The Hardest Job

You go through four years of school. You pay thousands upon thousands of dollars to study whatever it is you may be passionate about, or something you think will get you a lot of money one day. Whatever it is, you choose your major, you go to class, you get your degree. And then what? There should be jobs lined up waiting, just waiting for you to jump in and snatch up. A real job. The reason you went to school, right? I think most people go to school so they can get a degree and get a good paying job. I know I did. Some go to prove themselves to others or to prove something to themselves. I know I did. Some go because school is all they know and they want to prolong their inevitable drop into the real world, the work force. I sure did. So once school is done and over with, what next? Trying to land that dream job, or just trying to get by? How about both?

So we try and try. We study hard, make the grades, get the degree, and the real work begins. I've been told that finding a job is the hardest job you will ever have. Since graduation I've had 3 interviews. I dressed professionally, I had a well written resume, professional style, I was well-rehersed for interview questions. I had great eye contact and posture. So what happened? I have ambition, I have drive, I'm a hard woker, I want to work. Should be simple enough, you'd think.

So I began to question my choice of major. I was once an education major and if I had stayed that path, I know I'd have a job by now. Everyone needs teachers. Alas, I switched to communications. So what do I have to offer? I'm a great writer, better than you think. I'm great. I can be persuasive too. I've developed some public speaking skills. I'm organized. I've had practice with public relations and journalism. I know a bit about marketing and advertising. And I love advertising. It makes the world go 'round. So then what? I have great editing skills and proof reading skills. I've studied technical, professional, and creative writing along with journalism and persuasive writing.

So why can I not find a job? Who wouldn't want a fresh young woman out of college who wants to work and strive for the best. I love to work long hours all day. I want a job I can jump into and make my whole life revolve around. Having a career is the number one most important thing to me right now above all else.

I have tons of retail experience too. I've got experience in sales. And experience in management. I know you're not there to make friends. You're there to make money, for the company you work for, and for yourself. I don't mind stepping over people and making enemies while shoving my way to the top. I'll do what it takes to get to the top, to get where I know I deserve to be. I grew up poor as dirt. I came from nothing. I've come a long way, but there's still a long way to go and I can't wait to get there. I have so much more drive and ambition and passion than anyone else my age that I know. But ambition does little to get you a job I guess.

I absolutely hate my job that I have now. It's something a trained monkey could do. I stand around and sell perfume and ring people up. And I'm so sick of that place and the people I work with. "High School Never Ends" is not only a Bowling For Soup song, it is how I feel about working at Belk. The people are so immature! It is as if they live to gossip and create drama and blow things out of porportion just to have something to entertain their dumb hick lives with. I picture them sitting around on the phone all night with a tub of popcorn gossiping about people just because their lives are so boring and sad. And I know I am so much better then them. I'm so much better than that. I have a college degree. I am educated. I am driven and determined not to be complacent working in a department store making $11 an hour. I want more than that and I deserve more than that.

I have a lot to offer and I won't settle for anything less than the best that I can possibly do. But that is not what employers see is it? They see a nervous kid just out of college with little experience in the professional world. But I'm so much more than that. If only someone would see what I have to offer. I'm working so hard these days, so hard on finding a job. After all, the hardest job we will ever have is finding a job, right?

The Coker Experience...My Point of View

Coker College....Small. Liberal arts. Round-table learning. Small community. Like a family. All of these are such over-used words, statements, year after year that people reuse and recycle like memorizing lines to play your part. But Coker is more than that. After four years of this place I finally realize just how much this place has changed me. I'm a senior. I'm 22 years old...wow that's the first time I've seen my age in writing and it looks old. It's scary. I was born just outside of Philly, P.A. and spent 15 years of my life living in Myrtle Beach, S.C. So for me to come to Hartsville, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Hartsville has a population the size of my left thumb, and the entertainment value to match. But it is here at Coker in Hartsville that I have done the most growing up and self discovery. I thought Coker and Hartsville would become my second home. Freshmen year I drove home to Myrtle beach every single weekend. To be home. To be with my friends. To be where I fit it. A few years later Hartsville is not my second home. It is my first home, it is where I live. It is the place I find comfort in. It is where I have made some of the most influential friends of my life. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Coker is not simply "a small liberal arts college located in Hartsville, SC..." It is home. I lived for the busy fast-paced world i grew up in all the while secretly longing to know what the small town life is like. Coker gives you just that. It gives you the freedom to be yourself and discover things you didn't know about yourself. It gives you the chance to befriend others who share your passions and dreams. Coker is a place where everyone knows your face. or your name. You can't walk from one end of campus to the other without seeing at least one person you know. It can be a comforting feeling, and sometimes it can be scary. Everyone knows you. And if you live on campus, everyone knows your business.

I lived on campus freshmen year and half of sophomore year. I went through 4 roommates. The roommate situation can tricky. My advice: Don't room with your best friend because by the end of the semester she will be your worse enemy. Girls are vindictive. They're scary. I miss the atmosphere of living on campus sometimes, but I enjoy Coker so much more without the drama.
If you do not enjoy the occasional drama, then Coker is not the right place for you. Seriously.

I wrote this blog during class. My favorite thing to do, and I actually got to do it in class. But the sad thing is that class is over and I have work and my thoughts are not yet complete on this topic. So this is it for now.