“What’s for lunch today?”
“Let’s go to that place with the blonde chick.”
Really? Again? Sigh.
It’s nothing new: Women are a rare species in technology companies; only 30% of the tech workforce is female. Now multiply this number by 0.1 and you know how many managers are female. Right… not too many.
Read MoreWhile there were bumps in the road (like having the flu on day 2 or traveling 12 hours from Sheffield to Edinburgh and ending up on a bus because all northbound trains were canceled due to flooding) we really did have a great time and saw some breathtaking “once in a lifetime” sights.
But this trip had a different taste. I’ve traveled before and never felt like I was far away from home. I’ve always wanted to keep exploring, keep traveling and just keep moving. The flight home is usually a sad one. Once I step on that plane it usually means back to reality and a routine.
Read MoreIt’s been a year since That First Year was launched. 365 days. And in those 365 days, more than 30 people (33, to be exact!) have contributed 131 posts to this li’l blog; more than 30 people have willingly put figurative pen to figurative paper to write about just how messy and confusing, yet oh-so-beautiful that first year after college can be. We’ve had posts covering the gamut of topics: from life to love to friends to travel to dreams to some of our favorite things.
“These posts are getting too relatable now.”
Someone said this about a post recently and I wanted to give ‘em a big ‘ole hug through the computer because that’s exactly what I was hoping this blog would be: a place where people can relate to the stories this community has shared.
Read MoreAs my 23rd birthday approaches (and my 12 year-old heart is soaring because I finally get to shout the line “Nobody likes you when you’re 23” sung by Blink-182, the crown jewel of all bands), I can’t believe it’s been nearly ten years since I started high school (and my 22 year-old heart is sinking because…old). Freshman-year-me thought 23 seemed like a lifetime away, and also naively thought that I would have a boyfriend and a job in publishing by now.
I would like to think that I’ve somewhat matured since then, which probably isn’t the case at all, but since hindsight is said to be 20/20, here are 23 things that I realize now that I may not have then:
Read MoreIt’s been almost a year to the day that I walked across that stage, shook hands with a bunch of university higher ups, followed by six to eight weeks of waiting for that thick, expensive piece of paper proving I did actually earn a degree; it wasn’t all some strange, sleep deprivation dream.
“So what are you doing now?” they ask innocently, not understanding the onslaught of fear and frustration that question brings with it.
I have the same job I had before I graduated college, and while it doesn’t leave me satisfied career wise, it does pay those bills. So I’ve spent my first year outside academia learning to be okay with that. For now. It’s been no simple task, especially when I notoriously push myself too hard to ridiculous goals that I know are out of reach at the moment, but yet I expect them of myself anyway. I came out of college as the worst kind of critic: a perfectionist.
Read MoreI’d like to say that this entire scenario was nothing short of ridiculous, except I’m pretty sure I felt genuinely distressed. To my core. Distressed.
Other people in traffic that night probably experienced similar unrest; I’m just not convinced they chose to heighten it. With a dangerous playlist playing and a mind wandering, it was I who set the stage for any and all anxieties/doubts/feelings to surface. Being in the car alone for an extended period of time will do that anyway, but my actions were textbook fuel-to-fire.
It makes me wonder: am I the only one who eats this wallow-y shit up?
Read MoreBasically, I feel like my life is one big confusing mess.
I used to think I was that girl who had everything figured out. I had a plan. And when I have a plan, you better move out of the way because I move forward full speed ahead. But for the first time in my life, I have no clear cut plan. As Crater face from Grease would say “Rules? There are no rules.” “Plan? There is no plan.” And this is driving me crazy.
Read MoreThanksgiving is so damn American. We annually celebrate our declaration of American-hood (Because what else says America!!! other than the Plymouth Plantation settlers saying, "Here we are, y’all. Let’s eat some meat and pray"?) with one huge, gluttonous expression of thankfulness.
Don’t get me wrong, I love America and I love this great American holiday. In years past I’ve often rolled my eyes at my parents shepherding my sister and me around the country to various relatives’ homes. Thanksgiving can mean forced conversation with distant aunts that ask what happened to your seventh grade boyfriend.
However, being some 5,000 miles away from home can turn the thought of tryptophan comas on La-Z-Boy recliners into something much more idyllic.
Read MoreNot only can I keep track of my grad school and college friends, but I’m friends with my elementary school crush. (Well, after writing this I unfriended him. It all felt too weird; he’s married now, we haven’t talked since the fourth grade, so I guess it’s time to move on.) Social media is altogether ridiculous, and it’s turned me into a modern-day Narcissus. I think it’s probably turned you into one, too.
Read MoreI already moved five times this year and have lived in three different countries. Every time, you start from zero; you meet new people and try to make friends. I have to admit, I feel at home pretty fast. This time it took me a day (thanks to my amazing hosts). However, while building new friendships, you also have to take care of your loved ones at home. That is the hard part.
So here is what I do to maintain relationships with my friends and family back home.
Read MoreA lot has changed over the past few months. I moved into an apartment, and I have a job where people continue to congratulate me on having a job. (Is it written on my face that I’m an English major, I don’t know…).
It wasn’t a huge, sweeping move. But it takes great courage, I think, to go anywhere new, to separate yourself from what you’ve once known and who you once were.
Read More“I can’t be a wizard; I’m just, I’m just Harry!” she quoted, with a bemused smile as she walked into another room.
This was Madeline’s response when I asked her to provide a definition of magic. Now, before you read into Madeline’s response too deeply, I had better assure you that she is confident, hopeful and quite capable of becoming a wizard herself. So my analysis of this quoted statement and the following connection have really nothing to do with the quoter and more to do with society at large. Just so you can fully understand the context.
So now, on to Harry. Harry’s very modest insistence that he cannot be a wizard can be seen in the parallel (and less modest) way adults claim to have outgrown magic.
Growing up can be perhaps less lovely than we’d imagined as children, if we imagined it at all.
Read MoreAs I said in my previous post - How to Travel on a Post-Grad Budget, Part 1 - it is 180,000% possible to travel on a post-grad budget, and I will continue to defend this statement in a manner that is borderline aggressive.
Here are four more tips to help you save while traveling.
Read MoreIt is 180,000% possible to travel on a post-grad budget, and I will defend this statement in a manner that is borderline aggressive.
The world wasn’t meant to be admired from a stock desktop wallpaper; it was meant to be experienced. This is another statement that I will defend in a manner that is borderline aggressive.
But traveling isn’t always easy on entry-level wages. Here’s how to see the world without breaking the bank.
Read MoreIn high school, I wanted to make my school’s cheerleading team. I cheered for my town’s pop warner teams but hadn’t cheered in years, but I went to tryouts my freshman year anyway.
I didn’t make it. I then went to tryouts for the winter season, and still, I didn’t make it.
My sophomore year I tried out in the fall again. Again, I didn’t make it. I went back in the winter and finally made the team. Fourth time’s the charm, right?
I practiced and became a member of the team but was only on the JV team. I honestly didn’t even care that I was on JV. I was just excited that I had finally made it.
Trying out for a team doesn’t seem like an incredibly courageous thing, and I never thought of it as that. To me, it didn’t seem like I had another option but to continue to try out because it was something that I wanted, and it never crossed my mind to give up.
I’m in a similar situation now. I’ve learned that waiting around for things to happen to you isn’t how you become successful.
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