Stephany Writes

Categories: Life

Is this real life?

I just have a few minutes before I need to leave for spin class. And then I have to rush home and get ready for a date. Yes, a date. (More on that later.)

But I had to write a post because something amazing happened this afternoon…

I GOT A JOB!!!

The position I interviewed for last week, that I felt so strongly was mine before I even had it, was offered to me TODAY!!

I have so many emotions running through my head: I get to quit my menial job, I get to work in a field doing something I love, I can support myself and have insurance and wear pretty dresses to work. OH. MY. GOD. Is this even real life? After almost 4 months of job searching, I found a job?! And not just any job, but the type of work I have been searching for!

A more detailed post on the job and interview will be written later. For now, I’m just in shock. And happier than I have ever been in my life.

Categories: Life

Apartment Living: Downsizing

I’m 23 years old and 95% of my life has been spent living in apartments. Aside from a brief stint living with my grandparents when my mom left my dad and another three years renting a house from one of the worst landlords to ever walk the face of this earth, I have lived in apartments. Large apartments and shoebox apartments. Luxury apartments and ones with only barebones appliances. Gated communities and scary communities. I have lived in just about every kind of apartment one can imagine.

Almost two years ago, my mom and I downsized from a beautiful, two-bedroom, two-bathroom luxury apartment in a gated community that included a full-size washer and dryer in the unit, as well as granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and more closets and counter space than we knew what to do with. We moved about 10 miles away to a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with no washer and dryer, outdated appliances, and just one walk-in closet and one linen closet to house all our stuff. Due to our current financial state, we had to make the tough decision to downsize. And cutting our rent bill by $400 made our decision that much easier.

Downsizing was tough. My mom lost a bedroom (hers is now the den of the apartment. Don’t ask me why she has the den while I have the master bedroom. Her decision.) We lost being able to wash our clothes whenever we wanted. We went from a glass-top stove to one that looks like it was made in 1975. (I still miss that stove.) We lost closet space and an extra bathroom. We lost square footage and a safe, gated community.

But what we gained was so much better than luxury. Downsizing was a step in gaining our financial freedom once again and realizing we can make a shoebox-sized apartment work for us.

How We Did It

Find the right apartment.

Obviously, the first step in the downsizing process is finding the right apartment. You want a place that will be worth the effort of moving and the right price for the right amenities. My mom and I knew we wanted to move closer to her work since I would need the car to get to work and to school. Luckily, on the opposite side of the street where she works is a whole slew of apartments. We knew we wanted to find something there so she could simply walk to work and I could have the car without causing any major difficulties. And there are tons of different websites to peruse when apartment hunting. We knew the area we wanted to move to so it wasn’t a big deal for us. We knew we would need to downsize to a one-bedroom but we’re looking for something with a den, because that could be a second (albeit, much smaller) bedroom. And we also threw away any notions that we would have a full-size washer and dryer and up-to-date appliances. After touring 5-6 different apartments, we decided on the one we’re at currently. We would lose almost 300 square footage, but realistically, we don’t need all that space anyway. It was the perfect walking distance from my mom’s work (less than a mile) and the community seemed homey, inviting, and quiet.

Begin the process of downsizing before you step foot in your new apartment.

You’re losing out on a lot of space when you move to a smaller apartment. In our case, it meant we needed to take a firm look at what we had and what we really needed. We weren’t going to have an extra outside closet to house all our Christmas decorations. Or two walk-in closets to house all our clothes and junk. We had to start before we packed with getting rid of the waste. We are not packrats of any sort but there was still a lot we had to part with when we took a look at what we had and what we wanted to move over. I ended up getting rid of my desk (it was falling apart anyway), my dresser (ended up giving it to my mom and using closet space and a small nighttable to house my clothes), and a bookshelf. We also had to go through our clothes and only keep what we knew we would wear. Since we would be sharing one walk-in closet, we needed to make sure we could fit our clothes together without creating too much mess.

Make the small space work for you.

Once you move in, it’s time to reorganize and figure out how to make your new apartment work for you. Yes, you’re losing out on a lot of space and nicer appliances, in some cases, but my mom and I found it very easy to organize our life to suit our new space. Organizational systems like boxes and cute baskets help, as well as realizing how to plan a living room that doesn’t feel suffocating or make a den feel more like a bedroom than a small living area. Once we decided to downsize, my mom and I threw our entire attitudes into this concept and it helped us to see this apartment for what it is: an escape from living beyond our means. So we were excited to take a smaller space and make it our own!

Revel in the extra money you have every month.

