Skip to main content

The Unexpected Truth of a Post-grad Life

This post is a little late in timing. I know graduation was back in May—and to all those who graduated, congratulations! It wasn’t easy. Hell, it was really hard. But that’s okay because you did it and no one can ever take that away from you.

But now that it’s been a few months; now that you’ve had a chance to settle in; now that you’ve seen a little bit of The Real World, I’m sure you have found yourself questioning at some point or other, “Is this it?” and maybe even “what now?”

I know because I am still asking myself those questions too.

Now, I might be wrong. You could be doing exactly what it was that you had set out to do after graduation. You could be making the big bucks; travelling the world; finding the love of your life; moving to New York, et cetera, et cetera.

Or you could be at a grayish cubicle day in and day out with a nondescript job title earning little more than $15 an hour. For many of us, this is our reality. But let me be very clear, this is not a bad thing.

Though this may be hard to believe, success is not measured by the places we go or the car we drive. It is measured by the choices we make and the challenges we overcome.

For those of us who are not getting married, who haven’t yet moved out, who are still working the humble part-time job, I’m here to tell you it is okay. Life isn’t a race, it’s not even a contest. Life (forgive my cliché) is a journey. And wherever it is we are going, we’ll get there when we get there.

Next month marks my one-year anniversary at my first full-time job. It’s been a strange and sometimes difficult transition, but I’m learning to accept change and, even better, celebrate the little achievements. Every time I’m able to go above and beyond my job description, I do a happy dance. Though my work is not where, a year ago, I imagined I’d be, it is a challenge that I embrace.

I still haven’t mastered the art of “beginning with the end in mind.” I’m not sure I ever will. My nature (like some of yours) is to explore as much as I can, find myself in new territory, and leave it in a better condition than I found it.

I came. I saw. I conquered.

We still have a ways to go. But maybe that doesn’t have to be such a bad thing. After all, I think it’s pretty clear we excel at learning; we could do it can do it for a little while more.

And though we are The Late Bloomers, we are also the Go-getters. We accept the curveballs life throws us, catching them mid-air or barely within reach, but catching them nonetheless. We keep our faith up and welcome new opportunities. It is that very spirit that will raise us to the place we want to be.

In the meantime, I hope you all remember that this is only the beginning.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#NewJobNewMe

"Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life," I thought that Sunday night, eager for morning to come.   Okay maybe not that intense. But it is the first day of my new job as a journalist/writer and I couldn’t be more excited. See, this isn’t just any ordinary job. It’s the career transition I have been wanting for a long time. It’s my move back to my greatest passion in life—writing. All my life, all I ever wanted to do was write. I wrote in my personal journal through my elementary, middle, and high school years. I wrote for the school paper in college. I worked as an editor for a couple of years after college, and I always continued to write here and there. Back to the cubicle life, but I'm cool with it :) But life derails, as it so often does. And I found myself needing to make more money, wanting to challenge my knowledge and skills, and become my own financially-stable person. So I did want any normal person does when career options see...
2 comments
Read more

Young Professionals Rise Over Competition With New Secret Weapon—Me!

You've seen me as an editor, catching pesky typos and streamlining book and newsletter content to perfection. You've seen me as a writing and professional communications teacher, assigning writing prompt after writing prompt, enough to foster an appreciation for the written word in my students. You've seen me as a copywriter, pitching ideas and pushing past any and all creative boundaries. But yet, there is more I can offer. More I can do. That's why I am excited to announce the launch of my new writing and editing freelance business! Nice to meet you. I'm Alejandra Torres, I help young professionals and small businesses write the precise copy they need to achieve their career and business goals. Throughout the years, I have served as a writing resource to friends and family. They come to me seeking a second pair of eyes or they come to me with only thoughts and a vision and ask me to piece together the rest. And so I do. "Alejandra helped me...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stop Using Candy to Motivate Students

Looks like it is my unpopular belief that candy is one of the worst motivators in teaching. Let’s just think about this for a bit. Candy, literally pure SUGAR, is a common method teachers use to motivate students to work. Forget the fact that candy is a direct way to harm a child’s health; candy is no different than any other type of currency for children. You are paying them to be students. Teachers using the candy-motivation strategy are failing their students. They are sending the wrong message. If your goal is to help students motivate themselves, it won’t be accomplished by throwing candy their way. It is such a short-term effect that using it in the classroom won’t make any difference in student motivation. If, in fact, student motivation is your goal, then you need to create an atmosphere of positive learning. If you want students to care, if you want students to motivate themselves, the motivators you offer them as a teacher should not be extrinsic, but rather intrinsi...
1 comment
Read more