School-Less September

It’s my first September without school. I can’t even remember a time, aside from summers, when I wasn’t preparing for school. For classes, for tests, for papers.

And you know what? I don’t miss it one bit. Sure, sometimes I get nostalgic about going to class and being in the college environment but it quickly passes as I realize how much freedom I have now. And how my weekends and nights are filled with things I want to do, not assignments and long classes to sit through.

I didn’t have the “normal” college experience, but I can’t say I regret it. I entered college at 16, thanks to a new charter school in my area that allowed me to earn high school credit for college courses. When I started at USF, I was 18 and had two years of college behind me. I was placed in a freshman dorm and full of excitement of what the college experience would bring me. At 18, I was ready to have a normal college experience.

Well, I hated living on campus. More specifically, I hated living in a dorm room. (And the fact that my roommate and I were polar opposites and didn’t get along at all didn’t help.) I’ve come to realize I need my space and a place to be alone and you don’t get that in a dorm. Luckily, my roommate was gone more than she was around but it was a big adjustment for me and I didn’t take to it well. It was especially hard to be locked out of my room so she could have sex with her boyfriend. I spent countless hours in the bookstore and common area to do homework and study for tests thanks to her. (For me, I get distracted way too easily in public places to ever be focused and productive.)

I moved back home after the year on campus. (My roommate moved into another room in the Spring, leaving me with my own space for 4 months. Those may have been the best 4 months of my life.) I struggled to get involved and find friends, roommate issues nonwithstanding. At 18, I was even more socially awkward and painfully shy than I am now so it was just a bad situation for me to be in. I was burrowing even farther into my shell and knew moving back home was what I needed to do for me at that time.

I became a commuter student for the next year and completed two student teaching internships. A few weeks after moving back, I started working at a preschool, a job I loathed. In the summer of 2008, I was working for a printing shop that was dying and preparing for my last semester of college.

Well, the last semester of college ended up being the start of a new school path for me. The internship was terrible and I left before it was over, broken and unsure of what to do with my life. After a few weeks of searching my heart, I chose a new major: Journalism. Writing had been a passion of mine for a very long time, but majoring in it had never even crossed my mind.

The next two and a half years were spent in journalism classes, a second daycare job that was much smoother than my previous, and living at home. It was hard. My entire life revolved around my job and school. There was barely enough time to breathe Mondays - Thursdays. There were no coffee dates before class, strolling around campus, or waking up 15 minutes before my class started. Since my weekdays were filled with work and classes, my weekends were my catch-up days for homework and studying.

For the first time, I have absolute freedom to do what I want. I have a full-time job that is pushing me just my like classes in college did, except I’m getting paid to be pushed. I have my nights and weekends for myself. I don’t have the pressing worries of upcoming papers or presentations or huge projects. I can simply be. I feel more in the moment, more alive. I am happier. More fulfilled. Less stagnant.

My college years were different than most, that’s for sure. But I tried the normal route and that’s not the path I was meant to take. I can’t regret it, but I don’t look back upon those years with fondness. I don’t long for the “carefree” days of college. (If anything, I feel more carefree now than when I was a student.) That was then, this is now. I needed that time for me, to get a degree and gain knowledge in the field of journalism and media. But that chapter of my life is over. And while I can’t say for certain I will never be a student again, I can say that I’m glad those days are behind me.

How did you feel your first “September” out of college?

From 20 to 40

I was really worried about how hard the adjustment from being a part-timer to a full-timer would be. At the preschool, I typically worked 20-25 hours a week. I was usually done for the day around noon or earlier. Big changes like a new job are hard for me and there’s an adjustment period that takes place until I feel settled and as if my feet are on solid ground. There were so many times I questioned myself by accepting this new job. Was it the right decision?

To answer the last question, abso-freaking-lutely. I can’t even tell you how much I love my job and now that I’m doing more tasks, it’s gotten even better. The past two days, I’ve had work to do from the minute I walked in until the minute I left. No observation or sitting around, twiddling my thumbs.

As for the worry about adjusting to a full-time schedule? It hasn’t been much of an issue at all. My days absolutely fly by and most days, I look at the clock and think, “It’s already 4:30?” instead of “It’s only 4:30?” I thought I would miss having my afternoons off, but it feels good to be productive. It also helps that my work day doesn’t start until 9:00, instead of 6:30. (Driving to work with the sun out is pretty awesome, let me tell you.)

