Feb. 15, 2013

For those of you not totally in the know here's a fun fact: I'm looking for a job.

Yes, I'm one of those well educated, well traveled, critical thinkers who has become statistic in this economy. Whoever said serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer would do wonders for your career obviously didn't take this job market into consideration. Most Returned Volunteers (RPCVs) I know are in the same boat as I am. Actually, my boat might have a little more floating capacity because I have a pretty good part-time job.

Thanks to a random conversation and an even more random question, I've been able to pinpoint the common thread in the many jobs I've had and those I'm looking at. My work history covers a wide, wide range of areas including nursing, special needs programming, education, nature education, waitressing, activism . . . and that's just the professional side. There are a lot more things I've done that I wasn't paid for.

This might sound like great experience and in a lot of ways it is, but that much variation can also be a drawback. People with such eclectic backgrounds are often tagged as flaky or are overlooked because they don't have enough experience in one field. I've been trying to find that one, unifying trait that ties everything together since August. In the end it isn't all that exciting unless you're me trying to find a job, but this is my blog so I'm going to tell you anyway :)

Nursing, science, education, nature, journalism, social change . . . these are all things I get deeply excited about. Like nerd-out, what's-wrong-with-this-girl excited. I live for that moment when other people realize that what seemed impossible is, in fact, possible. It's something I try to cultivate in my own life as well. All the jobs I've had have facilitated that experience (maybe not dish washing so much) and that's why I have such a hard time answering the question "so what do you want to go into?" How do you say that in one sentence?

I want to go into excitement! I want to go into people realizing how many possibilities actually exist! I want to go into opening the door to the world!

I know that sounds naively idealistic obnoxious and believe me, I have no illusions about what the world is like. I spent the last 3 years in a rural village in the former Soviet Union. Any illusions I had were dying before I got there and those that survived were quickly extinguished.

Never the less, in my most quiet heart of hearts, that is my truth. I really believe it. What we know is so small compared to what we don't know that it's laughable. 100 years ago, in 1913, people would have literally thought you were crazy if you suggested that we could send information through the air on a "computer network". Back then it was impossible and look where we are today. So maybe the things we think are ridiculous - breathing under water, magic mind powers, superhuman powers - are all just different shades of possible.

Anyway, the point of all that is . . . I applied to three jobs today that I got really exited about. And even if I don't get an interview, I'm super excited that these organizations exist. That's my good thing today.