So, I'll continue with a little bit more of an introduction....
This semester is
going to be a wild ride. My best friend in my program moved away over the
holiday break to accept a position early, and he will be finishing his degree
online. This gives me a ton of anxiety – I mean, I’m so happy for him, but how
am I supposed to go through this semester without our daily debriefings? Next
on the list, I am in amazing relationship, completely by accident. Okay, I know
people don’t accidentally end up in relationships…but it is true that you
always find them when you aren’t looking. I’m completely in love and have been
for seven months…but we have no idea what May holds. I am not ready to restrict
my job search geographically for a relationship, but my partner is unable to
move with me at the time. If you do decide you want to follow me on this
adventure, I’m sure the confusion of that relationship will probably pop
up. Finally, the fact that I’m
seriously starting to job search is such a scary prospect. My roommate and I
were just talking about it yesterday – how do I know exactly what I want to do?
How can I tell if I’ll be happy in a position? What if I apply for something
now, get and accept an offer, and then something I would have liked better
comes along? When do you just bite the bullet and stop looking? What if I
literally get nothing? What if I’m the only person in our entire cohort who
doesn’t get a job by hooding?
Oh wait…our
worries are getting a little ahead of ourselves…currently it’s more like what
if we can’t fit back into our one great suit by the time we get an on campus
interview? Darn you holiday treats!
In all
seriousness though, while some days I sit down and think “Okay, I’ve got this.
I have a great resume, I can write a strong cover letter, I’ve had tons of
valuable practical experience, I know what I want to do and where I want to do
it…I’m a great catch.” And then there are the days that are more like “If I
hear ‘job search’ one more time I’m holing up in my room with ice cream and TV
on DVDs until my parents come pry me out of bed and lock me in their basement.”
So, as you can
see, I’m a bit confused about what exactly the future holds, but I’m confident
it will all work out as it should. It’s happened for the past 24 years.
For now, I'm looking forward to a magical weekend of applying for jobs and studying for comps. I have a list of about 12 positions that I'm planning to apply for, including 3 LGBTQ positions that have been posted recently. To be completely honest, I really hate writing cover letters. But at least my friends and I are all in the same boat...and will probably all be in the same "grad pad" (what we call our cubicle space that several GAs share) working hard on a Saturday. Tis the joy of being a second-year.
I’ll bring this
to a close with a bit from my absolute favorite book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which seems to sum up things of
late...
'Who
are you?' said the Caterpillar.
This
was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather
shyly, 'I — I hardly know, sir, just at
present — at least I know who I was
when
I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several
times since then.'
-
Lewis Carroll
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