I think what I noticed right off the bat was how much my energy levels improved. I remember days when I would have been at my old job for just a few hours and my energy levels were so depleted. That job was emotionally and physically exhausting and sometimes I wondered how I would make it through the rest of the day. And I was only working part-time! How the full-timers do it, I will never know. Eight hours at my new job is a piece of cake compared to 4 or 5 hours at my old one. The work I’m doing can be mind-numbing and a lot to take in, but it doesn’t deplete my energy level. (It also helps I work with fun people who have amazing attitudes and energies.)

I had a few people remark about how working a regular, full-time job is similar to the time when I was working part-time and going to school. I’ve only been out of school for 3 months so my knowledge of how that time of my life was is still fresh in my mind. When I was going in school, my days were generally 6:30 - 1ish. Some days I would be going from work to classes to my internship to a night class, leaving the house at 6:00 AM and not returning until 9:30 PM. My afternoons, nights, and weekends were filled up with homework and studying and writing papers. The biggest difference between that time of my life and now is my weekends. My weekends are finally my time. I can do whatever I want and maintain any schedule I want. I don’t have to worry about making sure I started on this assignment or finished that paper. I spend 8 hours at my job a day and then come home and can leave it all behind. Once I’m done with work, I’m on my own schedule. It’s such an amazing feeling. (And makes me wonder if I’ll ever go back to get my Master’s. I’m enjoying my freedom a little too much to even think about it right now.)

My days are long. I leave the house around 8:15 and don’t return until 7:30 or later. (I head to the gym for an hour right after work.) But it doesn’t feel like such a chore, like my long days before did. It just feels like my new life. I think it helps that I’m spending most of my day at a place I enjoy and am starting to find my place in. It leads to a specific amount of joy in my life. For the first time in a very long time, I don’t feel stagnant and unhappy with the place I am in life. I finally feel happy to begin each day. It’s really one of the best feelings in the world.

My New Job

My new job is exciting. I’ve never done this type of work before (advertising) but it’s right up my alley! I’m doing lots of observations and shadowing right now, but my boss is slowly handing over the reins. We’re beginning to move some spreadsheets and marketing plans over to Google Docs, after a suggestion by moi. I’m trying to be patient but I’m so ready to have more responsibilities and projects. Everything is so exciting and thrilling to learn, to a girl who spent her schooling writing crappy newspaper articles and spent two-and-a-half years in a daycare.

My new job is tough. I sat in on a budgeting/media planning meeting yesterday and it was intense. I think I was lost within the first 30 seconds, but it’s good for me to just be there, hearing what’s going on and why. There is so much to learn with this job but I’m not expected to pick everything up within my first week. My boss has an incredible amount of spreadsheets with so many rows and columns, color-coded to remind her of things she needs to do, that it makes my brain spin looking at it too long. I’m starting to get the feel for her spreadsheets, though. There is a method to her madness, for sure! :)

My new job has a different energy surrounding it. I don’t know how to say this in a nice way, but there was a lot of negativity at my old job. So much so that I tried to keep to myself as much as possible and would dread going to work the next day because of the drama. There were so many people there that made me question why they were working at this place if it made them so miserable. At my new job? There’s a totally different atmosphere. Maybe I’m just so new that I don’t see it, but these people seem to actually enjoy their work. Who knew?! They don’t have easy jobs and have to meet tough deadlines, keep customers happy, and deal with all sorts of mishaps but they maintain a fun, lively atmosphere and don’t let the little things bog them down. They are all hard workers and I feel absolutely blessed to be surrounded by this energy and feeling of support.

My new job leaves me feeling fulfilled. I had been feeling very uninspired and unmotivated in the past few months. After graduation and my cruise, my life was filled with the ups and downs of job searching. Getting interviews, being turned down, submitting resumes over and over again to no avail. There was nothing exciting happening and nothing exciting would happen until I received a job offer. I felt like I would be stuck at my old job for another year and every Monday, I felt sick to my stomach because that my life was still the same. Granted, I could have done more during this time to motivate me without having a job, but I wasn’t in that mindset. I feel less tired and sluggish working 40 hours a week than I did working 25. I am undeniably more happy and satisfied with my life. I’m challenged and pushed to use my brain and problem-solving abilities. Most of all, I am using the degree I put so much work into.

