I didn't think it would come so soon. I thought I still had some time left. I thought I could put it off for just a little while longer. You know hit the snooze button a couple times before I had to face the real world, beyond college. Whenever I thought about my future, my life once I graduated, it seemed so far away. It felt as if that day (when I had to survive in the real world) would never come. Last semester that fog started to lift and my future seemed to be a lot closer to my present than I had originally thought it was. Despite the real world being so close and near my grasp, I was distracted by the fact that I was going to be graduating. I only had one more semester until I was finally done with school. I was looking to the future, but not very far.
I knew I needed to start thinking about what I was doing after I graduated. I knew I needed to find a job; was I going to move back home for a while, or only a little bit? I knew I needed to start applying for jobs, but I thought I had time, a month or so at least. Then it happened. The real world called to say I no longer had the time I thought I did. That month I had, or thought I had, was over, and it was beginning to be crunch time. What was this wake-up call? Ironically enough, it was an actual phone call.
Right before my last class of the day started on Friday, I got a call from a number I didn't know. Unfortunately, I was in a basement, so the call was dropped before I could figure out who it was. Then my class started; so I couldn't call the person back. So, after I get out of my class, I call the number back to figure out who it is. Turns out he's a recruiter for an insurance type company located in Dallas, and he found my resume on the BYU erecruiting website. He wanted me to come to a lecture the CEO of the company was giving at BYU, and then come to their booth at the Career Fair so that he could meet me. I gave him my email so he could send me more information on the job.
Oh, funny side note: He thought I had hung up on him when it actually just dropped the call, so he deleted my information and resume from their database. Kind of a quick jump to a conclusion don't you think?
I immediately called my dad to tell him I think I just got offered a job. I was shocked and excited at first, but then I realized yeah, it's a job, but not one I want to do. My dad basically said that a job's a job and that it could be a backup plan. "If you're starving on the streets, a job is a job," says my dad. "You're going to put me out on the streets and let me starve?" I reply. "No. I'm just saying...," my dad sheepishly answers.
Well after that uplifting conversation with my father, the full effect of the real world's call finally hit me. If I want to get a job in something I actually want to do, something I would enjoy doing (because I can tell you right now that insurance job is something I do not want to do. I'm sorry; it does not sound all that appealing to me) for the rest of my life, I need to start now because soon, I won't have any time left. As much as I wanted to put off the fact that I would soon be thrust into the real world, the time has come. I think I'll be okay, I'm not too worried about finding a job (I mean that insurance company is just begging me to come). What I am worried about is finding a career or a job that can lead me to the career that I want.
I've got lots to worry about this semester actually: finding a job, keeping up with my school work, getting things ready for graduation, and later on in the semester packing my things. Even though I have these worries, and I have a lot of things I have to think about, I still am going to try to find a balance and still have fun. It's my last semester, and I want it to be one I will remember. I want to have fun and be with my friends. The real world may be calling, but I have call waiting.
