Life After College

I graduated from the University of Maryland in May 2015.  Everything changed after that; there are more responsibilities and deadlines. Syllabuses are not included.
I vividly remembered the ceremony day. The room was full of hopes, dreams and uncertainty. Everyone was laughing and hugging goodbyes, pretending everything is okay. I did not even want to go there because I felt like a failure; I was so unsure of my future. The only reason I went is because of my parents, I do not want to disappoint them.  Most of my friends already received job offers. The post-graduation survey did not help either. One thing I knew for sure, I better started blasting those resumes out cause most of the students there were just as anxious and nervous as I was.

 

Fast forward to the second week of post-graduation, I entered the “jobless crisis” mode. Literally, every job I applied to, I failed their technical interviews. I was so crushed. I tried to study and review all my materials, but my nervousness got the best of me.  At that point, I was so certain that I am going to be a homeless and live with my parents for the rest of my life. My best friend was still looking for jobs back then, but he landed on an engineering job in a matter of 3 weeks. I was so proud of him, but part of me also died a little. (Does it make me a bad person just to be jealous of my best friend? I do not know, I did tell him in a way, but there is more to that, and I do not want to go into depth for this post).

 

After applying to some 70 job applications within a two-months period, I was able to start my career as a technical assistant.  This was not my ideal job, but I was willing to take any opportunity at that point. Thankfully, I was able to meet few incredible people there. They inspire me to become a better person.  “Never compromise your own uniqueness to meet someone else standards, be your own ground, and stand up for yourself”. Company wise, it was a freak show: lots of political agendas and gossips. I am working in a new company for four months now. It is less hectic, people there are respectable, and my teammates are awesome.

 

In term of relationship, I have none. I broke up with my boyfriend after I graduated from college.  I put all my energy into work and work only. (There were few flings, but it did not go anywhere – I wished it would, but it never did). I might blog some relationship experience later on, but I am no expert, I am like an infant.

 

During these times, I have learned few things about myself and my life after college. Family support and faith are the main keys that keep me going. Without these two components, I would not survive. Every rejection letter adds a drop of disappointment in my soul, luckily, I turned to my family for support and encouragement. Believing in something that is larger than myself enables me to view life differently. It makes me feels that hard work does pay off, I just need to stay focused and hone my strengths and skills. Someone will eventually notice it.

 

This past one year and a half is a roller-coaster ride for me. With all of the craziness and loneliness, one thing I know for sure, I would not change a damn thing about my life. I am not saying this just because I am in a better place now than the day I graduated.  All those feelings, experience, lessons, and emotions make me who I am today.  Who knows what the future holds, but I am ready to face it. Enjoy the moment, accept defats, learn from them, and move on. There are the steps that I am still figuring out myself.

 

Stay blessed and Happy Monday –

 

-Being Salty

 

 

 

 

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Goals

The first few weeks of a new year, I always feel fresh, grateful, and mostly hopeful of what to come next, and this year, it is no difference. I am not going to lie, I spent almost half of my day yesterday checking my horoscope. I am a cancerian by the way. There is something exciting about new year, it feels like the start of a new chapter, something from a sketch. I do not have faiths in new year resolutions, but I believe in goals and personal growth. One might argues that resolution and goal are the same entity, but I beg to differ. Goals are specific achievements, while resolutions are permanent changes in your life. Permanent? Yes this is why resolutions and I are not best friends. I love to set goals and achieve them, rather than modifying part of myself permanently. For example, I want to be healthy, but not a gym rat (Does it even make sense?). Accomplishing goals can be a great factor to happiness, but they can easily cause discouragement if those goals are not done before their deadlines.

Below are some of my goals for this year:

1. Finish reading 20 books by the end of 2017
2. Pay off my debt and re-establish my emergency cash flow by the end of 2017
3. Go to Europe this summer again (September)
4. Reach 100 followers on WordPress by the end of 2017
5. Received two professional certifications by the end of August
6. Publish creative contents on YouTube channel (20 videos by the end of 2017).

I hope this list will inspire at least one person to create a personal goal for this year. Remember, you do not have to set up your expectations too high, make goals that are attainable in a long run. Two good keys of achieving your goals: planning and commitment. If you master those two items, you are good to go. I am still learning, and hopefully, I would be able to look at this again, and said “I fucking did all of these”.
Hope everyone have a blast and may 2017 helps your grow to be whoever you want to be.

 

Being Salty