Things I Didn't Realize Until I Graduated College

Well this post is quite old, it's one I've worked on on and off for a few months!  But I think I'm finally ready to just go ahead and share it!

There are a lot of things that I didn't realize/didn't even think about until after I graduated from college.  Rexburg is sort of a bubble, not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it makes you forget how life can be when you live somewhere else.  I miss it a lot of the time, mostly because of all the friends and fun times I had there.  But here a just a few things I don't think I was really mentally prepared for when I left the 'burg;

Job hunting is hard.
After moving to Salt Lake this Summer I was working part-time and looking for a professional job in my field, which was a daunting task for me.  I've done PLENTY of job hunting in my day, but in the past that always involved filling out application after application, spending hours online answering questionnaires, and making visits to places that didn't care if you had submitted your application a week ago, they were going to file it away for the next 6 months even if they said they were hiring that week.  With the exception of my internship I completed last Summer, I had only tried for entry level jobs because of my lack of professional experience.  But now I was a big kid, ready to take on the professional design world and all it had to offer!  Every day I searched online job posting sites looking for something - anything really - remotely related to interior design.  I sent out copy after copy of my resume, writing and re-writing cover letters, hoping and praying that someone would take an inexperienced kid like me and be willing to teach me all I needed to know.  As you well know, the job hunting did end up paying off.  But that was not without a lot of work, stress, and a good dose of prayers.

Real life is expensive!
As a college student, I thought I knew how expensive it was to live on my own.  After all, I was paying for my own rent, food, and any other incidentals that came up.  So living on my own outside of my little college town would be the same, right?  Not so much.  What I didn't even consider was that I was renting an apartment that was "school approved housing," meaning that basically the living expenses, utilities, insurance, etc. had already been rolled into one price and all I had to do was pay for the semester and everything was taken care of.  The price they gave you was the price you paid.  While hunting for post-college living accommodations, I looked at rent prices and figured, "Yeah, I think my roommate and I can handle that."  I didn't even pause to think about the fact that utilities, power, and renter's insurance weren't included in that cost.  Not to mention that most apartments do not come furnished and I owned no furniture to speak of, so that would have to be another added cost.  My roommate Kelley and I slept on air mattresses for a month or two right at the beginning, and our furniture consisted of a hand-me-down futon, two folding chairs and various boxes in place of tables.  Living the high life!

One of the times we actually left the apartment
 and went to Temple Square. :)

You may become a hermit.
Yes, I had decided to move to Salt Lake, a place I had never really lived.  But, I figured I knew a few people in the valley so maybe I'd still have a social life.  But the thing is, even if you know someone who lives "in the valley," that could mean that they are anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes away.  And when you're really poor, that's a LOT in gas money that you won't want to spend!  Not to mention that I don't know hardly any fun things to do in the city that don't involve money.  So, for most of the Summer I became a hermit.  Kelley and I would sit in our apartment and read books and eat fast food and stare at each other with weird faces much of the time, simply because we didn't know of anything else to do.  Leaving our little college town meant leaving behind lots of friends and pretty much our entire social scene.  If we wanted to do something we had to go out and find it...but that requires effort and we tended to be lazy (I still am actually, not much has changed).


Things stay A LOT cleaner with just two roommates instead of four or six.
It's amazing how much of a difference it makes to only have two people living in an apartment.  When you clean it it actually stays clean for a while!  When you don't have a bunch of roommates  coming in and out of your apartment, having friends over, or cooking and leaving dishes behind, it can actually be tidy.  And another thing; toilet paper lasts FOREVER.  After living with either 3 or 5 other girls for the past four years, I have begun to appreciate the fact that nobody has to buy a 12-pack of TP every week.  Ah, it's the little things.

So there you have it, just a few random thoughts about post-college life.  But for any of you who are almost to that stage in your life, have no fear, jump in with both feet, and have fun with it!  Make the most of what you've got even if it is just an air mattress and boxes.  It's going to be hard, but it will still be WORTH IT.

Look Like an Idiot: Bad Pointers for Landing the Job

Happy Wednesday everyone!  The week is half over!  This coming Sunday marks two months since I started my new job as an interior designer with a commercial furniture dealer, and I couldn't love it more!  I feel incredibly blessed to work in a great environment, doing what I love most.  But sometimes I wonder how I ended up getting this job in the first place...considering the first impression I must have left here.

At this point I get to tell you all a story.  It's definitely an embarrassing one, but one that I and my co-workers and supervisors will never forget.  After a couple months of job hunting following my initial move down to Salt Lake, I had landed a job interview that I actually felt was getting me somewhere.  I had an interview with the HR representative on Monday and she asked me to come back for a follow-up interview with the branch manager and an AutoCAD drafting test the following day.  Of course I was thrilled, but I wonder if my excitement ended up being my undoing.  I pulled into the parking lot, ready to crush this interview, to march in there and show them that I was the one they wanted for the job.  After I parked and threw my keys in my purse I said one more silent prayer before getting out of the car and locking the door.  As soon as I stood up and shut the door, though, I noticed that the weight of my purse was not present on my shoulder.  It took about half a second for me to realize what I had just done and turn in horror to see my purse containing my keys, phone, and wallet still sitting in the passenger seat of my car.

No...no no NO!  How could I do that?  How?!  Granted, this was not the first time it had happened and you'd think I would have learned, but apparently I'm not quite that smart.  But why that day, of all days?  I frantically tried to think of a solution before deciding that the best thing to do would be to stay calm and go about my business, do what I came there to do and worry about the keys later.  So I did just that.  The interview and test went well, and I had almost forgotten about my mistake until it was time for me to leave and my interviewer asked me if I had any more questions for him.  "May I borrow your phone to call the police department?"  I'm sure he must have thought I was crazy until I said "...I locked my keys in my car."  He was very gracious (and amused, I'm sure) in letting me use the phone, but once I made the call I was informed that the SLCPD will not unlock your car unless there is a pet or child inside that can't get out.

So there I was, looking like a complete moron in front of a potential future employer.  Lucky for me, everyone in the office was very understanding and soon four of the men were outside, two trying to unlock the doors with wire coat hangers and two holding umbrellas because it also just so happened to be raining that day - of course.  After about twenty (somewhat humiliating) minutes we met with success and I was free to go!  Oh what a glorious moment that was.  I was finally able to leave and wallow in my embarrassment elsewhere, leaving my future co-workers to chuckle at what they had just seen.

Obviously, in the end I was offered the job.  Maybe it was because of my awesome skills or maybe it was out of pity for my idiocy...either way I'm here and I will now forever be known as that girl who locked her keys in her car.  I suppose there are worse things to be remembered by. :)  But a situation that could have ended horribly turned out not being as bad as it could have been.  So don't lose hope!  Everyone does dumb things every once in a while.  All it takes is a clear head and the ability to roll with the punches.  Just because you've done something that seems terribly embarrassing to you doesn't mean that it has to drag you down.  As one of our beloved Disney movies tells us, "Keep Moving Forward!"

So here's my '(Bad) Tip For Getting The Job':  Want to be unforgettable at an interview?  Just make yourself look really stupid and you just might land the job!