The Real World: Here I Come

It has been over four months since my last post. Wow, I really suck at this game. An entire semester (and a brand new year) has flown by and I honestly cannot believe at how much has changed.

First off, I graduated. I am now the proud owner of a Bachelor’s degree (well, once I get it in the mail). It’s so different to not have to worry about school and homework. I actually feel bored for the first time in a really long time. For the first few weeks, it didn’t hit me, and I’m still not sure if I have really begun to believe it yet. I started working at the box office the Monday after graduation and continued until they closed for the holidays. I spent any free time I had there and after work trying to find a job. I applied at so many places I couldn’t even count them if I had to. My first interview was for an editorial assistant at Kaplan—one of the few companies in my field that is actually expanding, not downsizing. I didn’t know anything about the job—how many hours it would be, how much I would get paid, if I got benefits, if I even wanted to work there—all I knew was that I would be putting my 4.5 years of college to great use. I spent the next few weeks wondering if I got it, applying at any place that I had some experience in. Two days after I interviewed at a temp agency, on Christmas Eve, I got the call saying I got the job at Kaplan and the real world was waiting for me to join it.

On the one hand I was hesitant about the job—I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay in La Crosse for a few years while I worked at Kaplan. I saw opportunities others had, and I became upset that they are going to be able to move on from La Crosse while I will be stuck here. But then I thought about it…this job pays well, it is owned by the Washington Post Company and has locations all over the country, with many opportunities to advance. After thinking about it, and talking it over with some people, I began to realize that this is actually a good thing. I like the fact that I know where I will be in a year or two and I like the fact that I will no longer have to deal with living paycheck to paycheck (depending on how much my student loans are going to be). I think the thing that I was so worried about was settling for less than I know I am capable of handling—letting myself stay here without trying to make it somewhere else. But I know myself; I know I will not settle here in La Crosse, unless it is right for me. And even if I begin to fall into the pattern of settling, I know my hatred of Wisconsin winters will give me that much-added boost I hopefully won’t need.

Rereading the top part has made me realize how much this writing sounds like Maureen McCormick’s memoir that I finished reading last night. Wow, I didn’t think it would have that much influence on me, but I guess it did.

My new goal, hopefully one I will follow through with, is to start a new blog—one devoted solely to the stupid conversations I have heard in my life. The idea came about the other night when out to eat with friends and we were making fun of our less than capable waitress when I said something like oh yeah, that conversation will definitely be a part of my book Conversations with Stupid People…or something like that. This has probably already been done (with better results I bet), but who knows, some people may get a laugh out of it. I can already think of three stories, not including the one with our waitress, that I will be able to entertain with, and who knows, maybe that blog will be the next “52 Things Older than John McCain.”