Welp.

So, it's been exactly a month since I last wrote. I've been meaning to write, I swear! It's just...reasons.

Anyway, rather than launch into a hearty apology for not writing, here are a few updates on the things in my life.

Two Interviews, No Job Offers
I had two interviews in D.C. for administrative jobs at nonprofit organizations. I was very excited about both, and I really thought that the interviews went well. I found out two days after one interview that they had chosen someone else, but as I was really hoping for the other position, I wasn't too upset. I finally heard back from the second organization that I didn't get the job today. It took two weeks and my sending an uncomfortable e-mail inquiring about the status of the position for me to hear back. Honestly, it seemed unprofessional and annoying; I doubt that HR decided two hours after I e-mailed that they had just received acceptance from their chosen candidate. Regardless, I'm back to Square 1 on the whole "finding-a-full-time-job-that-doesn't-make-me-want-to-rip-my-eyes-out" front.

So I'm Studying...
Or at least trying to. The test is in exactly one week! I know I haven't prepared enough, but these are some things I've been doing to prepare:

The first Google autocorrect after the title "Guns, Germs, and Steel" is "Guns, Germs, and Steel summary." #America

• finish filling in maps of the world (though I'm not trying to memorize as much; it's more of a basic geographical understanding)
• read a few articles from the newest issue of Foreign Affairs
• obsessively listen to NPR (though that's not a new thing)
• Watch some documentaries (or at least parts of them...), including Ken Burns' The War and National Geographic's Guns, Germs, and Steel (based off the Jared Diamond book). Guns, Germs, and Steel is on the suggested reading list for the FSOT test. I wasn't able to locate it at my library, and frankly, I had enough things to read, so I watched the 3-part series. It was informative but pretty repetitive, so I hope to read the full book and get more details sometime soon.

• Take some practice tests related to geography, business, and economics 'cause I'm not so good at those.
• Read up on my U.S. history through the Complete Idiot's Guide to American History and The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. The first is mostly to brush up on basic facts about wars, presidents, important court cases, etc. The second is on the suggested reading list for the FSOT, and it's fascinating. Obviously, it's a little difficult to read from cover to cover, as it's a dictionary. But there's SO much information in here and it's impossible to pick the book up without learning something.

Attempting to Re-live College

Homecoming Weekend happened this past weekend. It was simultaneously way better and way worse than I expected. Without going into too much detail (after all, this is my professional blog, and not my diary), I think that it was a difficult weekend because being back at school conjures so many different emotions. The nostalgia of being back in a place so familiar, the joy of seeing old friends, the reliance on others to house you, the frustrations of old friendships that come back so quickly, the sadness that the carefree times of college are over. But I'm glad that I went; I ultimately had a great time and it was awesome to catch up with people I care about (as well as meet some new faces ahhhh I'm so old).

Like I said, this is my professional blog.

Anyway, hope that this long post has made up for the dearth of posts in the last few weeks. Looking forward to posting more in the near future!

Introduction

As it turns out, setting up a blog takes less time than for a tea kettle to boil water.

In other news, hi! On the recommendation of my other half, I've decided to get myself writing again by starting this blog. I just graduated this past May from a small liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with a degree in International Studies (Human Rights NGO Administration). I've spent the summer applying to jobs while still living in my parents' home outside of Philadelphia. As of this moment, I am quite unemployed, and I'm finding a need to remind myself why I chose my career path in the first place.

You see, I'm not completely incapable of finding a job. Just recently, I was offered a corporate job with great benefits in Washington, D.C. The base salary would be higher than anything I'd be making at a non-profit at this point in my career, and there would be quarterly bonuses. The job would allow me to move closer to my boyfriend, to start paying off student loans and even--gasp!--save some money, and to otherwise start the next chapter of my adult life.

But I turned it down. I wasn't passionate about the corporation or its work. A place that generates too much money and too little social change is not a place where I can earnestly make a career. Of course I could do the job, but it would lack the heart that's so present in my academics and volunteer work. And I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where I have a safe roof over my head while I continue to look for jobs that will excite and challenge me. I do not take that for granted, and so I'm starting this blog to keep my writing sharp and study issues that I'm passionate about while I continue my applications.

You can call me naive (perhaps), liberal (definitely), or anything else you like, but I decided a long time ago that I wanted to go in a different direction. And though I'm attempting to convince myself and my readers alike of this fact, I'm hoping this blog brings me a bit more confidence, a bit more practice in writing/editing, and a bit of an adventure.

-Caroline