. . . BUT I can dance!
Getting a job can be hard sometimes. You start out being too young, only to find yourself years later in the situation of being too old. You are under educated so study like crazy to find that you are over educated. You switch continents mid life to find out that your degrees don't easily fit into the new system. Sometimes it seems like no matter what your qualifications are, they aren't enough. There's always someone bigger, better, smarter, prettier, faster, or can spit further! Life experience counts "here", but not "there". I was recently passed over for (yet) another job (geography teacher) because I don't have any GIS (Geographic Information Systems) experience (whatever the hell that is ;-). What's a girl to do?First off keep pluggin' away at whatever it is you do. Work hard. (Don't get discouraged and give up.) Keep learning. (Find something that you're interested in and learn, learn, learn.) And keep yourself out there - be active and let everyone know that you are searching for opportunities.
The other thing you can do to make yourself feel balanced is to focus on your accomplishments. For every thing you can't do, think of something you CAN do. For instance: I'm not good at Maths, but I am a good student. I'm not a great cook, but I am a great employee. I've never written a novel, but I've read a lot of them. I'm not an artist, but I can build you a website. I don't have a lot of classroom experience but I have lots of experience with educational blogs. I'm not rich but I'm flexible. I can't speak Portuguese, sail, swim, read a map (hence the GIS problem), rebuild a carborator, or play the piano but I can make you laugh, give a presentation, wait my turn, write well enough to teach someone to write, speak up when the situation dictates, and make my way in a foreign land. I can't sing . . .
BUT I can dance!
posted by rddietrich @ 12:53 PM
