Lord knows when this blog of mine began- but every time I tried to get the ball rolling it quickly comes to a halt. Unlike my many missteps in life, here I can delete all the old and start fresh. A fresh start is much needed these days. I am still living in the same city I was born and raised in, same friends, and currently on the job hunt. I know that many wonder why I dislike living here- but it's because I feel trapped. Stuck. Like a failure. I have had opportunities to leave- such as when I went to college-could have gone out of state, but didn't want to pay too much and put myself in too much debt. Well, here I am FIVE years later, with my B.A, not working in the field I studied, applying to bullshit jobs that I could literally do anywhere and still scrapping the snow and ice off my car each day.
Since graduating, I was accepted into grad school to continue towards my masters and literally two weeks before classes started I decided against it. From there, panic set in and I quickly applied to nursing school because hey-if all else fails I can just be a nurse right? Figuring I spent most of my life in the hospital with my parents I thought it would be easy...THENNNN anatomy and physiology happened and didn't go well (at-all), and I decided to buy a puppy around the same time classes started, on top of my every growing need to go out nearly every night and enjoy my youth and well..as you can imagine Two months in and I was sinking FAST! Sooo nursing school went out the window and then back into the job market I rushed.
The first opportunity that came was my was to become a recruiter. I have interviewed and trained applicants at my retail job so this would be easy...and apparently so increasingly boring I spent more time watching Breaking Bad then filling open positions ( for the record we only had two jobs to fill and the rest of the time my manager went out looking for leads). That job was very short lived as they company wasn't making enough money and once again I took the first opportunity that came my way- Human Resources. Another stuck behind a desk, dressing the part and acting the role. However, I have come to learn that I have a very particular personality. Not that I am not friendly or personable- I absolutely love working with people and helping others and am always upbeat- but I also will not bullshit you. Now, my supervisor for this job was one of those very by the book HR people who always sounded like a robot " well according to section blah blah or blah blah"... I literally wanted to bang my head into the wall every time she talked to me. I get it -there are rules we must follow, and I have no problem following the rules but for the love of goddd be a damn human being about it. OH- Susie wants to know if she can get her holiday pay but she didn't work the day after the holiday when she was scheduled? Don't lie to her and say we will look into it when you know damn well you won't. BE REAL WITH HER- Say hey, I'm sorry but you know you were supposed to work the next day and you didn't-I'm Sorry but I hope you understand. Boom! Susie gets the answer and you don't have to pretend like things will change. The people at the company really respected me because I would be kindhearted, listen to them, and help them. BUT unfortunately, my boss was a total conspiracy theorist and started spying on me via the company cameras and then tried to be sneaky about it-so I called her out on it, and being a temp employee- see ya later! Lesson learned: if you are a temp employee don't ever,ever disagree with your boss no matter the circumstances or you will end up like me- Jobless.
Now, I firmly believe I am a great employee and will work my butt off, but I absolutely cannot handle sitting behind a desk for 40 hours a week, in-putting data and staring at a screen. I need to be engaged. I need to be able to talk to people, listen to them, learn about them, and help them. It makes me kind of sad because here I spent four years of my life going to college all the while I should have just stuck with my retail career since that is currently where there are jobs in my city. Plus, I'm good at it. I am good at helping others find the perfect outfit, or the CD they have been looking for for years. I like that you never know who will come through that door or what characters you will meet. Sure, there are those who you wish you never came across, but that's all a part of the job.
And here I am, recently turned 24 year old, job hunting in a still "hurt" economy wondering what the hell I am doing with my life. Do I go back to college and pursue my masters in counseling,do I follow my "dream" of singing, or do I try to establish myself as a retail manager once again. And how long will that last? Where is the stability? How can I create a future for myself and my imaginary family that I think I will have 10 years from now? These are the questions that boggle my mind on a daily basis and I wonder how.
So bloggers- tell me. How does a 24 year old become successful ( and stable) in today's world?
