So, Let's Try This Again

            Hey! I’m back from my semester-long hiatus. As you might expect, once this blog was no longer an “assignment,” I let it fall by the wayside. However, as this semester comes to a close (halle-flippin’-luiah), I might pick up this blogging thing for the summer; or, at least, until my summer classes start. Just so you know, I’m taking two…Why I do this to myself I am not quite sure.

 I have always known managing school and work is a difficult task. But, I have also found that managing school, work and a happy married life is even more challenging. I have quickly discovered (as my husband has) that they really mean that “for better and for worse” stuff. Unfortunately, I am – most often – at my worst. I have always believed in God, but I have become more passionately convinced of His glory since He so graciously paired me with the only man on this planet who can handle my moods and random bouts of stress-induced tears.

            Recently, I have undertaken yet another dreadful task: job hunting. My current job is really not that bad, regardless of how much I may say otherwise. I work with a “quirky” bunch, but they provide me daily entertainment and teach me lots of life lessons. They work well with my school schedule and pay good for a part-time gig. However, I am realizing that it is time for me to move on and look for something that will make me happy. I want a job where I get to use all the knowledge, skills and smarts (I hope I have these, but it is yet to be definitively determined) I have acquired over my college years. I am deeply interested and intrigued by public relations. I just know that is where I belong. I love the creativity of it. I love how you are able to use that creativity and direct it towards a goal. I love the fast-paced environment. I love the variety.

            So, I naively started on a quest to get my dream job. I know myself as a pessimist and, most definitely, a realist, so I was surprised at how I believed this quest would be a brief one. A couple rejections into the process and I was defeated. I mean, what is with all these people wanting “experience”? ;) I really was hoping my sparkling performance in my undergraduate and graduate studies would supplant this so-called “experience” they all seemed to be seeking. This has to be the biggest mystery of all: How are you supposed to gain experience when no one will give you the chance to get some?

            A few more rejections later, I finally received some good news and a huge life lesson. I was accepted as a summer intern for a local PR firm, and I am extremely grateful that I was selected. I think, as much as I didn’t want to admit it (and I still don’t want to), I had a superiority complex. I thought my bachelor’s degree and my current graduate studies would somehow make an employer forget about that little thing called “experience.” I thought I could walk in anywhere and they would just fall over backwards with sheer delight at my educational history, long work history (I have plenty of work history, just not in communications) – Oh – and my enchanting personality. What in the world was I thinking? Yes, that beautiful job where I would have benefits, a lovely salary, my own desk, freedom to make decisions, mild authority and respect, and a reason to wear heels to work would have been utterly delightful; but, what lesson would that have taught me? Yes, it would have been easier; yes, it would have been wonderful; but, most likely, I would have been setting myself up for failure. I NEED experience; I NEED guidance. And I am thrilled (that is not sarcastic) I have been granted this opportunity. I am looking forward to my internship and I intend to gobble up every little thing they have to teach me. Here’s what I know: Humble pie is an acquired taste and it’s my advice you learn to savor the flavor.