The Job Hunt

Finding a job is monotonous task. As much as I try, it's hard to jazz up the process. Search. Apply. Wait. Repeat.

I think the process would be much easier if I knew exactly what I wanted to do. During my four years of college, I discovered more of what I didn't want to do instead of what I did want to do. While it's important to know what doesn't interest me, it still doesn't answer the question: what do I want to do?

For the lucky few, they know exactly what they want to do and college is simply the means to the end. But for the vast majority, they have what I call directionless passion.

My mom told me once, "Nathan, you can do anything you want, but you can't do everything." I must confess, I love quotes and analogies. I love them because they can communicate an entire thought or idea in a single sentence.

In the aforementioned quote, my mom articulated exactly how I feel. It's not that I don't know what it is I want to do, it's that I want to do too many things. I want to be a stock broker, an advertising agent, a teacher. It's not that I lack passion, I lack direction. However, the time has come for me to pick a direction.

I don't think it's all that crucial to know what you want to do because in the end most people land far from where they started. I think it's important to weigh your job options and make the best possible decision (what makes a good decision is a whole other post).

So for me, not knowing what I want to do is the least of my worries. How am I going to pay for rent when my lease ends in July is a much more imperative question to answer. Thus, I will keep on in my quest to find a job how ever boring it may be.

Salute!

Too Much Cake

Everyone is familiar with the old proverb "You can't have your cake and eat it too." The figure of speech is simple, yet it packs a powerful punch: you can't have everything you want. Too often, though, I think message is lost.

In today's American society, we want our cake and we damn sure want to eat it, too. It's apparent in almost every facet of life. Take a look at commercials for weight loss supplements. Are you overweight because you don't eat right and exercise? Don't fix your diet and lifestyle (have the cake), take this pill and shed off those extra pounds to look and feel great (eat the cake).

The latest example of our desire to have everything is the credit squeeze. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, over one million homes have been foreclosed. A house is considered to be foreclosed whenever the price of the house is less than amount a person owes on it. Translation: too many people are taking out loans (have the cake) to purchase homes that are priced beyond their financial means (eat the cake).

Many Americans want to blame the company producing the weight loss supplements or the banks for their problems instead of looking the in mirror. It's much easier and less painful to blame someone else than to accept responsibility for our actions. If we were to blame ourselves for our problems, then we would have to admit our shortcomings and no one wants to do that, right?

Wrong. In life, we're not judged by the mistakes we make. Rather, we're judged for the mistakes we keep making. It never hurts to swallow one's pride and accept the responsibility for our actions. If you maintain an unhealthy lifestyle, than expect to be overweight and self-conscious. If you try to live beyond your means, don't be upset when you're forced to foreclose on your house.

In my opinion, I think the most difficult part of growing up is accepting responsibility for who we are and what we do. No longer do we have our parents to blame or our high school friends or our old boss at work for our misfortunes. Paolo Nutini summed up the idea of growing up well though his lyrics: "Where'd the days go? When all we did was play. And the stress that we were under wasn't stress at all. Just a run and a jump into a harmless fall."

Don't get me wrong, I think growing up is a painful process. However, it is one that must be done. Who wants grow up, find a job and pay bills? No one. But as I'm learning, it doesn't have to be so bad.

Salute!

Peripatetic

This is the first post of my new blog titled "Peripatetical" and it is inspired by the word peripatetic. According to dictionary.com, peripatetic means "a person who walks or travels about" without a particular destination.

Besides being a 15-point scrabble word, I think peripatetic is a good descriptor for the time period in a person's life which encompasses transition. One door closes and a person is left trying to figure out which subsequent door to open and direction to go. This can be any time period after great success, like college graduation or grave sorrow, like the loss of a friend.

For me, as a recent graduate from the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I feel like I have entered the first peripatetical phase of my life. Up until now, every era in my life has had a distinct beginning and a distinct end. After grammar school, it was junior high, followed by high school and college. Now each beginning will not have a definite end.

As overwhelming as it feels sometimes, the great thing about the future is it always starts tomorrow. I am reminded of the Danish poet Piet Hein, who said "Living is a thing you do now or never -- which do you?" It is important to remember to enjoy the little things in life along the way even in the midst of transition because we are not guaranteed the future. Plan for tomorrow but live for today.

Through this blog I hope to share my thoughts as I walk and travel about writing the next chapter of my life. I am excited about the future successes and failures, romances and heart-aches. So here's to the next four years . . . salute!