A Long & Unexpected Journey—To My Career.
Sometimes I feel like I am on the most perilous of journeys, much like Frodo Baggins. Yet, the only band that I possess is a class ring from middle school, engraved “class of 2011.” It is a daunting little thing because when I look at it, I am reminded of those middle school Career Days. Oh, the days when accomplished professionals visited our school to speak to us unimpressed kids! We met everyone from engineers to lawyers, wearing suits and ties like emblems of six-figure salaries and accomplishments.
What a nightmare, right?
That is not my Sauron!
This question is--were I to be invited to one of those career days, what would my suit and tie say to those unimpressed kids?
My cufflinks would say, "graduated with a Bachelor's in 2019!"
I remember my senior year of college--I had all these big dreams. I wanted an apartment in Manhattan so I would be close to my high-paying job. I would start saving up to feed my entrepreneurial spirit--maybe a startup! By now, I would have about 4 years of experience—enough to get most entry-level jobs. With all that wisdom, I would be a mentor. Because without the weight of my imposter syndrome, I’d be confident enough to impart the gems I came upon while navigating the Middle Earth of the professional realm.
But that wasn’t the case.
The rest of 2019, after graduating, was a basket of interviews and no offers. Over and over, I kept having to repeat details of every design project I did until I felt madness akin to that of Gollum. I had lost my precious... sanity maybe. The results were always the same
"Thanks for your interest in joining our team...but."
Luckily, with the support of my family, I kept afloat. I remember during my senior year, I met with an established engineer that worked in the textile industry, I believe. Not only did he scold me for coming unprepared for the interview (that haunts me to this day, now I always do my research!) but, something he said stuck with me. He recited something along the lines of "success is all about being a hustler."
So, I hustled the rest of 2019.
As I awaited that life-changing opportunity, I kept myself sane through design and writing. I honed my design skills through continued learning. My major in information science exposed me to the many provinces of design: graphic, web, UX, and even game design. My career goal, I decided then, was visual design/UX design. I summed it up as wanting to work with colors, type, and visual pieces with the added focus on usability and experience. But at that stall in the path to the promised land, I was looking to do anything. With my exposure to game design, I had the crazy idea of making a game as a passion project--being a programmer, designer, and everything else. It was ambitious! I built website after website, learned web building tools (CMS), and picked up new coding languages. I kept learning because that was the only thing I best knew how to do. Eventually, I decided to do some freelance work. I built websites and even commissioned my creative writing skills to write poems.
Yet, I was still waiting for "my precious!"
My checkered tie would say, "COVID made things hard!"
I hoped that 2020 would be better, but the job market went mad. I was brandishing my sword at the Battle of The Pelennor Fields as thrice the set of orcs sent spears flying. I secured an internship working with the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) as an ICT intern. That encompassed a bit of graphic and web design. To garner some more income, I worked as an Algebra tutor. That summer, I also worked with a non-profit organization, The Guyana Cultural Association, which I had been a part of, to help facilitate a virtual summer camp. I was doing every little thing I could to keep myself busy.
These were not the places I thought I would be. They felt like unexpected bridges that I now see as pitstops of learning. Though that senior year dream mustered hegemony in my mind, I walked these bridges for the learning experiences they were.
The treasure I found on these paths:
I learned many things about myself, the character Sam:
I learned how much I valued learning--this being a curse many times as I can't seem to focus on one thing at a time. I learned to challenge myself. I became a "hustler." I learned to adapt, particularly in my role as a tutor. I battled self-confidence. Initially, I questioned my competency in teaching someone else—I felt that I didn't have the extensive knowledge to effectively instruct someone who is not myself. I adapted to the role. I planned, studied, and prepared beforehand to generate that confidence that I needed to feel. I learned about resilience.
My tailored suit would say, "2021 was a little sprinkle of covid and customer service!"
Navigating 2021 started out rough. I still didn't know how to read maps, and my life continued off course. So, I mustered all the optimism I had left. By luck, I managed to land a customer service job with no prior experience. This was my most challenging role because it was outside my comfort zone. It was fast-paced, interactive, demanding, and many things that roused my anxiety. Not only did I have to constantly interact with strangers with differing personalities, but I had to live by the adage “the customer is always right.” In the real world, no one is always right! I met many orcs at the register, some with poisoned tipped spears as tongues and those that blamed you for every shortcoming of the whole company. Nevertheless, the pass over this bridge was not always so bleak.
The treasures I found on this path:
This was an uncomfortable job for me, as I never liked being so “visible.” My personality leaned more toward being introverted. I was never the one to initiate conversation, especially with strangers, unless I needed to. Working in customer service was something I once dreaded, but having this experience took me out of that comfort zone. I learned more about my willingness to adapt to different, and uncomfortable environments. I met many personalities and adjusted my attitude to do my job the best I could. I learned to be a team player. I got to work on a team and experienced the dependency of helping each other carry the weight of the workload. I learned the importance of communicating among ourselves, holding one another accountable, and being our own support system.
My shoes would say, "it's 2022, and I am still not at my destination yet!"
I am still driving there. I haven’t met any stop signs yet, though Mt. Doom gazes at me in the distance. My battle is different. It is seemingly unexpected, winding, and uncertain. I do not know what exactly to feel. But I can say for sure that I am learning!
So, if I was invited to a middle school Career Day, I might say