My new job will not always be this delightful. When you know, you know. Just like in a relationship, this job is in the brand-new stages and being new and exciting. I’m in the honeymoon phase where everything is puppies and rainbows and sunshine. But I also know I will encounter bumps in the road. I will make mistakes and doubt myself. I will wonder why I ever thought this job was so amazing in the first place. There will be weeks where I am so busy I can’t see straight and weeks where I am so happy I could cry. I’m prepared for this, because my life has been a series of rollercoasters and I know what it’s like to encounter bumps and valleys in the road. 

My new job makes me so happy I didn’t settle. During my first-ever post-grad interview, I went on an all-day second round interview shadowing assignment where I followed a veteran sales rep and a newly hired sales rep as they went door-to-door to businesses, selling office supplies. (Yes, selling office supplies. What a thrilling job!) I remember telling the veteran how this wasn’t the job I thought it would be (I figured more marketing, less sales) and the newbie told me something I haven’t been able to get out of my mind for the past week. He said, “Yeah, this wasn’t the job I thought it would be, either. But, you know, a job is a job.” Is it, though? Can we strive for more? Is that being too naive? Perhaps, but I’d rather be naive and happy than in a job that made me miserable. I keep thinking about the what ifs. What if I had tried harder to get the job in the last-round interview? What if I was a door-to-door sales rep, doing something just to have a job? What if I had settled? I am so very glad I didn’t. I’m so very glad I followed my heart and found this opportunity for me to flourish and grow.

My new job scares me to death. I’m only one week into my three month probationary period and all I can think of is how happy I am with my new life and how scared I am that I won’t live up to expectations and will not make it past these three months. I know it’s a silly worry because all I have to do is show I’m willing to learn and happy to be there and it’s all gravy. My boss has already said she’s impressed with how quickly I catch onto things, so I just need to keep that up. Keep impressing her, keep learning. But I’m a worrywart by nature, so I guess I had to worry about something.

My new job is making me the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. More than graduation, more than my cruise. I finally feel like I’m doing something worthwhile with my life. I’m no longer stagnant, no longer waiting for my life to start. It has started. It started a long time ago. But I’m finally living it the way I was meant to.

The Beginning

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

(Hello, my name is Stephany and I love the cheese.)

I start my new job today and I’m equal parts excited and nervous. I am so relieved that I have found a job, one I feel will challenge and push me in different ways.

I am excited...

...about working for a lady I had an instant connection with, learning everything I can about marketing and advertising.

...about growing as a professional.

...about getting rid of my polos and khakis for cute, professional wear.

...about going into work 2.5 hours later than I’m used to, even if I am working longer hours.

...about being able to be financially independent for the first time in my life.

I am nervous...

...about performing well. I have performance anxiety from my internship days, wondering if I’ll measure up to their standards.

...about how I’m going to handle switching from being a part-timer to a full-timer, in a completely different job.

...about the work environment and how long it will take me to feel comfortable.

...about how long it will take me to get used to a new schedule and new duties.

...about what things in my life I will need to eliminate to make room for the new things in my life.

I know the next few weeks are going to be insane for me. There is so much I have to learn and do. The woman I will be working for told me she spent her first month in a fog with all the new stuff she had to learn. But I am taking the first step in the next stage of my life and it’s thrilling. I feel so blessed to be given this opportunity and I’m not going to take one day for granted.

That Time I Was Offered a Job

It all felt anti-climatic. The moment I had been building up to for the past 3 months arrived in a very laid-back manner. A simple, “We’d like to offer you the job,” with his back to me as we walked into his office after meeting with the owners. The entire interview had built up to it, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise but it was still deeply exciting and surreal.

But let’s back up.

Tuesday was my second interview, where I would meet the guy who heads up the marketing/media department. The company helps promote giveaways for charities and I knew the position was exactly what I was looking for. Last week, I had interviewed with the woman I would be working for and it was an amazing interview. I instantly connected with her, which is very hard for me. She was energetic, outgoing, and had a supreme love for her job that made me excited. I was shown to her office (and subsequently, my future desk) and it all felt totally right. I felt comfortable there. For the first time ever, I felt as if I was in the office I would work in someday. The desk already felt like it was mine.

