“Having a personal philosophy is like having pet marmoset, because it may be very attractive when you acquire it, but there may be situations when it will not come in handy at all.” ~Lemony Snicket, Horseradish.
Lemony Snicket has a point: as pithy as your personal philosophy may be, without changing life experiences and flexibility, it can be utterly adorable, and completely useless. College taught me how to prepare a resume (filled with cheap and exaggerated experiences in order to market my young, inexperienced self more attractively) and a life “philosophy.” Goals are important—implied the adult instruction bombarding me from ever side—because they build character and channel experiences in order for you to successfully achieve the cookie cutter nine-to-five success that IS the American Dream. Which course, obviously, if you are a true Christian and Republican Patriot, you will follow devotedly.
Admittedly, the resume and “personal philosophy” I crafted help land me a job immediately out of college: teaching English at a private academy in Seoul, South Korea (as they say, “those who can’t do, teach.” However, being a teacher, I found this statement to be grossly unjustified!). Numerous revisions later, it’s also helped land me some job opportunities and interviews now that I’m Stateside for a while.
The turns my post-college experience have taken are becoming something of a trend for twenty-first century twenty-somethings. Graduates aren’t necessarily always jumping into grad schools or corporate cubicles. It’s the burgeoning trend particularly in Europe, to take a “gap year” before or after university to travel: experience culture, grow gaunt and unshaven while developing mystical philosophies, and come back with hard drives filled with photographs and thought-provoking blogs about changing the world. While this trend is slightly less common among US students, there’s no doubt that Lonely Planet travel forums are growing rapidly, fueled by a new generation that’s more globalized and tech-manipulative than ever before, disillusioned with the lack of jobs or burnt out from school and ready for a break from tradition..
On the other hand, “it’s not the economy, stupid!” Twenty-somethings can’t blame all their problems on a lack of jobs. There’s always something to be done, somewhere, you might just have to leave your childhood home to do it. English is becoming a booming export and those without degrees have opportunities on organic farms and English schools alike. Bars and hotels need service, and bartending is nothing at which to turn up your nose. If you’re willing to practice a bit and move to Vegas, you could rake in hundreds of dollars each night. But that’s beside the point. The need for cross-cultural and/or hands-on experiences has become more pervasive and despite this “despondent” economy, university graduates still have lots of super cool options.
After Googling myriads of overseas options, I found an opportunity in Korea through a friend of my college roommate, and left for the job the summer after graduation. I stayed for a year and a half. I didn’t really do anything pertaining to my “personal philosophy” but I worked hard and learned to be flexible. And I can’t say enough good things about living abroad. Life in Seoul was fast-paced, challenging, and “backwards” from my cultural norms. Yet through both frustrations and awe, I embraced new ideas, methods, and customs and experienced the best lesson in economics, politics, sociology, anthropology, real-world living, and diplomacy/peace studies I had ever had.
I also went backpacking, spending my vacation/post-teaching time traveling in southeast Asia. I highly recommend it: once you pay for a plane ticket living costs in SEA are cheaper than paying rent and the longer you stay somewhere, the cheaper it becomes. Be an anthropologist rather than a tourist. You will experience incredible things and gain a new attitude of flexibility and openness. Meet the locals; they will love you. Eat their food, help them carry their bags across town, jump into a game of soccer. Ask them about themselves and their country. Often what you know and learn has nothing to do with what you read, but about what you don’t read.
Now, Stateside and unemployed, feeling overwhelmed by the vast potential of an empty Google search bar, I’ve taken to devouring blogs of fellow expatriots and attempting DIY projects that include a healthy dose of kitchen experimentation, craft projects, and “educational research.” I’ve created several new recipes and cocktails, decoupaged several empty bottles, baked a few pies, mowed the lawn, applied for jobs, learned a lot of random information about Wiki-worthy topics, and started writing a screenplay.
Although I’m not living the traditional “American Dream,” perhaps the American Dream itself is evolving. Be willing to ditch your “personal philosophy” for adventures and experiences. Don’t settle for “settling down”…at least not yet. Use your twenty-somethings to do what you want, where you want. It’s ok to turn down or quit a job you don’t want, even in this economy.
In the end, “[T]he worst thing that can happen is that you won’t get the job and will spend the rest of your life foraging for food in the wilderness and seeking shelter underneath a tree or the awning of a bowling alley that has gone out of business”. . . and, I surmise, with a pet marmoset under your arm. Oh, Lemony Snicket, you do have such a way with words.
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