Hello, Real World.

I've been at my new job for almost 3 weeks now. I work at Habitat for Humanity as a Government Relations Intern. Right now the biggest project I'm working on is promoting our advocacy efforts through social media and reaching a larger audience. And honestly, I love this job and am sad it's going to be over at the end of June. So I'm making the most of it while I can. 

I love working for a non-profit. That's not to say that I'd never consider working in the corporate world, but the non-profit world is so rewarding. Instead of people being driven by money, they're driven by passion. Nobody's stressed out over profits, we're stressed out because someone has nowhere to sleep at night. It's the epitome of what I believe: People matter more than profits.We do what we do to make the lives of others better, not to make ourselves millionaires. I wish there was more of that in our society, but I feel so blessed to work in such an atmosphere. God placed me somewhere where I can really see His work and blessings on a daily basis. 

In addition to that, I have a GREAT boss. Not only is she hilarious and super flexible, she's incredibly admirable. For all that she's been through she is SO humble and has such a huge heart. She has an open door policy for dinner at her house, allowing homeless people to come and have a meal when they need to. She keeps pairs of gloves in her car to hand out to homeless people outside in the winter. Inside she places a $10 bill and a note that says "You are loved". That is exactly the kind of person I admire, respect, and strive to be. If you'd like to know more about her story, you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay38TnudyDk&feature=player_embedded

I guess my whole point of this is to point out that I have a job I love and that's one of the best feelings in the world. I cannot even begin to say how grateful I am. I encourage everyone to do what they love too, because it's true, it will not feel like work when you love it.

Well, That's Annoying

Well, I'll post about life at my new job in a future blog, but for now I just need to rant about all of the random things that irritate me as of late, some with or without explanation. I have no idea how long this list will be considering I'm simultaneously watching Dawson's Creek. Yeah, I know. Judge me.

1. People who TRY to be hipster. That's not hipster and it doesn't MAKE you hipster. Stop trying. If someone is hipster, they just are. It's not because they make it a point to go out and buy certain clothes, shoes or go to certain places. It's just who they are and those are things they do. It's not forced.

2. Shows like this new show on TLC called "Virgin Diaries". Alright, so I'm all for people having freedom of choice...whether that means having sex before marriage or abstaining. But not even KISSING before your wedding day? I just don't get why people are so afraid of ANY physical intimacy. It is perfectly normal and okay to SHOW someone you love them through affection. It's not a bad, dirty, or scary thing. Also, if you're going to wait until your wedding day to kiss your spouse, that's going to make all of your other physical interactions EXTREMELY awkward. See: http://www.happyplace.com/12508/virgin-newlywed-couple-have-most-awkward-first-kiss-ever

4. In addition to that last point, sexual attraction is normal and dare I say, NATURAL. The fact that people coin these as "impure" is absurd. Having a thought is a lot different than acting on it. Learn self control. Oh and going off of this, let's address modesty, since I watch Sistser Wives and they talked about their modest dress. If you seriously still believe that you're tempting men by the way that you dress, WAKE UP. Why is the blame always placed on the woman? What about a man's self control? No, I'm not saying dress trashy. But really, wear what you want. Clothes are a way to express yourself, not just a way to cover yourself up.

5. A new Vikings Stadium. COME ON! They are 2-9. I don't care what revenue it will supposedly bring to this state. Who builds a team that SUCKS a brand new stadium!?!

6. I cannot even believe there are women that are not feminists. Or that think it's all radical thinking and a bad thing. That's like blatantly saying "I do not believe I am as equal as a man". Think for yourself. Make our own decisions. No man is in control of you. Don't be a puppet. Geez.

7.  The fact that I'm totally blanking on all the other things that have been annoying me recently all because I'm so focused on Dawson's Creek.

Don't settle

I haven't blogged since the end of March! Why? Because I was so busy trying to figure out my life and coming to terms with the fact that my 4 years at Gustavus were coming to an end. And although it took me 5 months after graduation to figure it all out, I'm here and I have at least SOME direction to my life through the end of June.

