Spring, when the graduates emerge

It’s that time of year when graduates bloom into the real world. Everyone is happy; the commencement speakers encourage the graduates to “go out there and change the world and enjoy life while you’re doing it, and above all, appreciate your education.”

It’s been twelve years since I graduated college; eight since I left grad school. I’m still working to pay back loans. I don’t regret my education one bit. But I do think it was a teensy bit overpriced.

And that first year out of college was not the best time of my life. I was unemployed, unsure of what I wanted, and unprepared for the real world. I floundered around for a year and a half.

I applied for graduate school, but I wasn’t clear about what I wanted and I didn’t really understand the whole process, so I was rejected by the one school I applied to. Then I got a job at a temporary employment agency. That was where I discovered I did not want to work at a job that required a hairnet. I hated the noise of the factories too–it made me feel very claustrophobic, unable to get away from the constant roar of machinery. Ugh. The only aspect of that job that made it bearable was the fact that every position was only temporary. I think I would explode if I thought that was my job forever.

The second summer after I graduated college was when I finally got things together. I did a lot of research and mulling things over. I discovered that I wanted to do public history, which means anything connected to history other than teach (which is what everyone immediately thinks of when you say you’re getting a degree in history.) I was thinking living history, museums, maybe archives.

Then I applied to three different graduate programs.

And I applied for a position as a page at the library. I had to do some fast talking to convince the boss that I was a good investment. Since grad school was still pending, she wasn’t sure how long I would stay around. Of course, if I got accepted to a school, I would go there, but I promised her that in the meantime I would be the best damn page ever.

I didn’t get the job.

I applied for a full-time temporary position at the hardware store. It was around Halloween, so I spent several weeks stocking Christmas items. It was horrible.

Then the library called. Another position opened up, and would I like it? Long story short–I became the best damn page they ever had.

But I was accepted by all three schools I applied to. I was offered a research assistantship, I visited campus and met some people, and the deal was done.