June 15, 2010...as per usual, my sense of humor is neither mature nor intellectually stimulating. I hope my Sound of Music reference is appreciated by someone out there, though. I wanted to write a final post before I graduated to say goodbye to all you Career Services blog devotees. The last couple of weeks of school were absolutely insane (packing up, saying goodbye, and having mini panic attacks really take a lot of time out of your day) so I didn't get a chance to do so. Therefore, the title of this post is slightly misleading, as I've already so long-ed and auf weidersehen-ed.
Perhaps it's better this way though. Had I written a few days before graduation (Sunday, May 23rd, 2010...that date will be burned in my mind forever...as will the goosebumps I got when the graduation march played), my entry might have been laced with some (meaning "a lot of") anxiety and a little bit (meaning "a gargantuan amount") of uncertainty. That combination = scary and probably not very encouraging to readers who haven't graduated yet. However, here I sit, a little over three weeks after graduation...and I'm doing just fine. My present life does not resemble the apocalyptic visions I had toward the end of senior year.
I managed to find two part time jobs for the summer so that I can afford to pay rent (I very lovingly informed my parents that I would do whatever it took to avoid moving back home with them f
or the summer...they took it well) and actually enjoy myself a bit. In the mornings, I work at Alumni Relations and in the afternoons, I work in the Study Abroad office in Dowling. Funny how I was terrified about leaving Tufts and yet I'll be sticking around campus for at least the next few months. It makes the transition easier. Yes, things have certainly changed...most notably, my accessibility to friends. Before: I could just hoof it a few minutes up the road when I wanted to hang out with two of my best girl friends...Now: said best friends are in the midst of a cross country road trip with a destination of Alaska. This translates into pretty darn low accessibility. It's been really rough going from almost daily rendezvous to getting by on a Facebook post here and there but I at least know that communication will get easier when they finally stick around one place for longer than a day.Thankfully, I'm currently living in an apartment above another one of my best friends, which has been a lot of fun, and yet another pal is coming back to campus tomorrow and working for Conference Bureau for the summer. It is quite a hike from Bush Hall to Boston Ave (made even hike-ier in the humid, 90 degree summer days) but I think we like each other enough to put forth the effort. Sooo that's what's happening on the friend front. My second biggest fear was, no surprise, finding employment. Full time, permanent employment. I started applying for jobs at the beginning of spring semester but, despite churning out numerous resumes and cover letters, I didn't hear back from anyone. That's nothing out of the ordinary, but I was easily deterred. I put a lot of work into compiling all those application materials...only to have them end up in some neglected, dusty bin somewhere. It was endlessly frustrating and that was definitely not how I wanted to remember the last few months of my college career. Thus, I decided to focus on networking with people instead (something which was actually highly enjoyable) and push the applying off to the side for a bit.
By now, "a bit" has passed, and I need to start making legitimate plans for the future, a somewhat daunting task. I continue to seek help from Career Services, and I've been searching through different job boards that cater to my desired industry (ed2010.com is a good one) and keeping in touch with people who may be able to help me out (a former professor mine recently sent me a job posting that she thought I might be interested in). Nothing has been cemented yet but I have several different opportunities that I plan on pursuing and I'm going to remain optimistic that, as long as I keep putting in a good dose of effort, something will eventually pan out. Even if you do everything "right," you may not come out with a concrete plan by the time you graduate (and for those exceptions out there - how I envy you). But guess what? That's totally fine. A few people I've talked to have s
aid that they relish all this uncertainty. After all, if you had your whole life planned out by the time you were 21, what on earth would you have to look forward to? I thought that was a pretty healthy mindset to have. I'm still trying to adopt it myself. That doesn't mean, however, that you can just sit on the couch all day and hope that your dream job finds you. It's not gonna happen. Finding a job is a job in and of itself, and jobs require commitment, creativity and patience. As long as you work those attributes, then you should be fine. Beyond that? Who knows? I would like to stay in the Boston area for a while and hopefully stay in touch with my college friends as well as make some new ones. I'd like to be able to join new clubs (they exist outside of college too, although I'm not so sure about the Quidditch ones) and travel a bit (as much as my salary will allow). I want to learn how to cook (Easy Mac is not gonna cut it for much longer). I want to take Zumba classes at the gym I just joined (and hopefully improve my presently rhythmically challenged self). I want to support my little brother as he ventures into his freshman year of college (he doesn't even know all the amazing times that await him).
Above all, I want to be happy/content/satisfied-but-not-so-satisfied-that-I-ever-get-lazy with my life. It's a hard balance. I know things are changing a lot and may not be as easy as they seemed within the comfy parameters of Tufts but I'm excited for a new challenge and to test out what I'm capable of now. I need to get used to a new kind of 'normal'. Plenty of other kids before me have graduated college and been just fine...and most swear that (gasp!!) college is NOT, in fact, the best four years of your life and that things actually just keep on getting better!! I'm definitely going to choose to believe them.
Now just for a wee bit of soap boxing: Your future is up to no one but you. Don't depend on anyone else to make it for you. And don't blame anyone else when it doesn't quite work out the way you planned it (because it probably won't). Be proud of your successes, be grateful for
your failures, and make the most of everything in between. So with this, I bid you goodbye and good luck. And remember the words of a brilliant and wise man who had a penchant for red fish and green eggs: "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own and you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go."
And also, be nice to your parents. They footed quite a hefty bill for your Tufts education. You owe them one heck of a nice retirement community.
- Kathy Seim
Editor's note: I'm happy to report that all of Kathy's creativity, patience, and efforts in her job search paid off. She accepted a job in July and starts this week!
