In typical fashion my parents dropped me off at the airport
much too early, leaving me time to work on one last pre-Korea post (okay,
perhaps I have taken to this blogging thing). I felt I had to mention the fact that while looking at a
suggested packing list from my recruiter the other day I came across an item
that, while I had thought about it, I hadn’t considered it part of the “packing
list.” It basically said, if you have plans for after Korea, start thinking
about and preparing for them now…. excuse me while I go make some room in my
suitcase for emotional baggage.
If you’re like me, a recent college graduate looking to
enjoy his/her twenties, but a little uncertain about what is next, seeing
things like that might send you into a bit of a tizzy. Clearly it’s a valid
statement, especially for anyone looking to apply for grad school when they get
back from abroad, but for me I see this trip as being a little more indefinite,
and I am hopeful that if I work hard and make connections, I might have a
better idea of what I want to do when I leave. For some, teaching English
abroad is an interlude between college and the “real world”, but for me this is
an entry way into the “real world”, an opportunity that will give me skills
that one day might help me actually land that dream job or help me figure out
what that “dream job” even is…
While putting my deeply personal fear of what’s next out on
the internet is uncomfortable for me, I’m writing this for myself as much as
for the many other post grads I’ve talked to, even those who appear to have it
altogether, that are struggling. Hopefully this resonates with anyone who feels
anywhere from mildly, to completely and utterly stuck, lost, or confused.
Though I always wanted to travel around Asia, I never thought taking a job in
South Korea would feel like a more viable job options, or even a better career
move, than staying in the States.
My fellow classmates and I stepped out into
the world in the midst of a seemingly endless economic crisis, and I know a lot
of people who are not where they’d thought they’d be four years ago, myself
included. The adults reading this are probably thinking “duh”, but I think a
lot of us have been led to believe, or at least have felt, that by the time you
graduate college you are supposed to know who you are, what you want, and how
to get it. That may sound silly, but people don’t tell you often that it’s a life
long process of figuring it out, and wondering if you’re even doing it right.
Doesn’t exactly make a great message for a commencement speech.
I’m just going to be out with it. This probably isn’t
universal, but I certainly don’t think I’m alone in feeling that if you
graduated from college and are not going into finance, consulting, advertising,
Law/Medical School, or at the very least TFA, then you are doing something
wrong. I should probably thank my parents for constantly reminding me that
despite being a little unorthodox, I do in fact have a “real job.” I tend to
think of it like another study abroad experience, but in actuality, I will be
living on my own, on a salary, and navigating the same complexities one faces
with their first “real job”, except I’ll be adding a dash of language barrier
and a pinch of culture shock. I will be teaching at a public high school, just
like if I applied to be a teacher in the States.
I think sometimes we all need
a little reminder that the paths to success are varied and can be as
interesting as you make them. In my experience, you have to play by the rules,
but there’s always a little room for rebellion. Though it may be hard to come
home and find that my friends/peers are a little farther ahead financially or in
their careers than me, what is best for them isn’t necessarily best for me. I
am trying to start measuring my success in experiences gained and things
learned, as well as goals met.
My serious long-term goals are pretty much the same as
everyone else’s: a career, a family, a house, and a car (or two). But lately
I’ve been trying to rethink my attitude toward the future. If it hasn’t been
made clear already, I totally sympathize with those who have mini, internal
meltdowns when they start thinking too hard about what’s next. I’m already
headed down a windy and adventurous road to my long-term goals, and I’ve
decided it’s high time to stick to my guns and stop worrying about what every
last “Top 10 Things You Must Do to be Successful and Happy” article has to say
about my future. So here for everyone to see is a short list of things I want
to accomplish in Korea:
1)
Learn Korean
2)
Backpack through at least one country by myself (sorry mom)
3)
Meet lots of interesting people
4)
Run a half-marathon
I’m putting up this list to one, hold myself accountable,
and two, prove that short term goals are just as important and
as fulfilling as long term ones. I don’t want to get so caught up in worrying
about the future that I overlook the looooonnnggg stretch of ten, twenty,
thirty years in between. I’m not saying to one shouldn’t plan ahead at all, it
is important, but it is also important to leave room for the unexpected. I
think if you continuously make the effort to be a better person, educate
yourself, meet new people, and try new things, you may find success that is
better than anything you could have planned. Hopefully if I am reading this
twenty years from now, no matter where I am, I can at least say that I tried my
hardest and had a good time doing it.
And thus begins my trip to South Korea. Day 1.
No comments:
Post a Comment