For the next week, I could only think about getting the job. I like to imagine the worst case scenario with all the jobs I interview for (and just in general! That glass is totally half-empty!) but as much as I tried to summon negative thoughts, they didn’t stay for long. I could only think about getting the job and putting in my notice at work and working for that company.

I was nervous as hell for this second interview. I knew things had gone well the first time around and I wanted this job more than anything. We didn’t chat for too long before he decided he wanted me to meet the owners, which I knew was a very good thing. Chatting with the owners was easy and comfortable, they made me feel completely at home and interested in getting to know me beyond my resume. And when they told the marketing head that they were giving me the green light, I knew something big was about to happen.

For the longest time, Monster and Career Builder were my avenues for job searching. And while those websites are amazing, they are also the place everyone who is job searching is looking. I knew I wasn’t standing out and I knew I had to find a new way to search. Enter Craigslist. I have never really used Craigslist before, but I thought I would give it a try. See what’s out there and just apply, apply, apply. I applied to about 5 jobs a day, in all different areas. Some in marketing, some in customer service, some in dreaded administrative assistant roles. Mainly, I wanted to work in marketing. During my internship, I worked on a lot of marketing tasks and it sparked a huge interest in this field. I knew I didn’t have the skills for a big-time marketing job, but I wanted a place to learn. A place where I would feel comfortable learning and growing and asking questions.

This position fulfills this need. It’s an assistant role, where I will be helping out the media manager with any tasks she needs. (As well as helping out other members of the marketing staff, when needed.) I will be doing everything from filing to research to working with spreadsheets and vendors. Most of all, I will be learning. I will be gaining skills in marketing and advertising. And the woman I will be working for? Well, she’s all sorts of amazing, which makes everything all the better.

I wasn’t under the disillusion that I would get a fantastic job right out of college. I was going to be satisfied with anything, even if it meant I had to be a customer service rep - which, by the way, might be the worst job in the world for someone who hates talking on the phone. I just wanted to leave my part-time job where I barely make enough to pay for the four bills I’m responsible for. I wanted to use my degree and be happy with what I’m doing. I wanted to stop be so financially dependent on my mother. I’m also not under the disillusion that this job is going to be puppies and rainbows. I know it’s going to be very busy, fast-paced, and hectic. I’m going to have to transition from 20-25 hour work weeks to 40-hour work weeks. I’m going to have to make new friends and do new things.

I’m happy. I am so, so happy. Job searching is over. I am employed. I am going to start a brand-new phase of my life. And I can’t wait to take you all along for the ride!

What job did you have right out of college? If you’re still in school, what field do you want to get into?

Is this real life?

I just have a few minutes before I need to leave for spin class. And then I have to rush home and get ready for a date. Yes, a date. (More on that later.)

But I had to write a post because something amazing happened this afternoon...

I GOT A JOB!!!

The position I interviewed for last week, that I felt so strongly was mine before I even had it, was offered to me TODAY!!

I have so many emotions running through my head: I get to quit my menial job, I get to work in a field doing something I love, I can support myself and have insurance and wear pretty dresses to work. OH. MY. GOD. Is this even real life? After almost 4 months of job searching, I found a job?! And not just any job, but the type of work I have been searching for!

A more detailed post on the job and interview will be written later. For now, I’m just in shock. And happier than I have ever been in my life.

Wine and Love, V.3

This is only my third time participating in Walking With Nora’s Wine and Love series, but it’s easily one of my favorites!

Wine-ing about...

• Getting sick. On Saturday morning, I woke up with a swollen throat and the imending doom that I was getting sick. I get allergy-like symptoms every 3 months or so and it always feels like it comes after a child in my center coughs on me. Sigh. Swollen throat turned scratchy which turned into a stuffy nose and all around feeling of blah-ness. Luckily, it seems to have passed and I’m on the mend! I’ve been trying to keep it easy for the past few days because these tend to last for a week or longer because I don’t take the time to slow down and let my body get the rest it needs.
• Finding being healthy to be such a chore. I’m now paying $40 a month to attend Weight Watcher meetings and use their online food and exercise tracking tools. And I’m not using either to its fullest extent. I have felt so off this week, especially with my eating. I’ve been watching what I eat, but not tracking it. I’ve been exercising, but not putting my heart and soul into my workouts. I know this has something to do with being sick, but it has just felt so hard this week.
• How long this week has been. This week has just absolutely dragged. On Monday, I thought it was Tuesday. Tuesday, I thought it was Wednesday. (And started drafting a Wine & Love post in my head to post the next day...until I realized what day it was.) It’s just been so long and I have no idea why. Today is seriously only Thursday?

