the anniversary

today marks my four month anniversary of becoming a boomeranger. Exactly four months ago i awoke in my parent’s house a fresh, wide-eyed graduate. Being in a nurturing environment with family was comforting; however, i would be lying if i said that those first few weeks weren’t tough for me to stomach. Hot dogs at the ball park and swimming beneath a cloudless canvas only temporarily distracted me from the pain i felt after saying goodbye to good friends and the boy i had gotten to know closely back at school.

in these past four months i have become jaded by the reality of post-textbook life. i held a different perspective back then than i do now. earning a degree from a high caliber, private university gave me confidence and self-entitlement. I really did believe that i could get any entry level position that i desired. and not only that, but i genuinely thought that employers would be lucky to have me and jump at the occasion to snatch me up. oh, how reality bites...i was rejected from caribou coffee. yes, a coffee shop. tut the thing that stung the most was not that i didn’t get a job i went after but how i didn’t get that job. more on that later...

living at home for me can be characterized as an ebb and flow of ups and downs. you may be thinking, “umm yah, that’s how life is in general,” but the difference for me is that my high points and low points came more frequently than any other time in my life. never before had i been in a positive, driven mood one minute then switch to a negative, defeated mood the next. and it’s not merely mood swings that have characterized my post-graduate days, but swings in how i view my self-worth. feelings of low self-worth is the gateway to lower levels of self-esteem and motivation (note my psychology background here). what helped me understand the emotions i was going through was a book that is resting beside me this very moment. it is called, "20 something, 20 everything: a quarter-life women’s guide to balance and direction” by christine hassler. her writing has opened up my eyes to the reasons why i have felt somewhat disoriented since leaving college. i only wish i had been exposed to this book prior to graduating so that i would’ve felt more prepared for the emotional rollercoaster that was to ensue.

is there a point to all this jabbering?? why, yes there is. to commemorate my four-month boomeranger anniversary, my next three entries will be devoted to unmasking key insecurities that i have identified as a 22 year-old thus far. a good portion of my reflections will center upon points that the book i just mentioned brings to light. the reason i have decided to focus my next entries in this manner is because i am certain that what i have to say will resonate with other twenty-something men and woman. the best news? you don’t have to be a true boomeranger to benefit from my insight...so living with your parents is optional :)