Beating the Post-Grad Blues: A Day in the Life
5:51 PM
I'm going to let you in on a little secret: these past few days - weeks even - have been pretty hard. Every day, the same routine of getting on the computer and scrolling through pages and pages of job listings, most of which I'm unqualified for, due to being fresh out of college and having essentially no experience. It can get really discouraging really fast. And Facebook's no better either, which was my big mistake when I logged onto it last night. People having lives, people getting jobs and boyfriends and moving to cities. Meanwhile, I'm stuck back home in my small town, trying to get my life to budge towards something promising. Managing to find myself at an all-time-low after that, I knew that I had to pick myself up somehow the next day. Because that's what's always most important following post-grad life: amidst the job searching and the helplessness, it's important to step away from that for a while so as to be reminded of and appreciate the small things in life we so often overlook, even in our daily lives.
So, after having submit myself to a couple hours of job searching in the morning, I decided to take the day to clear my mind, starting with a good ol' walk with my dog. Exercise, or simply getting out of the house, is a really great way of keeping yourself active while also de-stressing and giving yourself the break you need.
Together, me and Jessie made our way to our usual stop, a beloved pond area with plenty of room for Jessie to run around.
Our little cat friend, Molly, was there to greet us, too!
Pro tip: always make sure to take pictures of yourself on your adventures, no matter big or small, when you can. It helps with self-esteem and loving yourself and stuff, especially after a marathon of job searching when you feel your most worthless and insignificant. Don't forget that you matter and you are beautiful! Also, it was just a nice day today, so why not?
These past few times going to the pond, the blackberry bushes towards the far end have been blooming (?) with delicious blackberries. Naturally, I decided to take another pit stop there and see if there were any more blackberries that had ripened up a little more since last time. Thankfully, there were!
D'aww, look at Jessie, scanning the pond.
Soon enough, though, it was time for us to go, so I gave Molly (who's quite needy, by the way) one last pet goodbye.
Plus, Jessie was ready to go, too:
Off again on our adventure. Like I said, it was a beautiful day out, so I got a chance to take a picture of the trees we passed under...
...and the lovely sidewalk, with plenty of greenery.
Jessie loves this part of the walk, too.
We then made a loop and cut through the park in the adjoining neighborhood before finally making it home.
Once back home, I was pretty hot from the walk, so in the spirit of last summer I decided to treat myself to a bowl of strawberries, with the addition to another bowl filled with juicy green grapes! The perfect summer refresher.
Jessie decided to unwind, too.
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| Notice the tail in mid-wag. |
After awhile, though, I made up my mind that I still needed to get out of the house and do something today. I couldn't stay stuck inside all day, so I decided to walk to the library and drop off a book, as well as pick up a book on hold: Search Engine Optimization For Dummies. Recently, I'd been thinking of going into web content editing or social media, both of which encourage you to learn SEO, thus the reason for this particular book on hold.
Once I checked it out, though, there was still something creeping in the back of my mind - worrying about the future, about the skills and experience I didn't have, about possibly making a career change or maybe even just broadening my horizons. I ended up drifting over to the Computer section - the very far aisle in the library - with Dummies Guides and complete tutorials abound on the shelves. And it was then that a fire in me sparked. A growing need to deflect angrily back at life and not allow it to get me down anymore. I made the decision right there that I would no longer whine about not being qualified enough for a job, about not having the right skills, and I would make it my goal to learn and obtain any skills I could. Most of all, I would work towards a new goal of pursuing a computer/web career, which I'd been going back and forth over for a long time. Whether it's web design or web development or social media, I don't care. I will learn them all. I'm going to stop moping and start doing. That's what I thought as I tore book after book off the shelves and shlepped the heavy stack home with me in my bag. And here they are, in all their glory:
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| What? I've been thinking of getting a Mac, so might as well, right? |
So you see? Days off can lead to something, whether a breakthrough or a dose of professional chores in between breaks. I don't know what to make of this yet, this "Oh yeah, life?!" outburst. All I know is that I'm not giving up. I will read these books cover to cover, I will learn the skills, and I will persevere...
But that's for another day. For now, I think I'm going to relax on the couch and get back into my current read: "Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps -- And What We Can Do About It" by Lise Eliot. Whew, that's a mouthful! But sex differences is one of those interesting topics, and this book lays everything out - the science, the environmental factors - really well.
So it turned out to be a pretty productive day, after all - that is, whatever you may consider productive. Because that's the thing: productivity can be relative. You can spend your entire day rifling through job listings and worrying about your future, and you may consider that a productive day. But a productive day can also be taking the day to unwind and appreciate the little things in between figuring your life out - because that's important, too.
I guess the main takeaway from this whole post is a life motto that I'm quite fond of: take life one day at a time.
Stay positive, hang in there, and remember that there's always a new day ahead of you...
Until next time!
x Danielle
2 comments
Hi, you're blog is really fun to read. I don't think there's any reason to panic. It's not that you don't find a job but it's only when you'll find one. You can't compare other people's life and facebook is the worst place to compare it because you only find positive news, like they don't have any bad luck. It's just a new chapter in your life and you have a diploma. That's something for life. So put those computer books away because that's scary and enjoy your holiday ! No worries, just relax and have fun with family !
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you so much for this wonderful, positive comment! It truly made me so happy to read. I know, the first few months of a new chapter in your life are always the hardest, but you're absolutely right - I just have to stay hopeful and trust that everything will fall into place when they're ready to. Thank you so much for reminding me of all of this <3 And thanks for reading and enjoying my blog! I really appreciate it ^.^
Deletex Danielle