While my fervent job search continues, I have been trying to keep myself busy each day. In these traditionally summer months, its all too tempting to surrender to the heat and let myself take a back seat. Tempting as it is, it's not a good idea and I've been actively trying to keep my brain on its toes so that I'm ready to jump in the deep end of my career in case the opportunity presents.
So here follows my top 5 favourite ways to keep myself busy:
1) Work - I am so fortunate that my old between-semester job continues to take me back again and again. For now I'm working on an ad hoc basis - taking hours as and when they come up, covering shifts at varying times in varying roles. It's a fantastic way to keep my finger on the pulse, continuing to build on my business setting skills whilst earning some money as an added bonus.
2) Write - It's purely a hobby of mine, and one I like to indulge in my spare time usually, yet while I'm between jobs I can't think of a better way to stimulate my mind and creative side.
3) Run - As a die-hard fan of the colder winter months, the heat and I don't usually agree - especially since my very fair skin tends to burn quite quickly. I am, however, determined that I should keep physically active and work towards my personal fitness goals whenever I can. As such, I have taken to running each day, adding more and more distance as I go to build up stamina and improve on my fitness levels.
4) Cook - I am by no means a gifted chef. What I do possess is an unflagging enthusiasm for experimentation, and thus my kitchen creations have been met with a new energy. I'm not saying it's always entirely edible, but it's been fun to learn what works and what doesn't. (FYI pear, cheddar and almonds in a salad is a surprisingly nice combo!)
5) Read - I'm an avid reader. It's what I love to do. For me, books contain not only lessons on writing (how to write well, or indeed how to write badly), but also inspiration in the form of creative ideas - stories which work, characters which are interesting, parallels in books with real life and whether these are effective. They're educational for me, whether fictional or not.
Part of me still can't believe it's August already. In many ways the time has moved so quickly. Yet when I stop and think about it, so much has happened in the month and a half that I've been home that it seems not enough time has passed at all.
Monday, 6 August 2012
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Time to be an Adult
So it began...
I finally finished university and after two weeks of saying goodbye, packing, and living the laziest life imaginable, I finally came home to Berkshire to begin my life as an adult.
Everybody tells you how scary and exciting it is, but until it's all happening I don't think you actually gather a real appreciation for it. I've surprised even myself with my dedication to finding a job. It would appear that in every spare moment I am looking at job sites - desperate to find anything that will launch my career just as soon as possible.
I know that a couple of my friends intend to wait, they want to give themselves the summer to relax after what was a gruelling final year. But I've no interest in delaying the inevitable. I can't wait to start earning money and proving myself in a professional setting. I can't wait to demonstrate just how much I can really achieve and start progressing up the career ladder. So I find myself on my laptop, on my iPhone and even on my iPad, opening a fresh tab and looking for jobs - always looking for jobs.
I spent the day searching and applying for positions as usual, as well as doing some laundry in order to take advantage of the fantastic weather and its clothes drying potential. Tomorrow I face much the same kind of day, although it all changes after 3:30pm.
3:30pm - Results Released
I can call for my degree classification after 3:30pm tomorrow. I've done the maths, and it's near impossible for me to fail or get a 3rd, but definitely impossible for me to get a 1st. That leaves me but two options: a 2:1 or a 2:2.
Obviously I am hoping and praying that it's a 2:1 and I can be proud of myself and my ability to pull my shit together. But I have resigned myself to the idea that it is likely a 2:2 - I know in my heart of hearts how that Land Law exam went and I'm not confident that any amount of good grades can counteract how badly I feel that exam has gone. I will find out for sure tomorrow, but I'm not exactly excited. It's all quite terrifying and real.
I have already decided that should I achieve a 2:2 I will only tell the bare minimum of people. It's still a degree, it's still a good degree in fact. But I would know that I could have done better, and I would be especially hurt in pride if the friends who have 2:1's were to congratulate me or try to console me in any way. I'm very happy for them, truly - but I'm not sure I'd want to admit that I'd done worse than they had. Not until I'd found a job and was doing well in another way.
In any case, it's all launching off. My 20s are going to be an exciting time that I feel I should document in any way possible - largely for my own entertainment, but if anyone else finds this remotely interesting than I suppose that's a healthy bonus!
I finally finished university and after two weeks of saying goodbye, packing, and living the laziest life imaginable, I finally came home to Berkshire to begin my life as an adult.
Everybody tells you how scary and exciting it is, but until it's all happening I don't think you actually gather a real appreciation for it. I've surprised even myself with my dedication to finding a job. It would appear that in every spare moment I am looking at job sites - desperate to find anything that will launch my career just as soon as possible.
I know that a couple of my friends intend to wait, they want to give themselves the summer to relax after what was a gruelling final year. But I've no interest in delaying the inevitable. I can't wait to start earning money and proving myself in a professional setting. I can't wait to demonstrate just how much I can really achieve and start progressing up the career ladder. So I find myself on my laptop, on my iPhone and even on my iPad, opening a fresh tab and looking for jobs - always looking for jobs.
I spent the day searching and applying for positions as usual, as well as doing some laundry in order to take advantage of the fantastic weather and its clothes drying potential. Tomorrow I face much the same kind of day, although it all changes after 3:30pm.
3:30pm - Results Released
I can call for my degree classification after 3:30pm tomorrow. I've done the maths, and it's near impossible for me to fail or get a 3rd, but definitely impossible for me to get a 1st. That leaves me but two options: a 2:1 or a 2:2.
Obviously I am hoping and praying that it's a 2:1 and I can be proud of myself and my ability to pull my shit together. But I have resigned myself to the idea that it is likely a 2:2 - I know in my heart of hearts how that Land Law exam went and I'm not confident that any amount of good grades can counteract how badly I feel that exam has gone. I will find out for sure tomorrow, but I'm not exactly excited. It's all quite terrifying and real.
I have already decided that should I achieve a 2:2 I will only tell the bare minimum of people. It's still a degree, it's still a good degree in fact. But I would know that I could have done better, and I would be especially hurt in pride if the friends who have 2:1's were to congratulate me or try to console me in any way. I'm very happy for them, truly - but I'm not sure I'd want to admit that I'd done worse than they had. Not until I'd found a job and was doing well in another way.
In any case, it's all launching off. My 20s are going to be an exciting time that I feel I should document in any way possible - largely for my own entertainment, but if anyone else finds this remotely interesting than I suppose that's a healthy bonus!
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