When you go to college to pursue a specific degree, you assume the path is clear: get decent grades, secure some kickass internships, and by the time your tassel moves from right to left (or is it left to right?) you’ll have landed yourself a quality job. Well, you were probably wrong.

We’re all encouraged to “Take the road less traveled”, but what if that road is less traveled because, frankly, it kind of sucks? Well, folks, I’m on that road. I keep seeing signs like “Keep on truckin” and “Don’t lose hope” and “Success is just around the corner!” but despite the encouraging words, I still feel like a lost and weary traveler.

Pardon the extended metaphor, but since I graduated college last year the experience of seeking employment and keeping it all together has felt very much like a journey, and an uphill one at that. For instance, just today I was a substitute gym teacher. A SUBSTITUTE GYM TEACHER! And while I appreciate the few extra bucks (and have a new found respect for those who dedicate their lives to teaching) I can’t even fathom how a Journalism degree has gotten me to this point.

Don’t throw a benefit for me just yet—I have some stuff in the works and the support of a pretty great set of parents. But I am continually astounded by the way our lives morph on a daily basis. PR intern: Why not? Freelance blogger: Why not? Substitute gym teacher: Oh gosh golly, why the hell not?

The major lesson I’ve learned from a year of countless online job searches, fruitless interviews and sending applications out into what I believe is a giant black hole, is that you can’t put all your hopes and dreams in one place. You have to be willing to bend, with the threat of breaking, and swallow a bit of your pride. YOU know you’re fantastic and soon enough an employer will see it too. At least that’s what I shall keep telling myself.

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