Falling

I’ve woefully neglected these posts over the last month, despite the fact that I had told myself I was going to post at least once a week. It’s not that inspiration has not struck me in that time; I’ve written quite a lot. But, I’ve honestly just been busy.

My internship is interesting, time consuming, and definitely not what I want to do with the rest of my life. Granted I knew this when I started, but I thought that I should just put it out there. It’s a specialized area and I’m still not sure that I want to be a lawyer. You need to be a lawyer to do this. I love the law; I’ve studied it in various forms for the past six years, but law school? Probably not for me. I’m sure if I attended, I’d do well but there are too many factors that I must take into consideration that sway me away from it. Most importantly, the cost. Any school that I’ve contacted thus far considers a loan their only form of scholarship or financial aid. A loan is not a scholarship. It means that when I graduate, the law or graduate school that I just attended is even more expensive than I expected and I will be paying for it for the next thirty years. I don’t want that. I went to the University that I attended because I received a scholarship. I didn’t want to be the student that is saddled with debt for the rest of his or her life.

I want to help people, I love politics, history, and law, and I’d want to work either overseas or in an international capacity. It’s relatively broad and that’s my problem. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do. I’d love to be a mediator or arbitrator because I’d be able to help facilitate a solution to someone’s problem. There are no standards for a mediator, unlike with the field of law. My dog could call himself a mediator if he so chooses, and if he spoke English. That makes me hesitant to pursue that as a career, it seems unstructured.

My dream would be to work for a diplomatic embassy or the United Nations in that capacity, but I haven’t discovered how to find those jobs. The closest I’ve come to that is I applied to take the Foreign Service Exam. If I do well on that, I may be able to get into diplomatic service… which would be incredible.  I hope that I am able to take the test and do well on it, which would probably make my career dreams come true.

The other option, which would allow me to study politics and work in an international capacity, is journalism. My favourite news source is the BBC, as they have incredible coverage throughout the globe and I find them to be quite trustworthy. Unfortunately, I am not a strong enough writer for that to be a true option. I’d be fascinating, but I’m not sure that I would be qualified for the position.

There are certain museums that I would love to work in, like the Museum of Natural History in New York City but I also am unsure if I am qualified for a position such as that one. I’ve been told that I would become bored if I worked in a museum, but somehow I doubt that assertion. History is fascinating, the study of cultures, the past, people, and the artifacts that bring them all together. If taught properly, I think anyone can find history interesting.

Eventually, I would like to teach one of those subjects; history, political science or civics, or law. I’ve always felt that teachers who had real-world experiences in their fields were always the best teachers. They could bring a layer of discussion or knowledge to the table that even the best teacher (who had only ever been a teacher) lacked. But first, I need to figure out where I want to go with my career.

Trepidation

Today begins the rest of my life, sort of. The job search is on and though this won't be the job I have for the entirety of my adult career, it helps me further my educational goals. I need a job because education is expensive, there are very few schools that I've looked into that offer any type of financial aid other than a Stafford Loan. And guess what? A loan is not financial aid, its a financial drain on my future. If I took out loans, I'd probably spend a good portion of that illustrious adult career paying them back. And I have no intention of being one of those students who take out over $100,000 in loans just to go to a school with a prestigious name. For my undergraduate degree, I chose to attend the school that offered me a full academic scholarship and I've never regretted that decision. I loved my school and plan to be an active alumnus if possible, despite the fact that it is two hundred miles from my current residence.

A few days ago, I went to an informational interview with the campaign manager of on of my state's congressmen. It was an incredible experience as I've never been to an informational interview before. He suggested that I apply for an internship program in the state government, which was paid and over the summer. As soon as I arrived home, I sent my resume to the individual in charge of the program and the next morning they called to schedule an interview. Today is that interview and I'm excited, a little nervous but its not as dramatic as my title alluded to it being. I'm dressed in business attire: dark blue shirt, grey slacks (yes, I said slacks), black flats and my hair is up. Apparently, hair up is professional and my hair down is not. Go figure. I have a bag with a fancy pen in it, my leather padfolio, and multiple copies of my resume.

I just returned from the interview which it was less of an interview, more of a... "Hmm where should I send your information for a job" conversation. Well that was fast, not that I'm complaining. Here I was prepared for standard interview questions, my strengths, my weaknesses, and had queries for them. Instead, he asked me what I wanted to do and immediately began to sift through his file of internship opportunities. Since the state government cannot help me pursue my ultimate career goals of working in an international setting like in a diplomatic embassy or for the United Nations, he concentrated upon my interests in conflict negotiation, dispute resolution, and peace studies.  He kindly forwarded my information/resume to Health and Human Services, where I may see conflict under the tutelage of a seasoned attorney. That's if I get the internship there, and my interview is next week so we'll see.

I've also received news that a city near me is looking for a Town Planner. The Universities in my state have either stopped their planner programs or are just not educating as many planners these day. Planners help to develop and potentially implement various things in the state, including growth plans, historical conservation, and regeneration plans. I barely know what a town planner does in their day-to-day jobs as the research I've done does not give enough details to give me a clear idea. Research also does not equate to talking to the town planner, being taught how to be one, or learning through coursework.  I've also noticed that it can be a very political job, which is why I should not be surprised that the Town is looking for a smart, energetic, political science student to do the job. It's an incredible opportunity, but it also requires not only a thirst knowledge but desire to learn new things. And honestly, though I never considered a job like that I think I would really enjoy it. I may be asking for an interview there at some point in the near future. Who knows what could happen from that?