New grad life is probably one of the scariest transitions a person can go through. Upon graduation, most of us have never worked a full time job before, we probably have never left home, and at the age of 21, horribly lost and confused with the onslaught and realization of the magnitude of the ‘real world.’
And why wouldn’t we be? There is no life training, no one sits you down to give a rundown of what the rest of your life will be like, you can only observe and learn from other people’s examples and then turn around carving your own little place in the world.
But the world doesn’t have to be an imposing mystery. It is a great and wonderful place with bountiful beauty and marvels, you just have to experience it for yourself, or stay hopelessly feeling ‘stuck.’
Post-grad was a scary time for me. I was offered a less than optimal job, but really wanted to stay in Toronto, the city where I met and fell in love with God, where I met my best roomie, and was part of an odd mish-mash of the most brilliant and imaginative friends I had ever known. By my forth year, Toronto was my home. I had made myself comfortable in the Big T.O. experiencing the culture, meeting so many people and enjoying the food. It was no secret I did not want to move. However, this is where reality and maturity cross paths and having to make a relatively difficult decision to move home, I was back in Edmonton after four years away in the best place I have ever known.
The adjustment back home was hard. It was great to be able to connect with friends whom I haven’t seen for a couple years and to have their support and friendship. But starting work here was difficult. Saddled with a comfortable entry level government job, I am set for life. Though less than optimal given my background in business marketing and strategy (with not a whole lot of practical experience), it is a good position with great pay, flexible schedule and amazing vacation time. But it wasn’t something I wanted to wake up for every morning, I didn’t feel like I contributed anything but administrative support on most days, most importantly I wasn’t learning, growing and developing positive professional skills. Knowing the tight and competitive job market though, I knew that I needed to build a solid year of full time work experience before I could even think about applying to any new positions.
Now almost one year into full time work life, I have gained more confidence in myself, built a circle of friends and mentors and slowly started to piece together what direction I should go in life. All my life I thought I was going to work in a large established company. But looking back, all my experiences have been around an organization with a start up type of environment. With that in mind, I decided to apply for something that fit with that criteria. We shall see where this job application will take me.
After all this rambling, thing is, as a new grad, life is scary and can be extremely frustrating. You will have some idea of where you want to go in life, but chances are you are not there yet, but you can see where you want to be. I had to weather the storms of my emotions, coming to heads with my parents and even some of my friends, but at the end of the day, you are where you are for a reason. Find every opportunity to grow and learn, take on other odd jobs related to your career aspirations, but most of all, do not grow complacent and comfortable with where you are at if that is not where you want to stay. There were times where I did grow complacent in my position, where I was sick and tired of applying for positions that bore no fruit. It was exhausting and taxing emotionally and spiritually. However, it was even more uncomfortable and exhausting being part of something I knew deep down I wanted nothing to do with. That struggle is pushing me switch it up, to find those opportunities with a team and organization that will challenge me, push me to my limits, and is somewhere I go to everyday excited. I do realize that this pursuit of a new position may come to nothing, but I always attack with the attitude, “the answer is always no when you don’t seek.” It can be scary, you may feel either super confident or extremely disheartened, but at the end if the day you cannot grow complacent, you have to actively seek.
Even though I am only one year out of university, I feel like school was a lifetime away. Toronto, increasingly feels like a wonderful dream, but it’s not. It was where I spent four years if my life gaining wonderful experiences and friends, what I learned from in Toronto I am applying to living in Edmonton. I can only say to grads that in this digital age where it looks like EVERY ONE is achieving feats of amazingness, chances are 50% (or more) of your peers aren’t. Everyone is struggling to start a new chapter of life. It’s ok to not know where you want to be and it’s ok to not like where you are now. Just know patience and taking every opportunity you can will help you build towards where you want to go.
Through the Tea Cupboard 