Bianca

Finally — I’ve made some real progress.

I’ve been selected to be part of the Scripps Howard Semester in Washington program and I’ll be an intern for the Hispanic Link News Service. I’m moving to Washington, D.C. the first week of January and the program will run until the middle of April.

I’m ecstatic and so grateful that this is happening. The last few months of unemployment have been rough, needless to say.

Now, have I reached my goal? Does this mark the end of this blog? Not exactly. My initial goal, of course, was to find full-time employment in my field. Come April, I will, again, likely be unemployed, but this may be the launching pad I’ve been needing that will help me begin a successful career. At the very least, I’ll be in a location more conducive to finding a job.

I expect I’ll continue to blog at least occasionally over the next months, and I certainly will in April. Ciao until then, and please wish me luck!

Via the Frenemy: An Open Letter to College

After four years of attending college, there are a couple of things that I thought that I would be when I graduated. None of them were: lost, terrified, and irritated. This is why most college movie end at graduation. Nobody wants to see Elle from Legally Blonde curled up in the fetal position in her parents basement, although don’t even get me started about how she would have never gotten into Harvard Law.

Click here to read the whole list.

Melissa from Biz in a Boxx recently wrote about me on her blog. I wanted to point something out:

For those of us with kids who will be entering the workforce then, you might want to delay converting their bedrooms into that second den or exercise room. Chances are they will be coming back home.

She makes a good point; this is exactly what happened to my family. When I moved out, I took my bedroom furniture and my mom turned my room into a guest room/exercise room, complete with an ugly, uncomfortable daybed. Now there’s no room for my stuff and – voila – now we’re paying for monthly storage.

Thanks, Melissa, for writing about me. I am glad I could be of some inspiration for a post!

Via Gawker:

The Illinois Valley News recently posted this job ad:

How bad do you want to be a reporter? Bad enough to work nights and weekends? The poor glutton for punishment that’s chosen will cover city and county government. Sports and general interest feature stories.

In exchange for your long hours and tireless efforts you will be rewarded with low pay and marginal health insurance. Please send resume, and 3 writing samples to wonclive@yahoo.com This is a full time salaried position located in the beautiful northwest.

Honestly, I don’t think it sounds so bad. There’s health insurance!

I just downloaded Good Burger. I haven’t watched this movie since it came out in 1997.

Someone please give me a job.

And I am still unemployed.

I have now been living back at home for nearly two months. It’s been a weird experience. Initially, the transition back was actually more difficult than I’d expected. But it’s gotten better now that I’ve had time to unpack and organize my things and rest. I live in a boring little town, so I spend a lot of time online. But I try to be productive, either looking for jobs or reading and reading and reading.

I just finished reading “Why I am Not a Journalist: A True Story” by Jay Rosen, a well-respected media critic and NYU professor. Rosen was poised to begin a great career in the newspaper industry, but right before graduating college, inadvertently applied to a job he’d already been promised, and then was not offered the job. (For those Generation Y’ers like myself, the concept of applying to a newspaper job via written letter is a bit antiquated, so I suggest reading the whole story for a full explanation.)

Although Rosen did not end up on his chosen career path, he is still a very successful writer. The thought of a simple mistake potentially ruining your entire career is terrifying; on the contrary, knowing things can still work out is inspiring. That’s a lesson I’m trying to learn how – just have faith, things will work out.

I’ve been meaning to update more often, but I’m finding it increasingly difficult to find time to that. It’s almost as if I’m busy! :)

A quick update on my last post – I still haven’t had any kids to tutor. So we’ll see where this goes.
However, as far as that fellowship is concerned, my phone interview went well and I’ve been freelancing a bit for the publication until they’re sure they want to hire me. My first article was published yesterday and I’m working on a second right now. If everything works out, I should know fairly soon if I’m hired.

I have made progress.

Good news: Yesterday I was for a part-time position as a tutor. OK, so it’s not a journalism job, but it’s money. The problem is, the agency is just getting started and is still looking for students to tutor. So I don’t really have work just yet.

Better news: Tomorrow I have a phone interview for a fellowship position at a news website. Although it’s temporary, it is a paid position and it’s fairly local. I’m really excited about the opportunity; I’m not trying to get my hopes up, but it really does feel right for me. Of course, it’s technically not a “job” so my goal has not yet been achieved, but this is a great opportunity. I really feel like it’ll give me the experience I need to more competitive in this market. Once again, I won’t divulge too many details right now.