The Lost Generation

I feel like nothing ever works out the way that I planned it in my head. I went to college and got good grades, graduated with honors. Then I got dumped into the world with no clue as to how to live my life. I have been drifting ever since. I got myself into credit card trouble, I have had so many different jobs and so many career tracks, I have no idea where I am. I still really don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

There are only a few things that I know for sure. I know that I want to help people. I know that I want to do something creative-write and take photos. I know that I don't like office politics and the corporate world. But knowing these things and putting them into a plan of action are two very different things. I feel like I am starting over at 32. I would love to get an internship at a magazine or something where I could learn how to sharpen my skills in both writing and photography. But I don't have a degree in english or journalism, and I am 32 years old. People don't want to give you a chance. But I am hard-working, creative and I know what I want more than some college kid. Believe me-I know all about being the clueless college kid. None of those babies know anything about surviving in the real world.

College does not prepare you for the real world at all. It just postpones reality for four years. I personally think that college should be more like one year of taking career assessment tests and taking core classes. The second year should be figuring out your strengths and passions and beginning to formulate a career plan. The third year should be classes for your career and meeting with an advisor to keep you on track. The fourth year should be an internship in your chosen field. All four years you should also be required to take at least one class in financial planning and one class in business management/self-employment. This would prepare students for the real world.

Unfortunately, this is not what college students get out of school. You usually get a degree in something that you decide you don't even like and a pile of debt. Oh, and a swift kick in the rear on your way out. I feel like there are alot of us out there now. People with good intentions but no real direction. That and a world gone mad. We don't even know if there is going to be a world for us when we get old. We don't have any stability. Everything is up for grabs.