GOING TO D.C!!

Just as the job hunt was starting to get with me I have found some light in this dark tunnel; I'M GOING TO WASHINGTON D.C!!!

A little back ground info is necessary.  Earlier this year I applied for the PRSSA Golden Key Award, which is the highest undergraduate recognition PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) can bestow.  I sent in the application and was shocked to find out I won.  The award is handed out during the PRSSA National Conference in Washington D.C or can be mailed to the recipient's address.  Obviously D.C. sounded like the more attractive option. 

The only problem was that I spent almost all of my money which I had saved up from working this summer was to be spent touring Asia for a month this summer.  My family is not very wealthy and could not simply hand me the money to go.  

I eventually found two grants which would pay for members to register for conference.  I won both. 

The only problem left would be reaching Washington D.C.  I am still in the job hunt and am almost out of the leftover money from Asia.  

Today my girlfriend's dad found one hell of a deal which was in my budget.  My girlfriend and I bought the tickets and are now headed to D.C.  I think I am more happy to finally travel with Stephanie than winning the award.  

Hunting for Jobs

Hunting is perhaps the most ancient of human sports.  Back then hunting was not a recreational activity but a method for survival.  If you do not bring home the kill then your family and village would suffer the consequences.  Although most of today's forms of hunting no longer bear the same consequences, there is one that has stakes just as high now as they did in prehistoric times; the job hunt.

My job hunt and path leading up to it are a little different then the average bear's.  Immediately after college is when most students are beaten into believing that they MUST have a job.  Many of my friends took the first job that came to them.  I did not like the idea of working after graduation, whether it stemmed from my senior year burnout or from the fact that I like to question conventional thinking.  So I didn't.

I had a crazy plan of spending a month abroad in Southeast Asia in order to fulfill my sick addiction to global travel.  I am the type of person who can't sit still; who isn't satisfied coming home to the comforts of television and a comfy couch.  One of the quotes that has always stuck to me is the one that goes in 40 years you will be more disappointed by what you didn't do than by what you did.  So I bought my tickets and spent the greatest month of my life traveling to Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.  I have never felt more alive than waking up each day to a new adventure in such a beautiful part of the world.  The purpose of the trip was to gather material for a book aimed at my peers to encourage more global travel from young Americans.

I am now back from the trip and two weeks into the job hunt.  Already two weeks is too long.  Application after application has been sent to locations all over California to no avail.  The interviews I have received turned out to be for bogus positions that were dishonest in their postings.  If jobs were my prey then they are sneaky bastards, dodging my attempts at catching them like an antelope avoiding a lion.

For my fellow job seekers out there who feel exhausted from the hunt do not worry.  I will share with you a secret.  The most successful ancient hunters were not faster or stronger than their prey.  Instead they would chase their prey until it tired out.  We job seekers must keep the same determination to continue the hunt until we eventually reach our goal.  Onward with the hunt!

Senior Year Panic

Well Blogger, it has been a very long time since my last post and unfortunately this one will not have a cheerful mood.  I do not like to post about negative subjects I am being crushed by the gigantic boulder called graduation which has been sucking the life out of my soul and the thoughts out of my brain.  Not very many people view my blog, but for those who do I feel that it is important to express my true feelings during this time which every college student across the country and the world must go through. What makes it so challenging?  Why am I getting anxiety attacks and feeling clammy?
   Perhaps it is the oldest fear in the book; that of the unknown.  For four years I have adjusted to college, embraced it and mastered it.  I have just started feeling comfortable with my surroundings and must adjust to something completely new.  My situation is a little different than others because I have a strange year-long gap in which I have no idea what to do with my self.  My girlfriend, who I love and have been with for seven years, will not find out her law school until a year from now.  I want to live in whatever city she moves to but will have to wait a year until we get the news.  In the meantime it seems very unprofessional to apply to serious jobs in my major knowing that I will most likely move locations in a few months.  So what do I do?
   I have seriously considered leaving it all.  Running away from expectations and living a dream-like life of travel adrift; weightless and unrestricted.  I can still picture myself with a tan and a drink on a tropical beach without a care in the world.  Even more seriously I have considered World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, an organization which would allow me to work on a farm anywhere in the world in exchange for food and housing.  It seems like a perfect time for me to escape my problems...
    But instead of addressing them I am avoiding them.  On the surface it seems that I am taking time of to contemplate and weigh my options but in reality it is probably closer to me running away like a child who is scared of the dark. 
   I have already accomplished so much and overcome so many obstacles.  Why am I so unsure of myself?  I am going to be the first in my family to graduate from college, I have become a leader on campus and most importantly people think of me as a caring person.  The million dollar questions:  What should I do with my life?