No, I didn't get plastic surgery, but my blog got a little bit of a face lift :)
It's time to bring this page back to life and with a new purpose. Yes, yes, I know it is New Years Day, but this isn't just some "resolution" I decided to put forth at about 1pm this afternoon, I promise. Okay, it was about 2pm when I decided to hit the blog once more. To my defense, this is something I have been thinking about for a while... let me explain...
**If you don't feel like reading this loooong post and just want to know "What the heck is this blog about??" Skip to the paragraph at the end in purple :)
2012 was quite a year. There were many exciting moments and great achievements, but there were also quite a few steep drops in my roller coaster ride. In May, I graduated college and headed out into the real world with my degree in hand and a heart full of high hopes. I finally knew what I wanted and was determined to make every bit of that dream a reality. Then, Mr. Economy and Mrs. Real World came by with some sobering news. "Sorry, but as hard as you try, your Math degree will not get you a job working in a hospital and since you can't find a full time job, you get to move back in with your family. Oh, and since you have to work all the time to pay for school, you aren't going to get to travel much." BUM-MER. Welcome to the life of a student in transition.
There are quite a few things I learned in 2012 and the biggest is that transition is definitely a hard place to be. If you aren't careful you can fall into a rut of laziness and lack of productivity or you can push yourself to work so hard that you lose sight of what you're working for. By that I mean, you may be able to write down, say, "Medical School" on a piece of paper, but if you don't keep track of why you want to get there and who you are as a person, it's easy to lose yourself under a mountain of lab reports, highlighted notes, flash cards, work schedules, and empty coffee cups. While 2012 was a year of excitement and anticipation of what the future held, it was also a year of rediscovery and trying my hardest not to fall into an almost robotic like state of mind. Wake up-coffee-breakfast-class-study-sleep-wake up-coffee-work-study-sleep- and so forth. What I loved about college was the community. You always had friends at least 5 minutes away. They were your stress relief, your support and encouragement. They would be right there with you at 11pm trying to finish a paper or project and they'd also be with you escaping the books and running away to the beach on a sunny afternoon, grabbing a cup of coffee after class, or making time to walk to church. My friends kept me grounded, reminded me why I was working so hard, and reminded me it was okay to celebrate weekends and give myself a night off.. or two... or three.
That's one of the tough parts of graduating college. It's that first few months when you feel like half of yourself is missing because your friends have been scattered all over the country and a walk to their apartment is now a $300 round trip ticket. It's when you're working 3 part time jobs to pay for classes you have no time to study for because you're working 3 part time jobs. It's that moment when you're living at home again, just like your former pre-teen, pre-college graduate self.
This blog is going to be for all those students in transition, whether working towards professional school or a professional career, whether you are taking classes or gaining the experience all those darn job applications keep asking for, whether you know what it is you are going for, or if you are still trying to figure it out.... this will be a blog of my thoughts on different topics and feelings that often plague the 20-something college grad and just a hodge podge mix of fun and encouraging discoveries I come upon. It might be a good song, an inspiring quote, a great book, a fun event coming up, or even a quick and easy recipe for those of us that find time to cook hard to come by. Things that keep me grounded and remind me of who I am and what I am working towards.
I hope you stay tuned :)
(And Happy New Years!)
Lauren
It's time to bring this page back to life and with a new purpose. Yes, yes, I know it is New Years Day, but this isn't just some "resolution" I decided to put forth at about 1pm this afternoon, I promise. Okay, it was about 2pm when I decided to hit the blog once more. To my defense, this is something I have been thinking about for a while... let me explain...
**If you don't feel like reading this loooong post and just want to know "What the heck is this blog about??" Skip to the paragraph at the end in purple :)
2012 was quite a year. There were many exciting moments and great achievements, but there were also quite a few steep drops in my roller coaster ride. In May, I graduated college and headed out into the real world with my degree in hand and a heart full of high hopes. I finally knew what I wanted and was determined to make every bit of that dream a reality. Then, Mr. Economy and Mrs. Real World came by with some sobering news. "Sorry, but as hard as you try, your Math degree will not get you a job working in a hospital and since you can't find a full time job, you get to move back in with your family. Oh, and since you have to work all the time to pay for school, you aren't going to get to travel much." BUM-MER. Welcome to the life of a student in transition.
There are quite a few things I learned in 2012 and the biggest is that transition is definitely a hard place to be. If you aren't careful you can fall into a rut of laziness and lack of productivity or you can push yourself to work so hard that you lose sight of what you're working for. By that I mean, you may be able to write down, say, "Medical School" on a piece of paper, but if you don't keep track of why you want to get there and who you are as a person, it's easy to lose yourself under a mountain of lab reports, highlighted notes, flash cards, work schedules, and empty coffee cups. While 2012 was a year of excitement and anticipation of what the future held, it was also a year of rediscovery and trying my hardest not to fall into an almost robotic like state of mind. Wake up-coffee-breakfast-class-study-sleep-wake up-coffee-work-study-sleep- and so forth. What I loved about college was the community. You always had friends at least 5 minutes away. They were your stress relief, your support and encouragement. They would be right there with you at 11pm trying to finish a paper or project and they'd also be with you escaping the books and running away to the beach on a sunny afternoon, grabbing a cup of coffee after class, or making time to walk to church. My friends kept me grounded, reminded me why I was working so hard, and reminded me it was okay to celebrate weekends and give myself a night off.. or two... or three.
That's one of the tough parts of graduating college. It's that first few months when you feel like half of yourself is missing because your friends have been scattered all over the country and a walk to their apartment is now a $300 round trip ticket. It's when you're working 3 part time jobs to pay for classes you have no time to study for because you're working 3 part time jobs. It's that moment when you're living at home again, just like your former pre-teen, pre-college graduate self.
This blog is going to be for all those students in transition, whether working towards professional school or a professional career, whether you are taking classes or gaining the experience all those darn job applications keep asking for, whether you know what it is you are going for, or if you are still trying to figure it out.... this will be a blog of my thoughts on different topics and feelings that often plague the 20-something college grad and just a hodge podge mix of fun and encouraging discoveries I come upon. It might be a good song, an inspiring quote, a great book, a fun event coming up, or even a quick and easy recipe for those of us that find time to cook hard to come by. Things that keep me grounded and remind me of who I am and what I am working towards.
I hope you stay tuned :)
(And Happy New Years!)
Lauren
Love it!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to reading all the nuggets of truth you have to share in days ahead!
:)