One of the saddest truths about our society at present is that the job market is wearing thin and its victims are none other than young adults exiting college, myself being one of them. In summary, my days now consist of waking up late, drinking far too much coffee, and spending hours on the Internet searching career websites that rarely lead to anything like a career. In the past two days, I have applied and sent resumes to numerous local companies and organizations in the Orlando area to which I morosely accept that I might never hear from about employment.
Although success is a myth or a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, if you will, I intend to keep my spirit up and press on in my pursuit of the launch of a promising writing career. To start, I fully intend to attend graduate school at the University of Central Florida, where I served three years attaining my Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing. The application deadline ends in January of 2014 and my optimisms are justified based on the assurances of few wonderful professors.
So, what shall I do in the mean time? The answer is still unclear. I plan to dabble in babysitting, volunteering, and focusing on my friends and loved ones; all of this is what a Bachelor’s degree has transiently allowed me to do.
And as I reflect on what I could have done differently during my undergraduate education, I suppose that I could have gone about doing several things: participated in on-campus activities, associated myself with more top professors in my chosen field, and taken classes with those same professors more than once so as to ensure that I had solid recommendations in pursuance of my Master’s. With this, I implore undergraduate students to take full advantage of these opportunities as they can. Do not waste away precious essay-writing or research time to work thirty to forty hours a week at your minimum-wage job. Do not postpone the post-grad job search to after you have actually walked on stage in your robe and tassel. Connect with the classmates in classes related to your major; they will be your future competition and colleagues, I assure you. Do not become addicted to T.V. shows like The Desperate Housewives of Miami. Monitor crucial news networks like CNN, because education never ends at the classroom or auditorium door.
I often told myself and the people unfortunate enough to listen to me from time to time that, if I could, I would choose to be in school forever. I suggest now that this may be because facing reality and the ugly circumstances of life may be too difficult to bear. In necessity, I will adorn my big-girl pants and carry on into the unexpected chances of my future. For behind my fear lies a little bit of excitement in the unknown.
Brianne Manning 