On Monday, I will start my first day of being a Government Relations Intern at Habitat for Humanity and I couldn't be more excited. I think the most important thing I have learned in this whole job-searching process is to follow your instincts. For months, I networked, did applications and wrote multiple cover letters nearly ever day. Without any results. I felt the most discouraged I have ever felt in my life. I actually felt like a failure. There I sat with a Bachelor of Arts degree and nothing to use it for. There I sat with debt and no way to pay it off. I watched all of my peers and people close to me start on their paths, while I couldn't even begin to find mine.

By the time September rolled around, I thought I may have to swallow my pride. Yes, I had a B.A. but maybe in this economy that wasn't going to matter and I'd just have to take a job that I didn't actually want, in retail or whatever it may be. And everyone was telling me that's exactly what I should do. So, I began to listen and started to apply for things unrelated to my degree and to things that I was certainly overqualified for. Yet no matter how many interviews and job offers I got, something just didn't feel right. I felt like I was selling myself short. This is what a lot of my peers may call "being picky".

I call it following my passion. Something told me I wasn't supposed to give that up, that I was capable and that I could do it. That's the problem with our society and our generation. We give up what we truly love for money. Whether it is to make a lot of money or whether it is to make just enough money to keep getting by. We fear the unknown. We fear the darkness that comes before the light. We let go of our passion so that we don't have to struggle so we can get there. We are too scared. And I was scared. But I refused to lose sight of that passion. Because I knew that if I didn't follow it, I'd regret it. And that fear, that hopelessness, the sense of being lost for 5 months of my life, was all worth it. Because if I would have followed anything other than my passion, I would have still been lost. Possibly for  the rest of my life.

I really think Steve Jobs said it best: "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

On Monday, I get to start to do what I believe is great work. And to love what I do. All because I didn't settle.

Spring "Break"

IT'S SPRING BREAK! Okay, normally I'd be super excited about that, but I'm kinda really not. Why? Well, because it's not really a break. And because it's the last one ever! I have so many things on my to-do list to get done that I can't even keep track. And even though I have gotten a significant amount of things accomplished, I feel like I have completed nothing in the grand scheme of things. Yes, there are still plenty of days left of the break. But, I just don't want to go back to school in that "omg I am overwhelmed every single minute of every single day" mode that I have been in since the beginning of the semester. If I can have things done, I'll feel much happier and save myself some of the stress.

On top of the stress of actual homework and such, I have the stress of figuring out my life. In 2 months from today, I'll be graduating from college. WHAT? I still need to apply to about a billion more jobs because I don't like the idea of putting all my eggs in one basket. And I'm a person that likes to have options. However, on top of my large volume of work, it's hard to find time to job-search so I guess I have to use this "break" for that, too. You know, job searching is really stressful when you don't have a clear path. Like, I don't want to be a doctor or a teacher so it's not like I can just be like oh yes, here's my exact next step. Which makes everything even more stressful. Look at how many times I have used the word stressed. Sigh. Not healthy. Welcome to my life. I can tell how stressed I am due to the fact that all I ever want to do is sleep.

So sleep is what I'll do. Then wake up and it's back to the to do list. There's more to my life sometimes, I swear...

Soviet Naval Strategies

No, this post has nothing to do with the naval strategies of the Soviets, but that's one of the books I am sitting by in the library. The library that I have been in for 8 hours as of one minute ago. I am burnt out. I am so tired. And goodness gracious, I need spring break so badly. I have been up since 6 am. And in about half an hour I'm going to go to bed and wake up early yet again because I have an 8 am meeting. And then not take a break all day because I have a midterm on Thursday. Isn't my last semester of college supposed to not be like this? Well, it's my own fault for double majoring. Hence, my spring break really isn't going to be much of a break. In fact, I have already formulated my spring break to do list.

In other news, well, I'm not sure I have any of that. Homework pretty much consumes my whole life. The bell in the library is about to go off, which means its time to go. Goodnight.

Oddities of the Day

So, I have decided this day is absolutely ridiculous. This morning I got the first bloody nose I have ever gotten in 22 years. After talking to Natalie, I concluded that it was probably from the dry and excessively cold weather. So after freaking out about that for forever, a few minutes ago I went to make a phone call. I haven't been sick (surprisingly!), but no words came out. My voice was just...gone. It's back now, but extremely faded. Sigh. What's next...dare I ask!?!