My mom and I ended up with $400 extra a month and a few months after we moved in, she paid off her car, giving us an extra $200 a month. The smaller space is worth it to be able to breathe again financially. At the time we moved, I still had two years of college to make it through. I had a part-time job but couldn’t contribute significantly to our finances so this move was big for us. We finally realized that as much as we loved living in our luxury apartment, we needed to be smart and downsize. Realize that living within our means is better in the long run. Yes, hauling our clothes to the laundry room is a pain and I still miss that beautiful stove, but the financial freedom we received in the long run is worth more than any luxury.

Have you ever needed to downsize? Are you living under, within, or above your means now?

Categories: Life

Reevaluating

I’ve been on the job hunt for about 6 weeks now, give or take a few days. I would be lying if I said that it’s my number one focus and priority because truthfully, some days it falls by the wayside. I wish I could spend 8 hours a day searching for jobs, perfecting my resume, working on my LinkedIn profile, etc. The fact is, I work a high-energy job for 5-6 hours in the morning, come home and spend my afternoons job searching, using the evenings to work out and have a little downtime.

At best, I get in 2-3 hours of job searching a day. In this economy with so many people out of work and searching for jobs, that is not nearly enough time.

Aside from quitting my part-time job (not an option), there isn’t a whole lot I can do. I’ve taken on the brunt of the house cleaning and dinner duties because I feel bad enough as it is that I’m a 23-year-old college graduate who still needs money from her mom. I feel awful when I don’t have enough money to pay a bill. I know I could never be one of those people who sits around at home, doing nothing to challenge themselves by furthering their education or finding a job.

The job search isn’t going so well. I know I shouldn’t really expect anything so soon out of college but it’s still hard to still be at my minimum-wage part-time job. It’s hard to submit resume after resume and the only people who seem to be calling me are for sales positions. (Aside from one job involving market research, which I was passed over for. Boohiss.)

For the past 6 weeks, I’ve been using Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com as my main sources for job searching. And as great and wide-reaching as those jobs are, they are also the places everyone is going to. I don’t even want to imagine the number of resumes some jobs receive on a daily basis. My resume? A recent college graduate with barely any professional work experience? I know it’s getting sifted through the system easily, passed over without a second glance.

I need to take action. I need something better than a job search engine that everyone and their brother is using.

I need to seek out smaller lesser-known job search engines that are more centered on my interests (communications, marketing, public relations, etc.). I need to have my resume critiqued and rewritten. I need to learn how to write an impressive cover letter. And I need to begin to go after those jobs I want with more hunger and determination.

(All things I believe I should have learned during my exit course, but that’s a blog topic for another day.)

For now, all job searching has yielded me was frustration and disappointment. But I imagine those emotions are nothing new to people who have searched or are searching for a job. It also scares me that there are so many people searching for jobs, people with incredible internships and job experiences that I could not even begin to touch. But I do know that there is a job out there for me. I just have to be patient, keep searching, and keep working on my job search tactics.

For those of you with job search experience, what tips and advice can you give to a new college graduate? (And I’ll just go full throttle: anyone willing to look over my resume and/or a sample cover letter of mine and give me help/critiques/advice? Pretty please?)

Categories: Life

“You know, a lot of people go to college for seven years…”

(If anyone knows where this quote is from, you are my BFF.)

I started this journey in 2004 with a letter from a brand-new charter school, St. Petersburg Collegiate High School, telling all about their school and the opportunity to graduate with my A.A. degree and my high school diploma at the same time. I applied, not sure I would be accepted, and I was. For my last two years of high school, I spent at a new school located on the campus of a college. I met some of my best friends at that school and felt so lucky to be able to receive five semesters of college for free.

I graduated in May 2004 and was headed to the University of South Florida in August to work on my Bachelor’s degree in elementary education. I quickly learned that dorm life wasn’t for me so I came back home after a year and became a commuter student. I loved everything about the education classes but hated my internships. It didn’t help that I had some real lemons for assisting teachers, and when I failed my final internship, I decided to switch my major. I had been two months away from graduation at this point, but I knew I didn’t want to become a teacher.

So in December 2008, I became a journalism major. I found out that I had taken all the credits allowed to receive financial aid so that would be taken away from me, as well as my loans, and scholarship (that paid for 75% of my tuition). I took two classes during my first semester as a journalism student, since that’s all I could afford. And then I received the fabulous news that my scholarship changed its requirements and I would start getting help in that area. It helped so much. Every semester, I ended up paying about $400-$600 for my classes (this doesn’t include textbooks) which was a lot more manageable and meant I could take more classes. (The only problem being that it didn’t pay for summer classes so I had to pay full price for them.)

