Change of Pace

4 months ago my days literally began around 6 am and ended after midnight. I would begin by heading to the Student Union for work as an Audio/Visual Technician. Leave there to head out to my 8 am classes in Communication Disorders and be back to the Union around noon for another work shift. From there, back across campus to tutor and TA a class in American Sign Language (ASL) where I would get a chance to maybe eat a sandwich. Two hours of "silence" later I would be in the Women's Center helping students with everything from crisis situations to giving directions around the 4th Floor. Finishing the day by leading a workshop on diversity issues and how to integrate smart, health lifestyle choices left my mind wandering as I attempted to write an English paper on how Fredrick Douglas the Civil Rights Movement. As I walk into my apartment building I have a few stops on the way to my door as I check in with my residents, ask two rooms to turn down the base and hang flyers for the week's coming events. The RA has finally made it home. Thank goodness for the crazy late-night roommates who have made me a batch of brownies and are now watching reruns of 30 Rock off of Netflix.

This, was a common day.

Today, I am sitting in my bedroom filling out another dozen or so applications for job openings as I wonder if any of the hundreds I have sent out since October ever found their way to an actual human being's hands before being thrown out, electronically of course.

While I was at school I was so involved and saw numerous people everyday who either needed me, needed help in some way, or just wanted a good conversation. In the case of working in ASL, some students did not even need to speak, we simply used our hands .I am so used to playing the multiple roles throughout even a single day that the thought of a full-time, 9-5 job has got me eating butterflies. So maybe, that isn't for me? Maybe, what I am looking for, is a little bit outside of the "normal" socially defined work-week.

The economy is shifting in all new directions and opening up new markets, jobs and opportunities that are going to force us to see things with a fresh eyes. It seems scary now, because it is unknown. But do a little research, find what you are passionate about, and begin to think outside of the box you already know has nowhere to go.

Trust your crazy roommates, friends, parents; anyone in your life you are close to. Talk things out with them and rely on them for support. I would not have made it through a single week without my roommates and their brownies.