Loving...

• Having interviews. Changing my focus of job search engines from Monster to Craigslist has been the best decision I have made in this job search journey thus far. I have gotten so much more response and interviews and on Tuesday, I went on one of the best interviews I’ve ever had. I felt immediately at ease with the interviewer (also the person I would be working under) and loved the company and atmosphere. I’ve never felt more at home at a place. This feels like my job already, so I’m going to be absolutely devastated if I don’t get it.
• The comments on my friendship post. Honestly, I didn’t do it for the attention or “woe is me”. I debated posting it, but in the end I did because I had to know I wasn’t the only person feeling this way. And the comments and e-mails I received were just absolutely freaking amazing. I’ve been thinking about friendship a lot lately, especially about how I don’t seem to have a close-knit group of girlfriends - or even a close-knit group of blog girlfriends - like I see others have. The truth is, I just need to reach out because now I know I do have people who want to make closer connections with me. (I’ve been over my head in interviews and life, but I promise to get to those comments soon with e-mails and replies! Check your inboxes!)
• The NFL lockout looks to be ending soon! We should have word today, announcing the end and I can’t even tell you how excited this makes me! For a while there, it wasn’t looking good and I can’t imagine my Sundays in fall and winter without football. That’s a world I never want to imagine.

Reevaluating

I’ve been on the job hunt for about 6 weeks now, give or take a few days. I would be lying if I said that it’s my number one focus and priority because truthfully, some days it falls to the wayside. I wish I could spend 8 hours a day searching for jobs, perfecting my resume, working on my Linked-In profile, etc. Fact is, I work a high-energy job for 5-6 hours in the morning, come home and spend my afternoons job searching, using the evenings to work out and have a little downtime.

At best, I get in 2-3 hours of job searching a day. In this economy with so many people out of work and searching for jobs, that is not nearly enough time.

Aside from quitting my part-time job (not an option), there isn’t a whole lot I can do. I’ve taken on the brunt of the house cleaning and dinner duties because I feel bad enough as it is that I’m a 23-year-old college graduate who still needs money from her mom. I feel awful when I don’t have enough money to pay a bill. I know I could never be one of those people who sits around at home, doing nothing to challenge themselves by furthering their education or finding a job.

The job search isn’t going so well. I know I shouldn’t really expect anything so soon out of college but it’s still hard to still be at my minimum wage part-time job. It’s hard to submit resume after resume and the only people who seem to be calling me are for sales positions. (Aside from one job involving market research, which I was passed over for. Boohiss.)

For the past 6 weeks, I’ve been using Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com as my main sources for job searching. And as great and wide-reaching as those jobs are, they are also the places everyone is going to. I don’t even want to imagine the amount of resumes some jobs receive on a daily basis. My resume? A recent college graduate with barely any professional work experience? I know it’s getting sifted through the system easily, passed over without a second glance.

I need to take action. I need something better than a job search engine that everyone and their brother is using.

I need to seek out smaller lesser-known job search engines that are more centered on my interests (communications, marketing, public relations, etc.). I need to have my resume critiqued and rewritten. I need to learn how to write an impressive cover letter. And I need to begin to go after those jobs I want with more hunger and determination.

(All things I believe I should have learned during my exit course, but that’s a blog topic for another day.)

For now, all job searching has yielded me was frustration and disappointment. But I imagine those emotions are nothing new to people who have searched or are searching for a job. It also scares me that there are so many people searching for jobs, people with incredible internships and job experiences that I could not even begin to touch. But I do know that there is a job out there for me. I just have to be patient, keep searching, and keep working on my job search tactics.

For those of you with job search experience, what tips and advice can you give to a new college graduate? (And I’ll just go full throttle: anyone willing to look over my resume and/or a sample cover letter of mine and give me help/critiques/advice? Pretty please?)

May, you were good to me. Let’s meet again soon.

How is it already May 30? I feel like I was just submitting my last school assignment and preparing for graduation.

May was an amazing month for me. One of the best I’ve ever had.

It started off with me sending off my last assignment, a take-home final exam, and then worrying myself silly that I would somehow fail a class. Although there was a mix-up regarding my final short story, it all worked out and my final grades were what I expected. (And I just received an official letter congratulating me on my diploma, but I still don’t think I will be fully relaxed until I have that diploma displayed on my wall.)

