Lost.

Lost; that is how I’ve been feeling the last couple weeks.

Things are going in the right direction career wise, however I’m currently in purgatory in regards to turning a part-time job into a full-time job.  I’ll find out soon enough, I guess.  (Well actually it is not soon enough – that was yesterday)

In the mean time I’ve been going crazy.  I barely make any money for doing the part-time gig, but in reality it’s full-time hours and a lot of stress.  This opportunity also is either going to keep me in D.C. and pursue my career in politics or it means I will go home to pursue other opportunities.

I also have been questioning why I want to work in politics.  Is it for the money?  Hell no.  Is it because I want to make a difference?  Is it because I want power?  Is it a way to fill that deep hole inside me?  Is it to impress people? …

What would I do if could pick any job and make $100,000 a year?  What did I like to do growing up?  What are my real goals in life?

Those are all questions I’ve been thinking about, and I’ll write about them sometime soon.  I’ve been really slacking on the whole blogging thing.

I Need to Give Myself a Break

 

I graduated in college in May, and I moved to Washington, D.C. in July.  I’ve been here for about a week and I’m going crazy.

I have been really hard of myself for not having a job working in Congress yet.  There are about 25,000 people working in Congress in some capacity; whether that’s in a personal office, committee, leadership, or something else.  I want to be part of that 25,000 and perform public service.

I feel like I should already have a job by now.  Shit, why aren’t I chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid yet?  Don’t they know how qualified I am?

That’s the pressure I’ve been putting on my self.

I’ve been doing all the right things towards getting a job.  I’ve been getting coffee with people, sending emails to people, going to receptions to meet people, doing informational interviews, etc.  It’s just a matter of time they all say.  They’ve said they know people who got a job within the first month of moving to DC and others it took over a year to get a job working in Congress.

Meanwhile, I’m on day 6 or 7 wondering why I’m not chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid.

Luckily, I’ve got friends who are telling me to call the heck down and relax.  So that’s what I’ve been trying to do.  I have to remember that in this industry (Congress) it takes persistence and luck.  I have to be easier on my self.

I’ve done two things recently to help with my mental well-being.  One is to go to more AA meetings and meet more people.  I feel like a newcomer, and that’s a refreshing feeling.  The second is that I joined a gym.  Now I will work out more and feel the positive mental and physical effects.

Took The Plunge and Moved to DC

Well, I did it. I graduated college a couple months ago, then I tried to enjoy the summer and now I’ve moved to Washington, D.C.

I’m scared as hell. I’ve moved to places alone as far as Europe, but each experience had structure to it. This time I have zero structure – no job, no school, no internship.

I’ve met with some friends already and had an interview for an internship. I’m kind of over internships, but I guess I’ll do another one if it’ll lead to the job I want: working on Capitol Hill (Congress).

I live in a great location. I’ve got a room in a townhouse and the room itself is fine but the rest of the place is kind of shitty. Hole in the ceiling, no hallway lights. Luckily I didn’t have to sign a lease and I’m paying month-to-month.

I have two roommates. The guy who holds the lease is in his sixties, and is a hippie. He has no wife or kids. He goes to festivals. The other is in his late twenties and is moving out in a couple weeks. He said part of the reason is that the guy with the lease is a neat-freak to the extreme. He doesn’t want to see a crumb anywhere in the kitchen. He gave the guy who’s in the room next to me a warning after he left lint in the dryer that he’ll kick him out if it happens again. He also told me that the hippie, unsurprisingly, smokes a lot of weed. I don’t see myself staying in this exact place for too long since the hippie is OCD about cleanliness, the place is sort of ran down, and he smokes weed all the time. I just don’t think it’s good for my sobriety.

Well. I just finished applying to a couple jobs and/or internships. Jobs in Congress are unpredictable. I know someone who interned for a week and was hired, but I also know someone who interned for eight months and then got hired. Almost all Congressional internships are unpaid, by the way. Hopefully I get something sooner rather than later.