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December 31, 2005
End of Act I
With the end of the year comes the end of an act of my life.
With the conclusion of this year comes the conclusion of my childhood, in many respects. No longer will my goals be rooted in childhood whims, desires and passions but rather more real and necessary tasks towards my literal survival. While fulfilling the requirements of my final collegiate semester at Quinnipiac, I will be competing not in a youth-dominated arena, like in college, but rather an arena composed of "grown-ups," something I have become a part of slowly over the past 21 years.
Just two months ago, my primary hunt was devoted to securing courses to fulfill my graduation requirements.
Although I never really panicked at the prospect of selecting my courses, I did feel a certain level of anxiety that now seems just down-right silly. The worst case scenario of course selection is I do not get a course I need and either complete out a form to get into a closed course or, really worst case, graduate a semester later than planned.
Now I begin a career-search. While I realize I am among the fortunate soon-to-be-graduates because I know what I want do with my life, I still am not exactly sure how to find that perfect job.
No longer can I complete a form and deliver it to a dean for approval, such as when I was competing for courses, now if I don't get a job, I must search more diligently and work more aggressively; there is no magic form for this chapter of my life.
I am walking away from an act of my life where everything was done in my best interest. Teachers and professors worked to see that I succeeded in their courses; work managers work to see that their business run the most efficiently. Many managers care more about their individual businesses than their individual employees; a reality of the "real world," yes, but a concept that I am still working towards realizing.
Fortunately for me, not everything will be changing in this near year and new act. My closer-than-average high school friends are still by my side ensuring that I sustain my sanity through the substantial shift in life from full-time student to full-time employee.
Also standing by me with a more experienced eye is my family who would like to see succeed more than anything else. Between their advice and my friends' support, the transition will surely be smooth and exciting and ring in both an exciting new year and begin writing a new act in my life.
Posted by Jamie on 11:59 AM
December 26, 2005
Christmas gifts evolve like their recipients
I realized something this Christmas. For the first time in my Christmas-receiving career, a career that expands more than two decades, the great majority of gifts I received were practical as opposed to fun.
Although this fact should not have surprised me – and it really did not – I pause this day-after-Christmas to think back over the past twenty-two (as I was born in September, 1984) Christmases I have experienced.
Christmas gifts are funny things when you think about it. They evolve over time like their recipients. Christmas gifts for new-borns are generally small, soft and cute. Over time, they become more advanced and colorful and different while still relatively basic. Our gifts evolve as we evolve into older individuals. For example, we first get little weeble cars, buses and towns to practice a hypothetical community. From there, we soon get small cars to drive around in that are safe and difficult to fall out of. After that, we receive bicycles with training wheels that, although one can fall off of, are difficult to get hurt from. Eventually after mastering the bike, we move onto the car and then … get the safest and yet perhaps highest risk of all … clothing.
Although clothing is soft to the touch it is used in a very tumultuous environment as I am now finding. One’s clothing, to a certain degree, is the first impression cast to potential employers. Finding a job is a critical element of growing up and what I am currently in the midst of now.
So I suppose it makes sense that among the gifts I received this year are dress coats, shirts and other apparel and not a weeble bus.
Posted by Jamie on 12:09 PM | Comments (1)
