2016: A Story in Three Parts

As another year comes to a close, it’s time to reflect.

By global standards, 2016 was pretty much a train wreck.  Personally, though, it was a beautiful journey that I will tell in three parts.

INTRODUCTION:

A year ago, I was an unemployed college graduate with no idea of what I wanted to do with myself.  You see, for the majority of my life, my intuition has been my guide.  Until this point, early every major life decision has been guided by instinct.  College?  My gut lead me to the right fit.  Major?  My heart found home in the English Department.  Work at camp in the summers?  It just felt right.

The future, however, holds infinite possibilities and the prospective paths had me absolutely paralyzed.  I had absolutely no idea of anything.  My intuition, the little tug that pulls me in the next direction, had failed.

So, at the beginning of 2016, I felt my heart tugging me back to Europe and, against all logic, I followed.

Weekend Coffee Share: I’M EMPLOYED!!

If we were having coffee, we’d be sitting on a blanket in the grass soaking in the sunshine.  Even though it’s August now, it’s not unbearably hot and I am loving it.  The air is fresh, the sky is blue, and the company is good!  What is better?

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I GOT A JOB!  The hunt has ended and my first foray into post-college employment is beginning.  

Weekend Coffee Share: Let’s Make This Fast

If we were having coffee, I’d say we better make this fast.  I just got my copy of Harry Potter and the Curse Child and will consider my day wasted if I don’t spend the rest of it reading.  (It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you… It’s just… Harry Potter…)

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that my week started off pretty bad–as described in my Emergency Dance Party post.  Long story short, I got poison ivy so bad that my entire legs were covered in panful blisters and then got icky sick one night.  It was rough.

Weekend Coffee Share: Rainy Days

If we were having coffee, we’d be huddled indoors with our noses pressed against the windows, which are rain splattered.  I’d be drinking a strong cup of tea. What would you be drinking?

It’s our first rainy day in a long time and I’m grateful.  We’ve been battling near-drought conditions on my family’s farm, which has been stressful.  Irrigating eats up time we need to spend doing other work.  We have needed a solid soaking for weeks and it’s finally here!  So far, we have gotten over an inch and a half and I expect more will boil up this evening.

Weekend Coffee Share: Transitions & Exiting Hermit-Mode

If we were having coffee, we’d be out on the back deck soaking in the sunshine.  Although Northern Minnesota has been hit with enormous rainfalls over the past week resulting in record flooding, we’ve managed to evade all the severe weather.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I turned down a job this week.  After multiple interviews, a site visit, and several weeks of intense thought, I decided that being an Assistant Manager at a resort just wasn’t the right route for me.  There were so many factors against it personally and professionally.  When it came down to it, I just wasn’t willing to make a two year commitment to a job that wouldn’t pay enough to save for grad school in an area with little to no housing options.  I think I’ve made the right decision.

Job Hunting & Tough Choices

I’ve been absent from the blogosphere lately… mostly because life is moving forward faster than expected and, when I finally catch my breath, the last thing I want to do is process things by writing.

Over the past few weeks, I have learned a great deal about job hunting.  When I started this journey, all I wanted was employment.  “Dear magical job fairy,” I prayed, “just give me work!”  I now realize how naive and arrogant that appears.

Yes, scrolling through job forums is boring.  There are so many jobs that just don’t strike me as very interesting.  Sure, I could do well as an administrative assistant and would succeed doing marketing via social media.  But would my heart be in my work?  I’ve learned that I need to identify what I want in a job and be ready to fight for that.

Weekend Coffee Share: Summer Festivals & Small Towns

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that things are changing quickly in my corner of the world–so quickly that blogging has fallen by the wayside.  My job hunt continues to progress.  Some days it moves forward in bounds and others it simply creeps along.  I’ve been learning a lot over the past weeks, but won’t say more here…I have a post scheduled about it for tomorrow.  So stay tuned!

Weekend Coffee Share: Long Days at the Strawberry Patch (& More!)

If we were having coffee, we would be meeting in the strawberry patch for the second week in a row.  The season continues to progress and, given that it’s a family business, we’ve all been working ourselves to the bone.  I haven’t had a day off in over a week!  Most days, our staff is there to help and, if we’re lucky, they stick around to help on Saturday–which is when we get the biggest crowds.  Sundays, though, are up to us.  My brother, dad, and I hit the patch at 7:30 AM to get everything set up and, even after customers started rolling in, it took a couple of hours to actually wake up.

To Stay or To Go (Writing 101, Day 12)

All I ever wanted was adventure–to leap into the unknown–to cut ties with everything familiar.  I wanted to lose myself in the wider world and, in the process, truly know what it is to live.

But I don’t know what doors to knock on.  I don’t know how to maintain responsibility whilst plunging into adventure. I’m considering applying for a big-girl job in my home town because student loans must be paid somehow. I’m making this up as I go along.

Am I settling?

Will the chance to leap come again?

This post is inspired by an assignment for the Blogging University class Writing 101: Finding Everyday Inspiration.

Am I the only one who hated today’s assignment?  I feel like fussing with word count sucked my inspiration rather than fueled it.