Hard to Stay Positive
Hello again. Is everyone else (in RI or nearby areas) enjoying the 2958350 feet of snow as much as I am!? v_v Yeah, you try being stuck in the house with my Mom for two days in a row. I think sticking my dirty hoof pick through my eyeballs might be more fun.
I can't complain overly much though. I have The Two Towers to read, I'm borrowing Rich's guitar so I can practice bass (and I have been), and of course there's my computer so I can work on stories or whatnot. I am lamenting the fact that I'm running out of nutritionally decent things to eat (I'll be stuck with Ramen, Oreos, and low fat ice cream tomorrow :P) but hopefully everything will be cleared up by Tuesday. At least well enough so I can, you know, drive and get to the market.
And I did manage to be a little it productive today-- I actually wrote up a very rough draft of my resume. I have a lot of good things on it, but. . .look at my title. I've been busy looking up classified ads in various newspapers for the past couple of weeks, and it's glaringly obvious that I'm not qualified for 99.8% of the jobs that are out there. In many cases, I can find jobs that sound interesting (for example: Catering Services assistant at Eastside Marketplace) but I am lacking in anything that could remotely be considered experience, which is naturally required (at least five years, in fact).
So, it's painful because I know I am smart enough and well-rounded enough to be able to find an assortment of positions, but that's not the way the world works. I am quite sure that I'll be stuck in retail, if not just for the next few years, quite possibly forever. Cuz honestly, those are the only "help wanted ads" that I can read through and completely fit what they're looking for.
And maybe, *maybe* that would be okay. I just need to find SOMETHING that will 1) provide me with health insurance and 2) pay me enough so I can at least afford an apartment. And that's been another discouraging search-- apartments are SO EXPENSIVE in RI! Again, my only requirements aren't outlandish: 1) can't be in a sketchy, ghettoish area, and 2) heat must be included. I don't care if the "bathroom" is actually a bucket in the corner, but dammit I need my heat! Well, I have not been able to find ANY 1 bedroom apartments for less than $850 a month. Anything cheaper just does not exist, or if they do, they sure as hell don't advertise because I've been checking out a plethora of sources. I guess it's just one more reason to leave this state-- in Buffalo, most 1 bedroom apartments were about $500 per month, and ditto the ones around Lexington, KY. I don't know why RI can't follow suite.
So anyway, it IS hard to stay positive when faced with these hard realities. That's why I put off looking at reality for a long, long time-- cuz it's scary, and unfair, and I don't like it. But despite how hard the next year or so is going to be, I'm holding onto my long term plans. I will move to Kentucky, and I will volunteer (and then hopefully work) at the Horse Park there. Again, I will probably be working in retail throughout all this time (unless I do get employed by the Park, which would be nice), but I guess that's what I'll have to do. There was an interesting article in Time magazine last week about how people our age (in our 20's) are finding it harder to become independent these days. Having a college degree is no longer an automatic ticket to a prosperous future-- and more of us are unwilling to go into fields simply because they pay well or there ARE lots of jobs available. We want to study things that genuinely interest us and find jobs that aren't drudgery, but that are actually things we WANT to do.
And who knows what will happen from here.
Up the Punx!
E
I can't complain overly much though. I have The Two Towers to read, I'm borrowing Rich's guitar so I can practice bass (and I have been), and of course there's my computer so I can work on stories or whatnot. I am lamenting the fact that I'm running out of nutritionally decent things to eat (I'll be stuck with Ramen, Oreos, and low fat ice cream tomorrow :P) but hopefully everything will be cleared up by Tuesday. At least well enough so I can, you know, drive and get to the market.
And I did manage to be a little it productive today-- I actually wrote up a very rough draft of my resume. I have a lot of good things on it, but. . .look at my title. I've been busy looking up classified ads in various newspapers for the past couple of weeks, and it's glaringly obvious that I'm not qualified for 99.8% of the jobs that are out there. In many cases, I can find jobs that sound interesting (for example: Catering Services assistant at Eastside Marketplace) but I am lacking in anything that could remotely be considered experience, which is naturally required (at least five years, in fact).
So, it's painful because I know I am smart enough and well-rounded enough to be able to find an assortment of positions, but that's not the way the world works. I am quite sure that I'll be stuck in retail, if not just for the next few years, quite possibly forever. Cuz honestly, those are the only "help wanted ads" that I can read through and completely fit what they're looking for.
And maybe, *maybe* that would be okay. I just need to find SOMETHING that will 1) provide me with health insurance and 2) pay me enough so I can at least afford an apartment. And that's been another discouraging search-- apartments are SO EXPENSIVE in RI! Again, my only requirements aren't outlandish: 1) can't be in a sketchy, ghettoish area, and 2) heat must be included. I don't care if the "bathroom" is actually a bucket in the corner, but dammit I need my heat! Well, I have not been able to find ANY 1 bedroom apartments for less than $850 a month. Anything cheaper just does not exist, or if they do, they sure as hell don't advertise because I've been checking out a plethora of sources. I guess it's just one more reason to leave this state-- in Buffalo, most 1 bedroom apartments were about $500 per month, and ditto the ones around Lexington, KY. I don't know why RI can't follow suite.
So anyway, it IS hard to stay positive when faced with these hard realities. That's why I put off looking at reality for a long, long time-- cuz it's scary, and unfair, and I don't like it. But despite how hard the next year or so is going to be, I'm holding onto my long term plans. I will move to Kentucky, and I will volunteer (and then hopefully work) at the Horse Park there. Again, I will probably be working in retail throughout all this time (unless I do get employed by the Park, which would be nice), but I guess that's what I'll have to do. There was an interesting article in Time magazine last week about how people our age (in our 20's) are finding it harder to become independent these days. Having a college degree is no longer an automatic ticket to a prosperous future-- and more of us are unwilling to go into fields simply because they pay well or there ARE lots of jobs available. We want to study things that genuinely interest us and find jobs that aren't drudgery, but that are actually things we WANT to do.
And who knows what will happen from here.
Up the Punx!
E
posted by Erica at 12:36 PM
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