A while ago, a dear friend told me the Oscar Wilde quote, “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”
While then I didn’t dwell too much on it beyond the comfort it brought with being optimistic, it came clear to me during the shower thoughts of today that there is a great beauty in life about job searching and soul searching.
College is expensive, folks. Even with in-state tuition and a handful of in-state scholarships, those alone can’t cover my expenses — not by a long shot. So, the logical step to avoid taking out the dreaded student loans is to get a job… which is easier said than done.
Fall
The first thing I did last summer before leaving home to come to the university was to submit handfuls of applications to plenty of places that would take them. As it happens, only two places got back to me by the start of school in August. One, a temporary retail job working with textbook sales, had a number of openings, emailed me over break and said I got the job.
Unfortunately, being an uninformed freshman just starting out in the wage-labor world, no one mentioned you need birth certificate identification. So by the time my folks were able to mail up my certificate to my college town, the job already passed — bummer.
But no worries, because another place just contacted me! This time, it was the marketing department with student government. So I thought, “Cool, I can get a job this way.”
Took one sit-down to realize first-hand that four years of high school graphic design could land me an interview, but could not land a job.
Being the forward-thinking adult I am, I applied for plenty other jobs in the meantime. Not even food service (which advertised no experience needed) would give an interview. And of course, week in and week out, I get the phone reminder my parents worked through college, so I can too.
Since I still needed a social life, I joined some public relations/marketing boards with my Residence Hall Association and my campus chapter of the Circle K International community service organization.
Spring
Winter break, the process continued — this time, apps were for student staff, scholarships and more. By spring, friends from Our Lady of Wisdom Newman Center and the Career Studio said to apply with the library, so I put in an app there too.
A single week in February, I faced five interviews: A group session and two solo sessions for student staff, another for some unpaid office work and a surprising other from the library in a department I never heard of. Meanwhile, a career fair came to campus, so I networked there a little.
A month passed, and again, the results were the same — rejection. By some wonder of fate, the office role accepted me, but still, the job could not fund my education; exciting as it was, my plight persisted.
But by losing my chance at student staff, new opportunities came. Chief among these was a marketing role with the Residence Hall Association.
Spending the next month in a completely new direction, I studied up on the paid board position. Meanwhile between classes and life, I filled out more applications, because at this point, what have I to lose?
Today
Another month passed, and now we have April. One month left to summer break, still jobless.
Then a miracle happened. On April Fool’s Day, I got an interview with the library for another job — not an April Fool’s joke. Tuesday, first week in April, I learned I got an unpaid board position with CKI (great morale boost). Wednesday, I learned I got the library job for summer and next year. Thursday, I went in for RHA elections and learned I got the job there too.
Times may seem great now, but people tend to forget the journey that brought them where they are today. While saints get canonized for their greatest works, people tend to forget what it took them to get there. So regarding sinners and failures — never let these persist. For at the day’s end, a loss is not the end of a story, but the start of a new beginning.
Honestly, I am just glad to start making money next month.
