Now I'm Really Grown Up

It finally happened, the moment I've worked for basically my entire life; I was offered my first entry-level position today.

When you think about it, this is really the reason people go to high school, go to college and beyond. Moving out and getting my first real "big girl job" as I've been calling it has been my goal for as long as I can remember, and I can't believe things are finally falling into place. My risky move of coming to New York without full time employment, my six internships (five of which were unpaid), my exhausting months of working three jobs to support myself, everything is paying off.

I can't even put into words how exciting it is to be truly independent from my parents. Although I've been paying my rent and basically handling everything on my own since I moved to New York, they've been there for me to fall back on and I definitely have had to on a few occasions along the way. Being the great parents that they are, I know they'll always be there for me to fall back on, but I finally feel like I won't have to for the first time.

Another thing that's exciting to realize is that I'll never again be an intern. I've been fortunate enough, through college and after graduating, to have had six amazing internships with great companies that I've been able to learn so much from. There comes a point however, where you just feel ready for the responsibility of a full time job and I've reached that point.

So it goes, another new chapter of my life begins on Tuesday... can't wait to see how this one turns out!

Just a Poor College Graduate...

It seems like there has always been a stereotype of poor college students.  You know them, they eat pizza and Ramen noodles and go to whatever bar is serving penny beer that night.  It may be a newly emerging phenomenon, but why does nobody talk about poor college graduates? I guess up until recently it has been expected that the cheap lifestyle ends once you get a diploma and make a seamless transition into a career.  

Let's be honest... how many 2009 graduates actually jumped right into a full-time position?  I have quite a few friends who did, and I'm so proud and happy for them.  But of all my friends who just graduated, a ridiculous number of them are living at home or going to grad school.  These are the options if you can't find a job: either live with your parents (I couldn't do it), incur even more debt at grad school (hellooo, why do you think we're in this mess?), or throw yourself into the real world and try to make it.

I fit into that last category.  Maybe it wasn't the smartest financial decision to move to the most expensive city in the world right after graduation, but what can I say... I'm an optimist.  And I'm determined.  I know I'll make it and one day look back on my poor college graduate days and laugh.

For now, I'm enjoying being a poor college graduate.  I'm okay with having a budget, I think it's a right of passage.  I'm 21 years old, I don't need a huge apartment with a doorman on Park Avenue.  I don't need to go out for nice meals every night and go shopping on 5th Avenue.  I happen to love my tiny studio apartment that's still barely furnished, buying groceries from Trader Joe's and looking for sample sales to buy clothes.