5. Recognize freedom as a 5:30 a.m. trip to the diner with a bunch of strangers you’ve just met.
6. Try not to beat yourself up over having obtained a ‘useless’ Bachelor’s Degree. Debt is hell, and things didn’t pan out quite like you expected, but you did get to go to college, and having a degree isn’t the worst thing in the world to have. We will figure this mess out, I think, probably; the point is you’re not worth less just because there hasn’t been an immediate pay off for going to school. Be patient, work with what you have, and remember that a lot of us are in this together.
these two belong together.
as odd as it seems, their pairing is clear in my mind.
i remember reading a book years ago about women who studied so hard and thought they would change the world.
they truly believed they had something viable to contribute that would shift the paradigms as we know it and then they graduated and were met with student debt, rejection and, good lord, were they humbled.
i remember reading this book and creating a distinct line between myself and them.
they, well they just don't have the ambition that i have.
they, well they just don't realize their full potential.
and then i graduated, and, good lord, i was humbled.
let's call it like it is folks.
my "useless" bachelors degree does appear to be useless.
in this job market, no one is interested.
actually, i shouldn't say no one.
after all, i did speak to a few potential employers but they:
a) did not bother to read my cv and had no idea who i was
b) were belligerently rude after i drove through the biggest snow storm of the season to be there
c) called me to speak about a job i never applied for (sort of like a except they did know my name this go 'round)
aye, i was humbled.
but that does not mean i regret anything.
i would do it all over again.
every single class, every single reading, every single break down, every single presentation.
i would do it again.
because in those classes, i found myself and i found my interests and passions and i also found things i did not care about.
those classes shaped me as a person.
yes, it is hard to wake every day and not beat yourself up over the fact that you are an incredibly hard worker, passionate and busting at the seams and yet no one seems to care.
oh, and there is that mound of student debt too.
sure, it is damn hard.
and that's where freedom comes in.
i knew right away that in order to survive this post-grad abyss with some sort of grace, i would need to turn things around.
i would need to accept that this time in my life may be the only time i have to explore my interests, to read for hours on end, to brew pots of tea and crochet scarves. to live with my parents and laugh with them and care for them.
once life gets going, it may just go fast.
this may be the time i am given to get to know myself, to find my calling and then to chase it like hell.
and i would be a fool to overlook that.
so i took time that could be spent loathing post-grad life and turned it into light and flighty freedom.
the degree will become something.
some day.
but what is the sense in loathing every minute until it does?
there is no sense in that.
i know enough to know that.
and for now, that is enough.
as odd as it seems, their pairing is clear in my mind.
i remember reading a book years ago about women who studied so hard and thought they would change the world.
they truly believed they had something viable to contribute that would shift the paradigms as we know it and then they graduated and were met with student debt, rejection and, good lord, were they humbled.
i remember reading this book and creating a distinct line between myself and them.
they, well they just don't have the ambition that i have.
they, well they just don't realize their full potential.
and then i graduated, and, good lord, i was humbled.
let's call it like it is folks.
my "useless" bachelors degree does appear to be useless.
in this job market, no one is interested.
actually, i shouldn't say no one.
after all, i did speak to a few potential employers but they:
a) did not bother to read my cv and had no idea who i was
b) were belligerently rude after i drove through the biggest snow storm of the season to be there
c) called me to speak about a job i never applied for (sort of like a except they did know my name this go 'round)
aye, i was humbled.
but that does not mean i regret anything.
i would do it all over again.
every single class, every single reading, every single break down, every single presentation.
i would do it again.
because in those classes, i found myself and i found my interests and passions and i also found things i did not care about.
those classes shaped me as a person.
yes, it is hard to wake every day and not beat yourself up over the fact that you are an incredibly hard worker, passionate and busting at the seams and yet no one seems to care.
oh, and there is that mound of student debt too.
sure, it is damn hard.
and that's where freedom comes in.
i knew right away that in order to survive this post-grad abyss with some sort of grace, i would need to turn things around.
i would need to accept that this time in my life may be the only time i have to explore my interests, to read for hours on end, to brew pots of tea and crochet scarves. to live with my parents and laugh with them and care for them.
once life gets going, it may just go fast.
this may be the time i am given to get to know myself, to find my calling and then to chase it like hell.
and i would be a fool to overlook that.
so i took time that could be spent loathing post-grad life and turned it into light and flighty freedom.
the degree will become something.
some day.
but what is the sense in loathing every minute until it does?
there is no sense in that.
i know enough to know that.
and for now, that is enough.
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