It took me two and a half years to finish the journalism program. At that time, I realized I wanted absolutely nothing to do with journalism and news writing. I am a creative writer by nature and having to get interviews and sources and turn off my creative voice to write articles made me despise it. I had a blast designing my own magazine, working on a professional website, and interning for a theater company, which made the whole process so much more worthwhile. There were a few very crazy semesters where all I seemed to do was work, go to school and complete projects. But I got through it. And I completed everything that was asked of me.

On Sunday, I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Media Studies. It felt surreal. It felt amazing. It felt accomplished. Earning a degree is a big feat and to finally be able to say I have a Bachelor’s degree is a great feeling. I put so much work into this degree (into two degrees!) that to sit there in that theater with my cap and gown, surrounded by those I have come to know as friends, just felt amazing. There are no other words to describe it. To walk across the stage and know I am putting this era of my life behind me gave me a feeling of empowerment.

I am so ready to move on with my life and begin a new stage. I’m ready to seek out more opportunities to assert myself and become more independent. These past 7 years have been filled with a rollercoaster of emotions. I never imagined it would take me so long to earn a degree, never imagined I would switch majors a few months away from graduation. But everything happens for a reason and I know I’m in the right place at the right time.

I did it. I graduated. It took me a long time and there were billions of moments when I didn’t believe I would ever walk across that stage. There were so many odds stacked against me, but I pushed through them all. And I know I couldn’t have done any of it without the love and support of my mother, who worked two jobs for 4 years to help support me, and who was always there to be my shoulder to cry on when the stress got too much and my biggest cheerleader whenever I needed it.

And now the future is mine. I’m applying to jobs like a madwoman, but also trying to enjoy this time in my life. I still have a job and I’m back to working 30+ hours a week while having my afternoons free to do whatever I want. I’m trying not to get discouraged by the lack of responses to my resume but I worry every day that I will be stuck at my part-time job for a very long time.

May 8th, 2011. That date will forever be etched in my memory as the day I finally finished the biggest goal I have ever set for myself.

Categories: Life

On Jeremiah 29:11

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to PROSPER you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE.’” Jeremiah 29:11

This verse was written on a “Plus One” (anyone remember them?) poster in my room when I was in middle school. It’s one of the more well-known verses and is quoted frequently. And it’s one I’ve always loved, but never felt the impact of. Three words: prosper, hope, future. They speak life into me. They remind me that God already knows my future. As much worry and anxiety I place on job hunting, the reality is that I need to release it. Because God has my plans perfectly carved out.

I asked Him one thing: “God, if this isn’t the job you have for me, please shut the door firmly in my face. In fact, please make me hate the position so it’s not a devastating blow if I don’t get it.”

I’m here to tell you that God still answers prayers. Because he did turn this position I thought would be wonderful into something I would never in my life want to do. (Sales. Door-to-door selling. While some people will flourish in that role, like the girl I shadowed did, I know it’s not the place for me.)

What Monday taught me was what I want in a job. Other than the normal things like being challenged, job security, and feeling part of a team, I finally have some ideas of what kind of job I want. Lately, I’ve just been telling people, “Oh, whatever! I just need some job experience so whoever’s willing to hire me!”

Actually, there’s more to what I want from a job than that. I know twenty-somethings have gotten a bad rap lately about switching jobs so much and never quite being satisfied with where they are, but I’m not going to apologize for wanting to feel fulfilled in my job. I worked my butt off for my Bachelor’s degree and I want to use it! I want to feel challenged in what I do, but I don’t want to be miserable waking up every day.

While my job at the preschool isn’t ideal and there are things that drive me crazy about it, I don’t dread going to work. Of course, I don’t jump out of bed, saying, “YAY, WORK!” but who does? For right now, it’s a job that I (usually) enjoy. I want the same out of my future career.

While the first job I get will probably not be the place I’m at even 10 years from now, it will be the starting point of my professional life. I want a job where I will use this degree I put so much work into and constantly be pushed to do more. I want a job where I use my writing skills on a daily basis because a job where I don’t write isn’t the place for me. I want a job where my skills in social media, branding, and customer service are showcased and fine-tuned. I want a job where I feel comfortable sharing my opinion. I want a job where people work hard and play hard. I want a job where I feel proud of the work I do.

It seems like a lot to ask for, doesn’t it? And sure, maybe I can’t have everything I want. But I do know what my strengths are and I want to build on those strengths.

While I was pretty lucky to score a second-round interview on only my fourth job application, I know it may take a while for me to actually find a job. But I also know I have a lot to offer a company and I’m going to keep applying to those jobs that fit me until I get that magical call. Because it’ll happen. Jeremiah 29:11 makes it so.