coming of age

On My Upcoming College Graduation

- colinashby Leave a comment

 

I just began my final semester of college last week. Is it a bit bittersweet? Maybe. Am I ready to be done? Absolutely. Despite college allowing for a person to take naps in the middle of the day and get super wasted while using the excuse that you are a college student, I’d rather be out in the real world. The real world has a never ending list of obstacles that a person has to face. Even with the obstacles, I’m ready to move past the academic world and into the real world.

It’s tiring having to constantly be around people that don’t want to think about or plan for their future. They spend the majority of their money on shopping trips to the mall, video games, Starbucks coffee, and eating out. I’m disconnected with most of the college culture. I say this with a little hesitation because I’m partly like them in that I don’t exactly know what I want to do after I graduate college. I do, however, have a list of goals I’m aiming for and things I want to accomplish (if you’re ever in the Austin, TX area, I can show you my poster board I have it all written down on, haha). I’m sort of like the male version of Leslie Knope (from Parks & Recreation) in how I plan.

Having my ambitions and goals written down doesn’t completely help whenever I discuss my post-grad plans. Anyone that is graduating college or has graduated college in the past knows how cringing and repetitive it can be whenever people ask the dreaded questions:

So what are you going to do once you graduate college? What are your future plans?

I want to run into a hole whenever I hear the question. It’s an awkward question to ask because I’m not exactly sure how things will pan out after graduation.  This happens to nearly every soon to be graduate, not because they lack direction, but because life throws obstacles that make it hard to have a set goal (especially when you’re still trying to figure that goal out). Things cost more money than you expected, you can’t move to a new city due to financial reasons, student loans need to be paid back and the dream job that you want requires a minimum of three years experience.

It makes a soon to be graduate quickly go from excited about graduation to feeling depressed. 911, help, my life starts in a few months, how do I plan it?!? Sometimes I think my job search for my first post-grad job will be a lot like the one detailed in an article on The Onion. Hopefully not!

enhanced-buzz-15684-1366851719-0My answer for whenever someone asks the dreaded What are you going to do after graduation? question is straightforward.

I’m going to become a psychic, so I can see into the future and decide what I want to do for the next 50 years of my life.

I say that exact reply. People either laugh or look at me weird before saying ‘okay’ (It’s usually the latter). It’s okay though. Even though I’m constantly bombarded with the question of my future plans, I know in the end (as long as I stick to my goals and ambitions) I’ll be fine. Will my first job out of college be one I hate? Maybe. The career choices I make now do have a big impact but they aren’t set in stone permanent. Everyone has to start somewhere. Or as the characters in American Hustle would say:

hustling

Pulling from a Fast Company article, I have a list of questions I ask myself frequently (instead of the simply dreadful “What is my passion/what do I want to do with my life? question).

  •  What type of work leaves me feeling challenged? (in a good way)
  • What keeps me up at night? What do I think about before falling asleep?
  • What are my superpowers? (character & personality strengths)
  • Looking back on my career 20 years from now, what do I want to say I’ve accomplished?
  • What did I enjoy doing as a kid? The things things that let me lose track of time.

To quickly add another quote, when I think about my future, a Martin Luther King Jr. quote comes to mind: You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.

I’m not going to have a burnout by stressing constantly over my future plans. *cue Macaulay Culkin Home Alone freakout face* I’ll vigorously research pathways to take but I’m not going to let it completely take over my life. I’m staying open to the many possibilities available to me.

Right now I’m taking 15 hours of classes for my final semester, working an internship at a public relations agency, and writing my first novel. I’m doing good right now and soaking up as much as I can.

As Pat from Silver Linings Playbook would say: Excelsior! (ever upward). I’m keeping this as my motto as I move closer to graduating and stepping out into the world.

