The 8th of October of last year holds some sort of significance in my twenty years of existence in Mother Earth. Even though I don't look a day over 14, I graduated from college that day. I was reminded by a status made by my friend, blockmate, and fellow literature junkie that we reached our, ehem, anniversary of being an alumni of De La Salle University just last weekend, asking, "So, kamusta na ang buhay one year after grad?"
Let's see what I've achieved so far, shall we?
1) Right after graduation, I went back to one thing that I love the most next to reading/writing--dance. I joined a a December recital in a ballet school near ours (where I practically grew up in). It was three months of rigorous training and getting back in shape after trading it up--more like giving it up--for three years and one term in college.It was a great show, mind you. It felt good to be onstage again.
2) After debating within myself that I should get up off my bum (read: bum, get it?) to look for a job and stop mooching off my parents (as I am already a grown up, I presumed), I scoured Jobstreet for companies and jobs that I would love to do. I became so choosy because I was so caught up with the thought that there is absolutely no way that I'm going to apply for a job that I don't like in the first place. But I guess the saying "'Wag kang choosy kung hindi ka naman yummy" also applies in the "real" world. I immediately went for the big companies even though I knew I was under-qualified, lacked training/experience and so on and so forth. I was gripped and inspired to pursue this because I know that I had with me what couldn't be included (unless if you don't want to be seen as cheesy or cliche-ic) in my resume: passion and determination. Long story short, I got no replies.
3) But lo and behold, a local magazine (although believe me, it doesn't look like it) saved me from preempted months of bumming around. Although I applied for a regular position, they can offer no more than an internship for me. Oh how my parents were sordidly against it. It was family dinners of endless "Graduate ka na, dapat i-hire ka na nila, hindi na internship." I kept quiet but eventually I won over them and took three glorious months of being an intern for a magazine. It was my dream job, as far as I could remember and I felt I was already there.
4) Three amazing-best-time-of-my-year-slash-life months later, my contract ended. Sooner or later it had to, and I tried my hand at applying for other companies again. I was pretty confident that I gathered enough experience already to bag a job.
But I didn't.
I end with four items only (so much for a list, eh?) because, here I am, back to being a bum, not even trying to look for a job, but just mindlessly typing this entry. Well, it's not because I decided to take advantage of being Daddy's Little Girl (I am Number Six out of six siblings) and live off them until the guy I'm dating marries me.
I've decided, with a very big and helpful shove from my mom, to study again.
Honestly, it wasn't because I lost hope, or that no one would ever give me a job. I decided to study again because, first of all, after taking my internship at a magazine--my ultimate dream job--where I got to write articles that got published, blog everyday, attend Fashion Week (FOR FREE?!?!), assist in photo shoots, attend press releases/conferences, party (yes, party) every now and then.... what's next? What now? I felt like that I've conquered my dream job already that I caught myself in a dead end.
Second of all, there's just so much to learn. It took me three years to finish college. And while most people commend me on that, I'm not exactly as ecstatic about it as they are. One of the things that I appreciate about taking up Literature in college, was that it left me hungry for more. More knowledge, more people to recognize, more books to read, more places to see--just a lot more.
When I dreamed of working/writing for a magazine, that's the farthest I can dream back then, in high school. But knowing what I know now, knowing what I've already been through, I've set for myself bigger dreams. Dreams that I know I can easily achieve--but not without finishing my secondary course first.
So here I eagerly await for my second first day in college which starts in less than a month. I'm excited. Excited for new surroundings, new people, new knowledge.
What comes next after that? I'm not entirely sure. I'll be in school for another three or four more years. When I graduate from this school, I'll be 25 by then if and when it hits me to write yet another anniversary post on graduating. Hopefully it doesn't have the word "bum" in it any longer.
Still can't help but hope for the day that being a professional student makes loads of cash... aside from the weekly allowance I get from my parents.
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