Currents Magazine Fall 2013

As my over-caffeinated hand
quivers and I take a sip of my third
cup of coffee this Monday morning,
I contemplate the question, “What
would current Me tell senior Me in
an event that time travel existed and
I could knock some sense into my
naïve undergrad self?” But really,
when I was asked to give advice to
the senior class, my initial thought
was to tell you to practice, “The faces
of looking busy when you actually
have nothing to do.” Then again,
I assume we all perfected those
during our freshman year in HUM
111. While reflecting on my roller
coaster of the past six months, I realized
that instead of giving specific
advice, I should explain the two
major trials I have encountered and
let you draw your own conclusions
on how you should prepare for
“The Great Beyond,” a.k.a. life after
graduation.
First, getting ANY job right out
of college was not nearly as difficult
as I thought it would be, but getting
the RIGHT job for me is where I
struggled. I thought I was going
to be the next Lena Dunham and
move to New York, start a new life,
write hilarious things and become
an outstanding voice for my generation….
But then I realized, “Oh
wait, I’m poor and just spent hundreds
of thousands of dollars on my
education.” So, I did as any rational
person would do in the current state
of the economy and chose the job
that would pay the bills. That made
me happy for a bit. I was able to
pay rent, afford gas, buy cheese and
never have to ask my parents for
money. Sounds like the life, but the
challenge came from weighing the
happiness of independence against
the happiness of feeling fulfilled
when you get home every day. The
more I worked, the more I realized
that maybe struggling a bit financially,
but being truly happy with
the work I was doing, may have
been the better option. Of course I
could always do what I love on the
side, but seeing how I’m sitting at
work and ignoring my responsibilities
to write this article shows that
when you get home at the end of
an eight-plus-hour workday, it’s
not that easy to find motivation for
much more than overconsumption
of pizza and binge watching Netflix
every evening.
Next, making friends outside of
college is HARD. College friendships
become strained as people
move away or start their own careers.
Weekend hangouts become
less frequent, and unless you’re really
active in keeping people together,
things begin to fizzle. Being the
young guy at an established company
has the perks of having fresh
and innovative ideas, but it also
comes with the drawbacks of having
a hard time relating with those
around you. As I would prefer to
chat about the latest Buzzfeed article
of naked guys recreating the
“Wrecking Ball” video, my coworkers
like to talk about ... you know ...
work. I knew if I was going to keep
my sanity, I needed to have more
friends than my neighbor’s dog and
the employees at the local 7/11. So,
I took up playing dodgeball. What
says lifelong friends more than having
kickballs hurled at your face at
more than 45 miles per hour? Don’t
worry. The people who are most important
will still be around in the
end. I’m still best friends with the
same people from college, it just
takes quite a bit more effort to keep
those friendships alive and kicking.
Those friendships that persevere
will show you just who the most
important people in your life truly
are.
In the end, it all comes down to
your own choices. This is the time
when you will make tons of mistakes
but also have so many triumphs.
AND THAT’S FINE! The
key is learning and growing from
every experience. This is not your
parents’ life. This is not your friends’
life. This is not your employers’ life.
IT’S YOURS! So take control of it.
You are the one who has the most
power in shaping your own future.
Of course there are going to be
bumps along the way, but in the
words of my man Kevin G., “Don’t
let the haters stop you from doing
your THANG.”
bab
PCH
Playlist
Alex Claud compiles arguably the best
dodgeball playlist in history... So shake
your thang.
"Earthquake"
Labrinth
"99 Problems"
Hugo
"Hold On"
Alabama Shakes
"One Night
(Vincetone Remix)"
Matthew Koma
"Punching As We
Dance"
DJ Wuton
"Good Ol’ Fashion
Rump Shaker"
The Hood Internet
"The Kids Don’t Stand
A Chance"
Vampire Weekend
"Time To Pretend"
MGMT
"Bonfire"
Childish Gambino
Currents | 53