I’ve come to a crossroads in life that I think most people hit right about this time. Being 22, jobless, and working for free is a very humbling experience that makes you wonder just how much your college education was worth. Thirty resumes later I’m thinking it must be something in my cover letter. But really, life doesn’t get as bad as when you’re working at the mall and a customer tells you that there is poop in the dressing room. Yes, someone wiped their butt on the cloth curtain, and there are two giant smears of brown poop stinking up the stall. My boss thinks it’s chocolate, but my co-workers have taken my side. They, who have seen customers with blue shorts and orange shoes pull down their pants and pee indiscriminately on the floor of the stall, and when confronted, simply laugh. But I do have some sweet things going on, which act to counterbalance if not outweigh all the craziness. I have a sweet internship for which I get paid a generous $5 a day, the people are great and my brain has swelled to four times its normal size due to excessive information influx. I live in a bug-free apartment near a metro stop that brings me closer to my big-city dreams. And, on Saturday, I found $100. That’s 20 days of work at USA TODAY, and two days of folding t-shirts. I think I’m going to quit both jobs and start just looking around for money-I might make more.
Just Finished: The Birth of Venus, by Sarah Dunant (Loved it!*****)
Currently Reading: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Yes, you must get a job that doesn’t provide access to skidmarks in stalls at Delia’s. I have two daughters just a little older than you. While trying to find their way, as it were, they hooked up with a temp agency to make a living wage. In doing so, you can request assignments in the field(s) in which you’re interested. That’s hit and miss but it’s better than a $5 a day internship and exposure to Delia’s …
Good luck!