Disclaimer:
The following are the ramblings of a gnome with an old soul, please take my advice and musings as what they are…advice and musings. My word is not gospel. Thank you for reading! And come back soon!
Congratulations! You have been selected for your dream job! Just like everyone told you your entire life, you can do anything you want; you can raise yourself through the ingenuity of your mind and the sweat of your back to the highest position! Someone is looking for you to use your degree RIGHT NOW! You can get out of bed at twelve and start to work at one! Take an hour for lunch and then by two you’re done! Jolly good fun! Someone will pay you to simply exist because that’s hard enough!!!!!! AND YOU’RE SKINNY!!!!!!!! Your true love is just around the corner, they forgot to ask for directions, but now…HEEEEEEEEEERE THEY ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay…sorry…*pants* just pretending my life is going well…I’m still waiting for a call from Cole Porter, who am I kidding…
I would just like to point out for the public record, that none of the above ever happens. Wishes come true, but not free (Thank you Sondheim). Anyone I know who is ‘happy’ with their lot worked very hard to get it, and had a ton of hardships along the way. Again I will type it: if we all sat at a table together and put our problems out on said table, you would pick yours right back up because you never know what someone else is going through. That is why I always listen and never belittle anyone for their complaints because honestly, hang-nails might be a big deal to someone if they’ve nothing to compare it to.
I have recently discovered that most people do not have the capacity to worry about the whole world, everyone else, and themselves without having a nervous breakdown (oops). Thus, everything in its own time. When the ship runs aground, the sea has spoken, and you can’t lead a horse to water if it’s all salty. Growing up and dealing with your problems just has to occur. Part of growing up is school, socialization, and work.
Education is essential, and can be wonderful. Although I will say I have a whole new grasp of the phrase “Ignorance is Bliss,” and how it came to be. Some of my favorite people in life have been teachers and those who took the time to enrich me. However, when you learn to base your worth and goals off of a letter grade, it presents a problem. Namely, you graduate from high school or college and suddenly there is no letter grade, no syllabus, and no expectations other than: Career. And not just ‘job’ anymore…we have updated to “career.” If you have been trained like a lab rat for eighteen years to work hard+follow directions=get A=get yay!...then when you graduate…you are at a loss. And all those people you went to for answers before? Well, once the diploma touches your hands they reveal to you their terrible and fiendish secret…THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU SHOULD DO. They have no idea what they’re doing. They have no idea what their parents did. NO ONE KNOWS THE SECRET TO LIFE. They are the same as you. Just trying to survive and take advantage of what God has given them. They have no specific directions that they took to get where they are, they simply dealt with their problems, did their best (or their worst), and ended up doing what they’re doing.
I really have tried to do the research folks, and I’m telling you the following: you simply have to develop your skills, work hard, keep networking, and love who you love. Honestly that’s it. The humans are few and far between who have had a golden scroll laid out before them from on-high saying, “This is what you are to do with your life.” With the exceptions of the golden rules: The 10 Commandments, Laws, Do Unto Others, The Good, Enlightenment etc; there is a huge number of opportunities splayed out before us.
I am almost jealous of you if you are good at one thing…if you can do one thing really well…you have your option right there don’t you? Get a job doing that! Unless of course it violates one of the moral codes listed above…but this is not a post about ethics, so we won’t even go there…today.
The majority of the contemporary human population is well-rounded. Many of us were given the best education our parents and family members could provide. Loan payments notwithstanding. And because the world has become more interconnected with the development of the internet and globalization…we all have a variety of skills necessary to succeed in these modern times. However, this means that many of us are “okay” at a lot of things, and not really “expert” at anything.
You see back in the day, people learned a trade, or they worked for their parents, or they inherited a family business, or they sat at home and took care of children or other people’s children…but now, we are forced to compete for everything in a technologically advanced and globally-minded world. This is my main concern. Narrowing down the possibilities in order to find a career or a stepping stone one can tolerate. Each of us has to take one step forward at a time, and there are probably many jobs we will have before we find something that develops into the ‘career’ we can deal with. This is a hard pill to swallow, even if you did grow up aware of it. I myself tend to set goals that are unreachable at the time, and it becomes very hard for me to continually not reach said goals. (Still awaiting my Hogwarts Letter…)
Now I say, ‘deal with,’ because ‘happiness’ is very elusive. Honestly, enjoy your happiness when you find it, when the mood strikes you: be happy. Do not expect to be happy all the time. I think it is a disadvantage to assume that you will find your dream life. You may find a fantastic position, with benefits, doing what you are good at, with someone you love, but nothing is perfect. And that is okay. You just need to be okay the majority of the time. Okay most of the time, happy sometimes, sad others. Allow yourself to feel what you feel any given day, but don’t wait for ‘perfect,’ this life will not bring you that. All of us have been told to dream, and shoot for the stars, and go for the gold …but no one told us how. Religion is the closest thing to telling you how to achieve true contentment through faith, but faith is often more elusive than happiness. Human nature catches up to all of us on a daily basis.
If you have grown up looking at fairytales, watching romantic comedies, trying for that “A”, striving for your gold metals, and suddenly you feel your life is utterly anti-climactic post graduation…please know you are not alone. I have been analyzing a large number of my current generation, and most people are either in grad school, working at a job they do not like, getting married, or moving back home. Any of these things is common and understandable. They are all okay choices. It is okay to discover how you think, how you function best, save up money, pay the bills, and to take some time after school and jobs to sit and think. Do not wallow forever. Certainly try and make your own way, and live your own life. Self-exploration can be terrifying, but it can also help you develop self-advocacy and confidence. If you know yourself, you can judge how you need to proceed. Don’t let anyone tell you how to feel.
You do need to live your life. Don’t let it pass you by. I myself need to take some risks, because I often avoid making decisions because it scares me. Decisions are hard, but unfortunately they are also necessary to achieve the successful feelings I want to have. To thine own self be true my dears. Take time for yourself to discover the small goals you can achieve each day, and make your way towards the bigger ones you want to reach in the future. No one can tell you the exact path, no one can predict what will happen for your future, but you can discover how you yourself think, and you can decide how to act. When you reach an age of reason, if you ever do, try to know yourself so that you might be okay. Be happy when you can. Love when you can. Learn each day, and know that you are not alone.
Honestly I can tell you we all have the same problems. Everyone has the same core fears and issues, we are just unique in our experiences and how we deal with those problems. But don’t run away from them. Stand and deal. You can do it…even if you feel you can’t, find some help, phone a friend, find your small daily goals, and eventually you will realize that you are living your life, and maybe you are ready to make a bigger decision about it.
I wish all of you the best of luck in everything you do, and again, you are not alone. Post-graduation and becoming a true adult has been very difficult for me, but I feel like I tend to be stronger because of my hardships.
Here’s to almost April 2012!!!!!
…holy crap….
HUGS,
Gnomey
PS While we are on the subject of jobs, if anyone has any ideas for a dialect coach/voice over aritst/writer/actress/singer/philosopher…umm…COMMENT! Do it now! Network guys! J
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