May was the month I went on my first interview, only to be sorely disappointed the job was for door-to-door sales. And as my job search has yielded no positive feedback, sometimes I let myself wonder if I should’ve tried harder to get that job. But I also know that it is a job I would’ve hated and I need to keep searching until I find a job that fits me better. I’m not idealistic in the sense that I have to find my dream job, but I’m also not going to accept a job doing something I don’t like.

Two big things happened in May: I graduated from college and went on a five-day Western Caribbean cruise.

My graduation was amazing. Simply fantastic. It was a culmination of 7 years of hard work and lots of stress. I went through a lot to obtain my degree, including being oh so close to graduating with my education degree. I think I made the right decision in switching, even though it probably threw a lot of people for a loop. It was exciting to be surrounded by the people I had seen throughout my 2.5 years as a journalism major because they all get it. There are times when I just think, I don’t have to be a student ever again if I don’t want to. But mostly, I think, hm, graduate school? Maybe someday.

And then there’s my cruise. It was one of the best experiences of my life and it’s all I can do not to click back onto the Carnival site to find another cruise. I’m officially a fan and I will find myself on another ship before 2011 is over. I have so many pictures to show you guys and so many stories to tell you about. From kissing sting rays in the Cayman Islands, touring Mayan ruins in Cozumel, and waking up each morning to an amazing view of the ocean, I’m very sad my vacation is over. (And so not excited to go back to work tomorrow after a lovely 10 days off!)

I’m not sure how June will ever live up to May. Perhaps if I’m offered a job?

How was your May? What stood out for you?

On Jeremiah 29:11

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to PROSPER you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE.’” Jeremiah 29:11

This verse was written on a “Plus One” (anyone remember them?) poster in my room when I was in middle school. It’s one of the more well-known verses and quoted frequently. And it’s one I’ve always loved, but never felt the impact of. Three words: prosper, hope, future. They speak life into me. They remind me that God already knows my future. As much worry and anxiety I place on job hunting, the reality is that I need to release it. Because God has my plans perfectly carved out.

I asked Him one thing: “God, if this isn’t the job you have for me, please shut the door firmly in my face. In fact, please make me hate the position so it’s not a devastating blow if I don’t get it.”

I’m here to tell you that God still answers prayers. Because he did turn this position I thought would be wonderful into something I would never in my life want to do. (Sales. Door-to-door selling. While some people will flourish in that role, like the girl I shadowed did, I know it’s not the place for me.)

What Monday taught me was what I want in a job. Other than the normal things like being challenged, job security, and feeling part of a team, I finally have some ideas of what kind of job I want. Lately, I’ve just been telling people, “Oh, whatever! I just need some job experience so whoever’s willing to hire me!”

Actually, there’s more to what I want from a job than that. I know twenty-somethings have gotten a bad rap lately about switching jobs so much and never quite being satisfied with where they are, but I’m not going to apologize for wanting to feel fulfilled in my job. I worked my butt off for my Bachelor’s degree and I want to use it! I want to feel challenged in what I do, but I don’t want to be miserable waking up every day.

While my job at the preschool isn’t ideal and there are things that drive me crazy about it, I don’t dread going to work. Of course, I don’t jump out of bed, saying, “YAY, WORK!” but who does? For right now, it’s a job that I (usually) enjoy. I want the same out of my future career.

While the first job I get will probably not be the place I’m at even 10 years from now, it will be the starting point of my professional life. I want a job where I will use this degree I put so much work into and constantly be pushed to do more. I want a job where I use my writing skills on a daily basis, because a job where I don’t write isn’t the place for me. I want a job where my skills with social media, branding, and customer service are showcased and fine-tuned. I want a job where I feel comfortable sharing my opinion. I want a job where people work hard and play hard. I want a job where I feel proud of the work I do.

It seems like a lot to ask for, doesn’t it? And sure, maybe I can’t have everything I want. But I do know what my strengths are and I want to build on those strengths.

While I was pretty lucky to score a second-round interview on only my fourth job application, I know it may take a while for me to actually find a job. But I also know I have a lot to offer a company and I’m going to keep applying to those job that fit me until I get that magical call. Because it’ll happen. Jeremiah 29:11 makes it so.