Back to life, back to reality.

Now that I have returned home from my little trip round the world, I am sadly faced with the harsh reality that is life. I desperately need to find a job. More than just a job, I need to start my career, which is hard as I have absolutely no idea what I want to do anymore. Before I went travelling, I felt like I knew what I was going to do on my return…I had a plan. I was going to pursue a career in the media, specifically radio, or in the music industry, and I still would like to do that. It’s just that there are so many other things I want to do and to achieve before I settle down in a career. It doesn’t help that I have two very successful older sisters to live up to. With the fear of being the disappointment of the family, I am starting to feel the pressure mounting.

Taking three months to go travelling around the world was supposed to give me some perspective and help me decide what I wanted to do with my life. It was also supposed to get the whole travelling thing out of my system so that I would be ready to focus all my energies into my career when I got home. Three months, though, was sadly not long enough to satisfy my need for adventure, instead it was just long enough to whet my appetite for more. There are so many more places I want to visit- South East Asia, South America, Europe! And I know I would love to live in another country or two in my life. One of my biggest regrets in life is not studying French at A-Level, as I really wish I was fluent in a different language. This was highlighted during my travels, by the number of people I met who could speak more than one language, so at some point I would love to live in a non-English speaking country. If I could find a job that would allow me to travel, therefore, that would be the perfect situation so on that note I considered, for a while, pursuing a career in journalism, or more specifically, travel journalism. I can write and I like to travel… what more do you need? Apparently it’s not that easy though. In order to get into the industry, you need to have had writing published which means freelancing. Not the most lucrative business, especially when you’re just starting out. And it’s also quite a bizarre notion that you can start your career whilst sitting in your bed in your pyjamas, one that I am still trying to get my head around.

I have also been applying for jobs online. I have sent many a CV and cover letter out in the last few weeks however for most of the applications I have not even had a reply, let alone an interview! At the beginning of my online job hunt, I began by only applying for jobs in journalism and at various travel publications. A friend from university had suggested this as the key to success as applying for fewer jobs means you can really focus your application on the specific job, rather than just sending in a generic application that will probably just get overlooked. This is a good idea in theory, but when companies give you an application form to fill out that makes it hard to sell yourself if you haven’t already established your career in journalism, it is easy to get disheartened. And then very desperate. I am now applying for jobs left right and centre: anything that takes my fancy which means I am now even more confused as to what I want to do. Each day I set my sights on a different career…journalism, music producer, PA, events manager. I know I need to decide on one career and follow it, but I’m scared I’ll choose the wrong one.

Another problem I seem to be having is with my degree. I chose to study History at university because when I was 18 I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life (as you can see, nothing has changed) so I thought doing an open degree such as History, which has no set career option, would open more doors to me, and hopefully one that would lead to my perfect job. However, since applying for jobs in areas that I am interested in, namely media and the arts, no employer seems to want a History degree. Maybe I need to get some more qualifications? A masters? In all honesty though, I’d rather not go back to university, mainly because I can’t afford it, but also, because I feel my days as a student are over, for the time being anyway.

So you see, with so many choices I really only have one option, and that is to wing it. After the last few weeks of desperate job applications and tearful conversations with friends over several bottles of wine, about how I’m obviously a jobless failure, I have come to the realisation that I am just going to have to go with the flow. Obviously, I will keep applying for jobs, but as soon as I scrape enough money together I think I’ll head for the Big Smoke and see what happens. Life is an adventure after all.