Pages

Monday, May 19, 2014

Looking Back: 3 Years Ago

Picture from allposters.com
May 19th this year is Commencement. I was a little surprised to realize that my commencement happened three years ago to the date! I wrote a post last year about my perspective on things since graduating, so this year I decided to do something similar.

I left the Commencement ceremony excited and full of hope: I was brimming to the top with the naive belief that finding a job would be no problem for an Ivy League graduate, and I was super excited that I would be leaving and never having to come back to Penn again. Now, it's not that I hated college, but for me it had accomplished it's goal; I had my degree, which was what I went to college for, and I was done.

Flash forward 3 years, and it took me a year and a half to get my first full-time job, which is getting really old, really fast. I'm also still stuck at Penn which is getting worse everyday because I still have to deal with student issues, student events, and student life in general, which were the things that I was so ready to get away from. I feel like I'm stunted in some way by still being surrounded by students and the same environment that I should have left behind three years ago. I feel like after graduating 3 years ago and at 25, someone has hit the pause button on my life, and I'm going nowhere, just standing still in time. (Honestly, I have no idea how people manage to work in higher education for more than 5 years, let alone 30 or 40?!)

Looking back on the past three years, I wonder was it really worth it to go to Penn in the long run. I wonder how things would have turned out if I had went to UGA instead (I would probably have been dragged into my family's drunken drama there, though), or any other school.

6 comments:

  1. Don't feel bad. A lot of people feel the SAME way you do! It's an awful time. People are now switching to more vocational and job specific schools and jobs nowadays. It's just a change in the times, but don't give up hope.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, sometimes I wish I had done something more practical, but in the end I probably would not have enjoyed it as much as what I did do in school.

      Delete
  2. A lot can change again for you in another three years so don't be too down on yourself. The economy still isn't great and at least you have a job for now. Maybe you can start planning for your next phase and looking into something in a different field.

    Rowena @ rolala loves

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, and I plan on looking for another job this summer, but I think that since I've never had a long term job for more than a year, I'm just used to constant change.

      Delete
  3. getting a job is a serious full time job. i personally got my first career job-- and the experience that came with it-- from my friend whose company was looking for someone with knowledge of blogger. network, network, network & use LinkedIn to connect with recruiters. it may seem impossible and you may apply to like 20 places a day and not hear ANYTHING but keep going. eventually you will find it! and now that you have your MA, you'll be even more ahead of most people.
    everything happens for a reason, one day it'll all make sense and this difficulty will amount to something. keep your head up!
    xx Corinne
    cateyesandthighhighs.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know how hard the job search can be, and I'm actually going to start searching for another job this summer, a process that I am not looking forward to!

      I actually graduated with a BA three years ago, and I don't think I will going to graduate school any time soon, but I'm still hopeful that I will be able to find something I can enjoy doing, and that pays well lol!

      Delete

I love comments, so don't be shy!!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.