Real World: Job Search #21

A Few Parting Thoughts

A few days before high school graduation, one of the greatest and most influential teachers I ever had shared with us her wish for our futures. It wasn’t to accumulate a great amount of wealth, or even knowledge. It wasn’t for marriage, or families, or great jobs. It wasn’t for health or happiness or success. But yet it was some cosmic combination of these things; the sum of their parts was greater than the whole. Her final wish for us, on the cusp of one of life’s huge milestones, was to become fully self-actualized.

Maslow describes self-actualization as a desire to become fulfilled, to reach one’s full potential. Fullness. Contentment.

I have enjoyed being a student for the last two decades, but being a professional is unbelievable! I have had an amazing few weeks. I moved to a new state, a new city. I started a new job. I am building new bridges, new connections. And somehow, it’s all so much more filling than I ever dreamed. And then, I come home at the end of the every day—with, admittedly, a few things still left on my To Do list—but that doesn’t matter. I have all of this time now to do the things I love, the things that make me happy. The things that, besides this position, fill me up. I am content.

That is sincerely my deepest wish for you all. To begin your own voyage to find self-actualization.

I may not be fully self-actualized; I may never get to such an enlightened state of mind. But I can be mindful of the path I choose, the steps that take me closer to contentment—to filling my life. This experience has already been incredibly rewarding and I am sincerely looking forward to the next steps on my journey.

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I wish you all the best of luck in your future! I hope you all enjoyed reading the blog as much as I enjoyed writing about my experiences. Thank you for this opportunity to share my story with you all!

Into the Wild...Let the Hunt Begin #25

Final Words.

This will be the last blog I write. I took the time to look back at my journey through these blogs and man, it was a very crazy, hectic, and fast-paced trip that got me to where I am today. I know many of you may still be in the hunt, and to those of you I say: keep your optimism! I am sure you are told time and again that things happen for a reason and while you may not believe that cliche, I do.

I am at my first job in student affairs because I was meant to be here. I am reminded daily of why I was attracted to this position in the first place. For those of you who may also be in the first few weeks of your first job, all I have to say is: it gets easier. I was floundering and overwhelmed the first few weeks, but I have just completed my 4th week in this job and it was the best week yet. I had a rocky start with my role in orientation advising last week, and I was nervous about this week's "record-breaking numbers." I had 10 back-to-back appointments and I was so afraid that I would screw something up. But the pressure also put me on top of my game and I caught mistakes before they blew out of proportion and more importantly I knew how to fix them or who to ask for help. I felt more comfortable in my role and more comfortable as a part of the team. It just...clicked.

So while I know this upcoming year will still be a transition and each day will bring me something new that I have to face, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I wish all of you who read this blog the very same.

Good luck with the hunt and good luck with transition, everyone!