Thursday, October 18, 2012

I Don`t Follow, I Lead

          I read several of the essays in Share or Die but the one that really lit a fire inside me was "Unprepared From Elite College to the Job Market" by Sarah Idzik. You may can guess from the title that this was not the most uplifting thing that I have ever read, even though at the end of the essay she did talk about her hope for the future. She recounts her story from being a straight A high school student like so many of us are, to an unprepared college freshman where she finds her place very quickly, but then has to move on to the "real world" where its not all peaches and cream like she thought it would be. The only work she can find is a dead end job at a travel agency, and she can only barely make rent even though the work makes her miserable. Finally, she decides to quit her job and move to a new city where she can hopefully find her place in the world, but who knows, she could still be searching.

          After I finished reading this essay, at first I was very confused. I felt a little hopeless and I definitely had no idea what I could get out of that feeling to write about. Ever since I got to college I hear this same story told a million different ways. It was even a main point in the Presidential Debate Tuesday night. So once again I began to wonder, "Why am I even here if I`ll have the same future either way?" Then I remembered one small section of the essay that caught my attention as I was meditating on what I had read, "Out of everyone I knew, there was only one real success story - only one person who had secured a job in the appropriate field that set her on the career path she wanted." The second this sentence came to mind I knew that the one in a million who made it would be me. That`s why I`m in college learning and working toward a degree. I have a dream, don`t all of us? So why should we let the
      photo credit: deeplifequotes via photopin cc         possibility of failure hold us back? The "real world" is a tough and cruel place and the job market isn`t any better, but a few of us will make it. While most will give up the dream out of fear, and others will put it off until a "better time", some of us will push through and come out on top where we`ve always wanted to be. 

                                           
       
          In our english class we talk about the fact that the old jobs aren`t coming back, that the old economy is part of the past and a new one is on the way, the jobs that will be needed ten years from now are unknown to everyone at this point. That is why my sights aren`t set on getting an outdated job that there are fewer and fewer of every day. My goal, and I`m sure some of yours too, is to be a part of that future. I am getting an education, not so I can sit on the sidelines and wait until the game is won, but so that four years from now I can hit the ground running and be a player in this new world that is developing around us. I`m not just going to be a part of the future, I`m going to build it. That`s why I am in college, so I can have a foundation for my dreams.                      photo credit: BB2G_Images via photopin cc    Somy point all of you is this: no, not everyone has                                                                                   a happy ending, but you can be that one in a million. 

4 comments:

  1. Really, really liked this post. You developed your topics of discussions very well, and I was interested the whole time I read. Great post and well developed, cant wait to read you next post!

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  2. I absolutely love the media that is in this post. The quotes are so inspirational! You also done a very great job on this post.

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  3. I love your pictures! The credit for the pictures had me kind of confused. The post overall was great though. You told your goals and your reasoning for sticking through college. I enjoyed it.

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  4. Wow! What an inspirational post. I had begun to worry that all of our readings and class discussions were becoming a total downer. I really don't want to discourage any of you. I want each and every one of you to succeed. I just want you to be realistic about why you're here, what you need to get out of it, and what's awaiting you when you leave. So, I was so thrilled when I read this post and felt the passion that you have about succeeding in college and in life. You did an awesome job of getting something positive out of a dark essay. Also, I really love your point about not preparing for a job that is becoming extinct, but learning so that you will be prepared for what happens next. I wish that everyone could have that drive.

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