The beginning of my starfish story

In my job training, our trainer shared with us a story that over the years Jenny Craig has adopted as its' story of inspiration. Tomorrow is my first day on the job so I decided to remind myself of its' message and share it with those who may read this. 

The Starfish Story

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed

a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. 
The surf is up and the tide is going out.  If I don't throw them back, they'll die.
You can't make a difference!

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish,
and threw it back into the surf.  Then, smiling at the man, he said 

"I made a difference for that one."

Here is to hoping we can all find our starfish-- the way we will make an impact on this world no matter how slowly.  I think my Jenny Craig clients will make some great starfish. :)

Until next time,

-a less befuddled than usual post-grad

The questions they ask and the way they ask them

    Some of you may know this about me, but I am a big fan of two things 1. Quotes 2. The television show Home Improvement.  This post has been inspired by a quote from Home Improvement.

"Every job has one thing in common...it has to be done and it has to be done well."

   After quitting the aforementioned nonprofit canvassing job I took out of college, I decided to take a job at AMC Theatres.  This was my attempt to get the bad taste of my last job out of my mouth and to gain customer service experience in the process.  Plus, free movies.

   At times, while working at AMC, I could not help but notice the judgement customers (or guests as AMC insists we call them) exuded while interacting with me.  It was as if I could visibly see how little regard and respect they held for the job my co-workers and I did.  As anyone who has had a service industry job can tell you, there are instances where guests forget that they are talking to a human and disregarded anything resembling manners or common decency.

    That was a tough pill for me to swallow, but those were strangers who did not who I was or what I stood for.  What was worse, was dealing with the judgement that followed after answering the question post grads are asked ad nauseam, "What do you do with your life now that you are done with school?"  This question particularly annoys me because you know that in most cases they aren't looking for any existential answers.

    They aren't asking you if you are happy or enjoying your life and what you are doing with it.  They are asking you where you work, as if that somehow tells them how successful you are.  To me, the real tragedy of this is that recent post-grads pose this question (with intention to judge) to each other.  However, that is a rant for another time.

    To see peers' judgement of what job I had bothered me on a deep level.  Sure, I was slightly annoyed that they were judging ME.  Yet, I was more annoyed that some people of my generation have not realized the concept the above Home Improvement quote is trying to convey.  It should not be about what job you do, but how well you do it.  How you do your job is what reveals character and strength; not what your title is.  I do not know about you, but I would prefer to be judged on my character and thoughts rather than on my job.  Without attempting to sound like Tyler Durden... I am not my job.

Until next time,
- A befuddled post-grad

 

Introduction

    Not quite sure how to start off a blog. I have not written for anyone other than myself or professors since I gave up livejournal 6 or so years ago. Oh, those days. Really, I feel like writing a blog is a bit presumptuous because it assumes people care what I have to say or that I can say it well. But, I'll give it a shot.

   A quote I came across today inspired me to begin tracking my thoughts.

 "The tragedy of life is not death ..but what we let die inside of us while we live." 

Upon reading this, I realized that I have let some of the fire in my belly go out.  Sure, I post statuses or articles on facebook to put my two cents out into the virtual stratosphere, but I haven't really...given it to the man.  I wish I had a better way to put that. I'll explain further. 

   In college I was involved in quite a few social justice groups. I was also a political science major. I would eat,sweat, and breathe politics. I was constantly surrounded by people I could soundboard off of and have a heated discussion with. I was volunteering for causes I cared about even if it meant knocking on people's doors in the cold. Then, a post-grad job I took where I was canvassing on the streets of Chicago for great causes like Planned Parenthood and Save The Children was not at all what I expected.  The way the organization was ran was a let down to say the least.  Not to be dramatic, but I am going to be dramatic, it crushed a bit of my idealism.  It certainly left a bad taste; smothered some of the fire in my belly, so to speak.

   SO this blog is my attempt to fire myself up again.  I still have plenty of idealism in there, just need to coax it out.  Maybe if I post about issues or get some befuddled post-grad (oh hey, there's the title) rantings out I will get my idealistic swag back.  If I am really lucky, I will get some others fired up a bit as well. 

Until next time,

-A befuddled post-grad