Recent College Graduate

As you cross that stage to shake hands with your college president and receive your diploma (shake with your right, take with your left, your actual diploma sent in the mail a month afterwards), you become an "Alumnus" or "Alumna".  The fancy new initials you acquire (BS, BA, etc.)  fill you with a sense of accomplishment, bittersweet reflection, and encouragement for beginning the next stage of your life.  Then the ceremony ends, you move out of your college living accommodations one last time, and you realize:  You are a recent college graduate, what do you do now?

Some people move on to graduate school.  Others pick up an internship or student teaching.  And many begin to job-hunt and start their careers.  No matter what path you take, you shift from being a "college kid" to a "real adult."  But wait a second--there are lots of different kinds of adults, so many options and choices and opportunities to explore.  Which is right?  Which will make you happy?  What compromises will be ok and which ones may prove to be unbearable?  Which risks are worth the risk?  We are all looking for that first "big kid" job, something substantial, to be something more than minimum-wage school parking lot ticketers, lunch room card swipers, or mail room sorters.  We need more than just "college credit and wonderful work experience" to be the only compensation.  We wrestle with finding a job we like and just plain finding a job.  We are well-educated, driven, ambitious, highly qualified, and enthusiastic graduates and our choices now shape the foundation for the next stage of our lives.  Being a recent graduate marks a pivotal turning point.  Being a "Recent Graduate" = Identity Crisis!

I am a recent graduate from Alma College with a BA in English, a minor in writing, and English honors pursuing a career in publishing.  I also like to think of myself as a writer.  So to aid in my job-search, and for my own personal interest and enjoyment, I am starting this blog.  It will be a collection of smatterings inspired by my own life and loosely themed on writing and literature.  As my second blogging endeavor, (Check out my first from my year abroad, entitled "Living London," conveniently located right here on blogger.com!) I look forward to exploring the next stage for my identity here as a Recent College Graduate.  Feel free to read along!