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*Side Note: Sorry for all the Fast Company links, I’ve had a bit of an obsession with their site lately*

Review: Carpe Diem & Dead Poet’s Society

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By the end of Dead Poet’s Society (1989), you won’t be able to get the motto “Carpe Diem” out of your head. Dead Poet’s Society is a drama film set in 1959 at a conservative school called Welton Academy. It tells the story of new teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) and his unconventional teaching methods. Keating inspires his class of students through teaching poetry.

Image by Touchstone Pictures via http://cinemud.com/dead-poets-society-1989-720p-brrip-x264-yify/
Image by Touchstone Pictures via http://cinemud.com/dead-poets-society-1989-720p-brrip-x264-yify/

The only storyline that is given depth is with the character of Neil (Robert Sean Leonard), who has ambitions to become an actor. His strict  father forbids him from doing so. He wants Neil to go to military school, then enroll at Harvard University for a career as a doctor. The pressure from his father and teachers at school drives Neil over the edge.

Robin Williams gives a fine performance as the boys over-the-top zany teacher. Williams brings a witty yet intelligent characterization to teacher. He articulates his words nicely and makes every word he’s saying meaningful. Williams was honored for his performance with an Academy Award-Best Actor nomination.

Being in a privileged, conservative and strict all boys school, the boys are sheltered from the many things of life. William’s character does unconventional methods of teaching in order to get the boys to start thinking for themselves and questioning the things in life.

Many people might be slightly disappointed by the film. The script does not fully develop any of the characters (including teacher John Keating). Scenes in the in the movie do not seem to fully fit together with each other. Many people might think the film does not explain the characters actions on their pursuit of “Carpe Diem” enough.

Despite any short comings one may experience, the film is sure to give one a new motto to keep in mind: Carpe Diem. Suck the marrow out of life and make your life extraordinary.

Although the ending to life has already been written, one can still compose the story.

Note: Apple recently made a commercial with the voice over of Robin Williams doing the “What will your verse be?” scene in Dead Poet’s Society.  The commercial is promotion for Apple’s iPad Air. Watch below.

Are All Twenty-Something’s Lost?

- colinashby 3 Comments

Movies following the “typical” twenty-something as lost and searching for what to do are far from adequately representing what this age group is about.

ccccccreality bites

If I was anything like the typical twenty-something depicted in movies then I would walk around clueless about what to do and lacking direction.  That’s not the case. I’m not like that (for the most part). Career goals fill my future outlook. I dream of the different jobs I want to have and what I am doing to get there.

Actually, a lot of twenty-something’s are like that. At least for the ones I encounter in college. Big ambitions and realistic planning with their future lives fill their days.

This group of ambitious, go-getting, persistent people never seems to be portrayed in films dealing with a twenty-something. It’s similar to when Hollywood movies are made about teens. The twenty-something is put into a stereotype of how the rest of society thinks they act.

Movies dealing with the lost twenty-something and having a quarter-life crisis have grown in popularity. Lena Dunham’s  feature film Tiny Furniture was beloved by audiences and received the award for Best Narrative Feature at the South by Southwest Festival.  The film follows recent college graduate Aura (Dunham) who moves back home with a lack of direction. 2006’s Accepted shows a group of 18-year-olds as they create their own “college” after being rejected from others and not knowing what to do. Reality Bites depicts a lowly videographer as she lacks guidance and irresponsibly quits her job. Greenberg, Frances Ha and How to Be follow the same suit.

What’s the deal with all of this? Are all twenty-something’s taking longer to grow up? No. It’s quite different. Many of them have dreams (that are realistic), goals and plans for how to achieve them. There are many twenty-something’s that are stuck in a somewhat slow period. They work less than ideal jobs, low-paying jobs and/or still finding a job. It doesn’t mean there lost. Many of them are just stuck in the phase of getting experience to qualify them for jobs they really want.

The appeal to the lost and directionless crowd is understandable. Everyone has been there. It’s something that is a common experience. However it can be overdone.

The coming-of-age “finding yourself” films seem like they are going the way of the parody films. Everyone is tired of them and want to move on.