When I was home at the very beginning of March, I promised to post more blogs. Here we are, already more than three weeks later, and I am only just making good on that promise. I think I've put my time to good use though—I've done a lot of thinking about my life in Madison, and my job, and my goals for the future.
My considerations have been, for the most part, less than rosy.
Not terribly rosy makes for a lot of thoughts that are probably best kept to myself. Which—I'm sure you understand—makes it a little difficult to write a blog post to share with the entire internet.
I do have a few concrete conclusions, though. They are as follows:
I.
Madison is nice, but after living here for about ten months, I am still working at building a tenuous network of friends and professional connections. I'm homesick more than not, and there are a number of activities that are made more difficult by living here: having a garden, keeping a pet, knowing enough jazz musicians to set up a jam session...or folk musicians, for that matter. So Madison may not be the place I want to stay long-term.
II.
I'm still feeling around for a career. I'm working as a barista, and it's no longer challenging. I need the money so I can pay my student loans, though, and I'm decent at it, and I like the people I work with, so for now it's alright. In the long run, I need a career that inspires me with more than money; a career that lets me use my brain and my skills and my experience; and a career that doesn't stress my body out with a constantly super-irregular schedule.
I applied to a couple of jobs (my writing energy has been going towards cover letters and resume revisions lately) and had some interviews that didn't go anywhere. I can't pretend I'm not disappointed, because I haven't been bothering to apply for jobs that aren't super-awesome sounding, and I feel like I am certainly a highly capable applicant for said jobs, but my plan is to just keep trudging forward. Something will turn up.
III.
The future.
I'm still figuring this one out, but I have a couple things planned, like taking the Michigan Teaching Certification Test, and a conference in June, and probably a road trip in August.
In the meantime, I'll keep going. After all, I have miles to go before I sleep.
It all starts with a plan, followed with decisive action. You are doing what you need to do to survive. There are no correct or right answers. There are things that are right for you, for now. Enjoy each life experience and learn and move on and never regret taking a chance or trying something new. I think you are very brave. Keep hopeful, and be happy in all you do. (And yeah! a blog post. I am watching.)
ReplyDeleteYou promised to write more blog entries, and I promised to comment! So here we all are.
ReplyDeleteGood luck sorting through your choices for what direction you want to take. You’re comfortable enough and secure, but clearly you want something more for yourself. Of course, I’d love to hear that you’re planning on moving back to MI so you’re closer to me and therefore easier to hang out with, but I want to say that sometimes settling into a new place takes even longer than you think. You probably won’t magically find it easier to have a garden, but building up connections and finding people is hard work and takes a long time, probably much like a garden, but eventually you get something that blooms and grows. (I’ll drop the metaphor now.)
I also want to say something encouraging because you do have so many interests and skills, so many ways you can find work and happiness. It’s hard out there for everyone, but you have such a sure sense of who you are and what you would be happy doing that you’re miles ahead of all the other twenty-something who are still stumbling around, wishing they had cushy barista jobs. (Was that encouraging? I’m having a little trouble deciding.) Anyways, I think you’re right to shoot for the awesome jobs because they’d all be lucky to have you. I don't know what they're thinking to be hiring anyone else.