October Fifth

So, you've spent the last four or five years living in this awesomely insulated bubble that is the modern American university. Its easy to meet people and you have no major concerns. You have no real financial assets so to speak, but you're in college so who cares. Then the day comes where you receive that diploma that you've busted your ass for and your family and friends congratulate you as if you've just won the lottery. All recent graduates fall into a few categories: the idealists (your peace corps enlistees, backpackers, world explorers,etc), the overachievers (the people with lucrative jobs and internships lined up upon graduation), the grad schoolers, and the others. If you fall into the last category, lets face it you're pretty much on your own. Some of us (present company included) find internships (unpaid of course) in our chosen (for now) fields and hope to gut out an entry level position at some company. Others take a temporary (once again hopefully) position and hope to bid their time until something better comes along. Still others go home to live with mom and dad while they "figure things out". There's no manual for how to be successful in the real world and nearly all of us can admit how truly little college prepares your for the real world. The only thing college does well these days is prepares you to live near the poverty line and to deal with substance abuse (again hopefully). So what recourse is there for the 56% of recent graduates who are either unemployed or miserably underemployed? Do we pack it up and jump on the sinking financial ship that is life abroad in Europe or remain here and grind it out in this country that has proved time and again that it doesn't give a shit about socio-economic equality? This question is somewhat rhetorical but still is one that I personally will need to figure out for myself. It's tough to stay upbeat when they keep telling you that you're not qualified for an entry-level position, when you're passing out your resume like a desperate guy handing his number out at a party, and trying to re-establish yourself in a new place after being so firmly rooted in the same small community for half a decade. For most people, life isn't easy. It's rife with difficult choices and heart-breaking consequences. But sooner or later, you are rewarded for your efforts, right?

At least that's what they taught me in school.