Plot Twist

We’ve just entered the fourth quarter and last stretch of the year. It is not a spoiler to say that this has not been the best year of our lives at the Temple.

The year started with such promise! I was finishing a meaningful internship when I got a call from an agency and placed in a fantastic consulting gig. It was the dream job serving a STEM initiative for women in higher education, and I helped create their online community.

Then I took the job in Sunset Park although it was not quite what I needed or even what I really wanted. This was what had to be done to meet my basic needs, and even that was barely possible—practicing creative accounting to stay afloat isn’t easy but it keeps your brain working overtime.

It wasn’t a horror story by any means. My boss was very nice and my office mate was fun. Also, I loved the idea that I could be home in about 20 minutes. I took the bus to and from work. I also learned a couple of things (which I admit I probably will never use again).

The plan was to find a full time, permanent job while engaged there. The three-week hospital stay interrupted the search, the follow through on that campaign, and the momentum I had going.

Now that the gig in Sunset Park has come to an end I again face uncertain times. And by that I simply mean that because I did not reach my original goal of having secured a permanent position during the summer, now I find myself at a disadvantage and playing catch up, so to speak.

No more foggy mornings at the edge of the cemetery...

This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is exciting to stand at the precipice of another adventure. It is also slightly nerve wreaking because time moves a lot faster when you have limited resources. The pressure grows exponentially as you move forward, but the trick is to learn to use it as fuel rather than let it drag you down.

If it were easy, it wouldn’t be interesting, would it? It’s probably better to have that tiny flame under you to jump start your journey. 

Job searching can take a lot of twists and turns, and it can be especially grueling when you don't have a steady back-up plan. Patience and perseverance are essential survival tools.

Ultimately, despite its ups and downs, there have been some great moments this year. More importantly, there are still a few months left to close out 2014, and it would be irresponsible to call it a day already: this may be the best year yet with a plot twist to end all plot twists!

Don't count me or 2014 out yet, we still have some serious fight in us to make this an exceptional year.