Coming Home

My best friend, the man I grew up with, is starting a new career soon. He is possibly even buying a house. A good friend I graduated with is moving back home to try and simplify and regain control of her life. My brother moved home for a few years once he graduated college. Overwhelmingly, it seems more and more of my friends fall into one of three categories,all of which are controlled by money and the need to support themselves.

The three should actually be four. The first group are the people who have moved home. Either to take time off, prepare for graduate school, or save money as they start to work in a new career. The second are those who have put off the real world for another few years to attend graduate school. The third group are those of us who are working jobs in retail or food. The fourth and final group are those select few who have "grown up" jobs and are working towards a career.

These four categories,as divergent as they are, are all working towards the same goal: discovering oneself and while trying to navigate the current fiscal situation. Do not think that I am an apologist by any means. There are jobs out there and I still believe in higher education, however I do think that these things are only a small portion of what it takes to be successful.

I will admit that the job climate is much different now than what our parents and grandparents faced. Finding a career out of school is becoming more difficult every year as the pool of qualified applicants grow. And while I do think that it has become harder for people in my generation to find jobs it is not impossible. Now more than ever we need to find and understand what is important to us as we try and navigate this new field.

I currently live in Knoxville with my fiance and every day I hear ads on the radio, see signs in store windows, and see ads in the classified for applicants wanted. A quick Internet search brings up more jobs than one would ever want to admit to existing. Some of the jobs available may not be the perfect "career" job, but they are work. And if you are willing you can live off of them and if you want you can transform them into something much more.

But that is the rub: "if you are willing". All the time people talk about how they are "overqualified" for a job or how there are "underemployed". And in reality what exactly does “underemployed” mean?

Just because someone has a degree or a certain amount of life experience that does not entitle them to anything. In every single field that you work you must start from the bottom in some sense. NO one and I truly mean this, NO one starts at the top. I can hear people screaming about trust fund children, but even their worth must be earned if they are ever to be taken seriously and stay relevant within their chosen field.

What I want to say is that even considering today's job climate, those who push themselves and utilize each opportunity will find success. Sometimes the success you find will not be what you expected, but it will come to those who work. 

So as I look around and watch my friends grow up, see them start families, and watch the world evolve around us I ask all of us to think and realize what is really going on. Most of us could live off of less than we are making now, but that is a topic for another time. I think we have to remember that at times like these, where jobs are harder to find, we have to remember that it is about being true to ourselves while following what really matters. It is about living the values most of our parents taught us: Work hard and you will be rewarded. Be honest. And enjoy life by not getting caught in the small stuff. If we do this in a way we all come home even if its is primarily in spirit.

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