Giant cartoon asses & existential dilemmas

[trinityofone]

I just received a press release for a show about a giant cartoon ass that fights crime. A GIANT CARTOON ASS THAT FIGHTS CRIME. *cries*

This...may be only tangentially related to giant cartoon asses, but god, I want to change what I'm doing, change my life so badly. This feels like such a dead end and it's so depressing. I start thinking crazy thoughts like, "I could join the army!" "I could become a cop!" "I could become a stewardess flight attendant!" Because that at least would be different. But I'd probably be miserable doing those things, too.

I feel like I need to do something bold, take some sort of leap of faith, but not only am I a coward, I don't even know what kind of leap to take. What the hell should I do with myself? How come I don't even really know what I want anymore?

I was at a party the other night and one of my parents' friends, who's an entertainment journalist and who I worked as a PA for one summer during college, was there. It was the first time I'd seen her since I graduated. She said, "So, you're working at an entertainment magazine now? You went to Berkeley for that?" She was "kidding," but...Jesus Christ, why am I doing this? What the hell am I doing with my life?

How do I change?

Comments

[roaringmice.livejournal.com]

Your first job out of school won't be what you do for a career. As others said, it's a first step. It's not a dead end - it's a starting point.

Think back to what you wanted when you were looking for this job. What sorts of things appealed to you? What other types of jobs did you apply for?

Think about the types of things you enjoy doing. Think about the types of things you hate.

And keep in mind, you don't necessarily have to think about this job as "what you're doing with your life," because it could very well be the case that what you're doing ten years from now will have little-to-no relationship to your current employment.

You've only been working there a short time, so my normal recommendation would be to stick it out for a year. That shows future employers that you can keep a job (grins), often a very good thing.

But if you really, really hate it, and there's nothing in the company you hope to be promoted into, then start looking for a new job now. Don't quit this one until you have a new job in hand. But do start looking now.

But what do you look for? Again, I think you should look for a job that interests you. If you know what you want to do with your life, and can find a job in that field, more power to you. But you don't have to think "OMG, my career, my life!" when looking for this next job. Instead, consider simply looking for a new job that interests you, and see where it takes you.

The best thing about this situation - because you're currently employed, you don't necessarily have to make any sudden decisions. You can explore and find a job that really interests you. You can wait and pick.