your resume down to one page. You're confused because you have applied for so many different possible career paths, that when people ask you what you want to try to get into, you look like a deer in headlights. The jobs you are interested in either aren't hiring, or after you did several internships in the field you decided that you didn't want to pursue a career in that field, and you are back at zero.

So you can't find a job and you don't have any leads, you have moved home with your parents and you are saving your money, you aren't a loser because in 15 years you will know that you've done everything you possibly could have to pick the career that is right for you!

So get a good book, join a community service club, and help others, before you know it you will have the happiness you once imagined that you would have without having to lose your dreams in the process.

When you know, you know.

Like in nature when a mother knows her young, we as young professionals know on some level what we are meant to be. We know in a way that may not yet revealed to us until a much later time of our life, but at any rate we know. At times it becomes revealed to us by a series of unfortunate events. This is what is so amazing about life.

Serendipity

No matter how much you fight fate, it will always find you. Sometimes it takes an adventure to explore a lifestyle you thought you always wanted to realize that what you actually wanted was there all along. However, it would not have made sense to pursue the obvious choice right away, because at the end of the day the amount of doubt that would always have you wondering what if, would never yield true happiness. Why you may ask? Because true happiness is when you know you have chosen the right path, and that the right path is not a mistake.

So if you are unhappy with what you are doing or trying to do, take a minute and ask yourself if it truly makes you happy for years to come. If not, cut your losses and move on to your next adventure, because at the end of the day it's not the destination it's the journey you take to get there!

Happy Holidays :)

everyone should work in customer service...

It takes on to know one is not just a meaningless cliche, it is more than that. To truly understand someone or something, you must have experienced its counterpart. Walk a mile in their shoes if you will.

As you know, I have been in the quest for employment, and along the way I have been finding out who I am. My job in customer service is no exception. It is not too important that I share where this is, simply because they are all the same. I have gained more humility (or I have tried) in the last 2 months. Not because I was an unusually egotistical person, merely because the University culture and society as a whole fostered a certain understanding of how life works into my psyche.

My entire life it was drilled into my brain that hard work pays off, but the opposite has held true in the real world. Not to say that slacking pays off, just that there are too many people who work hard to reward everyone equally. This is where luck comes in. I guess my dad was right, it's not what you know it's who you know!

But back to my humility. So I was sent out into the world ready to conquer it with my best foot forward. My suit was pressed, my resume crisp, my hair did, and my thank you's were flying through the mail like hotcakes. "thanks, but we're going in a different direction" aka "not you". this cycle several times over and over again and what we have is a part-time minimum wage job that my $50,000 education is utilizing. fantastic.

However, I feel like I am doing penance everytime a customer says something mean/rude/offensive/sexist/etc. This will help me throughout my life, why? because life isn't perfect all the time and if I can learn this at 22 the next 70 years will be much better. Sometimes being an idealist is great, but the event that turns you into a realist may be the hardest thing you will ever deal with. A seemingly midlife crisis will pass and become better with time. In the meantime you may change the path to your life several times, and with trial and error you will find what is meant for you!


Moral of the story? Be nice to people who are serving you, wear a smile because it takes less muscles than a frown and if you are employed count your blessings!