Taking a Risk and Refusing to Settle

This past May I graduated with my masters degree. With an additional $60K+ in debt, I finally finished my education (sorry mom and dad, i'm NOT getting my phd) and was ready to make me some money, conquer the world, and live that "instagram" life of being a foodie, buying chic clothes, and having a martha stewart-esq apartment. But alas, reality hit and I realized I had no job to do any of that...including even buying a latte. That's real rock bottom. =(

And so after graduation, instead of resting and frolicking in the sun, before I started a world-saving career, I was holed up in my tiny studio apt in Baltimore perusing Linkedin, Idealist, Indeed, and anything else you can think of. And let me tell you, if anything is going to rain on your parade, it's job hunting and its ridiculous list of "job requirements".

By mid June I had no job prospects and seriously started questioning whether or not my graduate degree was even worth it. My friends began to tell me to start applying to any and all jobs. That as someone with no full time job experience, i couldn't afford to be picky... hashtag notgoodfriends

And so I started applying to ALL the jobs... I even looked into being a Panda nanny in China... And by the beginning of July, I had in my inbox an offer letter with a starting salary $20,000 higher than I expected I would make as a recent graduate. Unfortunately it was NOT as a panda nanny.

But...

The job didn't excite me and it wasn't in my field of interest. And so I asked family and friends what they thought I should do. My friends told me that I should take it. They said "a job is better than no job". "Think of all the money you can make" "just get that experience". My parents (typical asian parents) asked "are you sure you can find another job? Maybe you should just take it...." ugh, thanks mom and dad.

And so I leaned towards accepting the job. After all, job offers these days are like winning the lottery, right?

But, in the end, i turned down the job. It was a combination of not having the desire to take the job and talking with people who had years of career experience. What were my real motivations to taking the job? Was it out of fear? Because most people are in a hurry to take the first thing that comes to them, afraid that they won't get anything better. Or was it for the money? I have so much debt.. helpppp.

I decided i didn't want to be dictated by fear and by money.
I didn't want to settle for a job that wasn't my passion because the economy sucks and jobs are hard to come by. I didn't want to spend 40 hours a day doing a job that doesn't challenge me and doesn't give me the opportunity to learn something new. And most of all, HELL NAW, i didn't go through almost 20 years of schooling just to take "the first job that comes to me"!!!

So in my mind, i took the job offer and kicked it down a black hole, because... THIS IS SPARTAAAAA

To everyone who told me to take the job, SHAME ON YOU.

Because this past Friday I accepted my dream job at a global health nonprofit organization! Sure, there were days where a bottle of wine and soju looked appealing, and it was a little stressful... but because I waited, because I knew that God had something better in store for me, I am able to start a career in a field that I am passionate about, doing a job that I envisioned myself doing.

Thank you to all those who prayed for me and supported me financially and emotionally =)

Adios funemployment, it was nice knowing you.
Ahnyoung naps during the middle of the day, I will miss you the most
Au revoir skipping out on work when i feel "sick"
Goodbye summer and winter and spring breaks