Are You An Airhead

I walked into the job interview and the interviewer says tome, "I've researched and I see you do pageants, we don't want an airhead." I wanted to say "what seems to be very "ditzy" is the fact that you think pageant girls are airheads. " Actually, we're normally the top percent of our class in school and are probably more up to date on current events than anyone because we prep so intense for interviews. We dedicate ourselves to our work; spending countless hours toward community service, sacrificing fun with friends in order to practice, we give up our favorites foods in order to show the judges our dedication to fitness, sometimes even rearranging our lives in order to best prepare for a state/national title. My point is not to talk about pageant life, it is to talk about the reality/struggles of POST-GRAD LIFE. My journey being a post-graduate has been interesting, as you can see from that snippet of one of my recent job interviews. I am actually having a good time interviewing and learning about different companies and brands but there is that nagging feeling that I can't get rid of. Its impatience. I want to know where I will be officially starting my career, how I will get there, and those are things I can't really see at the moment.

I equate graduating college to this metaphor; College is like a cruise ship. You don't have to steer the ship, you just ride. You pick a major and the classes are pretty much picked for you. You have comforts and amenities such as on-campus housing, dining halls, free food events, work study jobs, lots of fun, and pretty much everything is handed to you. Well, when you graduate you get a piece of paper called a degree, or what I'd say is your own little canoe. Graduation day they kick you off the cruise ship into your canoe and now you are left to fend for yourself in the wide open sea. HUFF, my sea has been interesting to say the least. I have maps, plans, and goals made in my canoe but sometimes I miss the cruise ship and it's comforts. But, who really grows in their comfort zone?

Post-grad life is exciting. Its fun and different, but also can be a harsh reality. (With all the trouble in the world it's a harsh reality I do not mind dealing with. I am so very grateful to have had the opportunity to achieve a higher education...) After graduating from college, if you do not have internships and jobs already lined up,then you will be like me on a search. That search is quite weird. For me, it feels like a wide open sea and I have no clue which way I would like to paddle.  

I ask my compass, the holy spirit, daily to take me where he should lead and it provides me with solidarity. Yet, if you are like me and like a sense of control over things, this place can be uncomfortable. Maybe you have a job that you love, but there is a little nag inside of you telling you to step outside your comfort zone and start your own business. Or maybe you are in a difficult situation that you can't solve and you can't see the outcome. There is something all of us planners, controllers, and "impatients" (lol). We can P.R.E.P. 

P stands for practice. Practice or find ways to prepare for where you want to be in life. Research and plan but just don't sit and do nothing. 
R represents realizing you aren't in your situation alone, somebody else has been where you are and made it out alive, so keep going! 
E represents easy. Life will not be always be cupcakes and rainbows, but when you actively choose to find peace in God and his plans it can make waiting for the manifestation of your dream (job, car, house, husband..) a tad bit easier. 
The last P stands for prayer. I have to constantly commune with God. He is my best friends and knows me so well. 

Before I received my new car, we had a chat in my old car that still makes me laugh to this very day. I said, "Lord I'm grateful for this car but every time I get out of it I feel as though it doesn't represent us. I'm kind of stylish and this car is not so fab anymore. As your daughter I think we should upgrade my ride!  You see me lord, look at this old Thunderbird." I gave it to him and soon my new car came. God has a sense of humor (I love you Jesus), because the new car is a major upgrade but it also has an eccentric flavor to it. The person who sold it made some esthetic changes to the front of the car adding flames into the design (HAHAH). Therefore, it is now known as "the flame thrower". It is so unique, I am almost tempted to hold off on the paint job. Anyway, the point is that he heard me, he continues to hear me, and I am not really in the open sea alone. Neither are you.

Muah,
Gabby