So I'm walking down the street in downtown South Bend to the bus stop following an interview for a part-time job this summer. Now you're probably thinking that I'm a sophomore looking to find some way to supplement my income so I can "get down on Friday" during the school year as the immensely talented Rachel Black sings since a. I'm using the bus and don't have a car and b. I'm getting a summer job.
However, I am neither of those things. I'm just looking for a way to make some money to help pay off the debt I got senior year. In a lot of ways, I truly do not understand how I got here.
I choose a good liberal arts college, studied hard, and scored a good GPA. I have extracurricular activities, fabulous references, and have held various jobs. Why don't I have people begging for me to work for their company? Is it possible I'm meant for other opportunities rather than having a job this summer? Maybe just maybe I'll win the lottery, decide to take a trip to London meet Prince Harry then we fall madly in love. I pull a Kate Middleton, become a princess and I can live off of his millions, get a title and get these loans out of my hair. Highly unlikely — but I can dream. If that doesn't work then maybe I'll join the Air Force and there will be a Royal Air Force Ball with the United States Air Force. At this ball, Harry spots me from across the room, brings me a vodka cranberry (my favorite) and asks me to dance to "Walking on Broken Glass" by Annie Lennox, a Backer favorite.
This scenario is also highly unlikely, a. because I wouldn't pass the fitness test to enter the Air Force since I cannot even run to the Grotto from Holy Cross Hall and b. growing up in rural Indiana, my dad tried to have me shoot a deer and I promptly dropped the gun, cried "What if the deer has children?" and sulked in the car, so I feel like fighting humans would be even harder on my psyche.
Or am I destined to wait for my life to be fabulous until I'm in my thirties like the ladies of Sex and the City? Do I just have to live with the Payless shoes until I reach the age of thirty-five and then I get to buy Manolo Blahnik stilettos and have a real people career? This question leads me to another: do your twenties just stink and feel restless until you reach your thirties when you're in a more comfortable place in life? Also, is there any way we can speed up this process, much like Adam Sandler did in the highly underrated film Click, and fast-forward or possibly rewind to a time when we're a lot happier and uncertainty isn't the name of the game?
On the opposite end of this dilemma, despite being preoccupied with this concept of wanting to get rid of loans, I also feel compelled, like I'm sure many of us do, to find a career that makes me happy and helps me feel like I'm serving the larger community and God as well. So in closing here, I am at this crossroads of getting a job or applying to graduate or law school. However, I have to hope that, as Robert Frost declared, taking the road less traveled makes all the difference and that picking a path on this crossroads hopefully makes a difference in my bank account, community, security of mind and shoe collection.
Happy job hunting ... and Prince hunting.
Randi Beem is a senior at Saint Mary's. She can be contacted at rbeem01@saintmarys.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
