That Dreaded Question...

"So what are you going to do in the fall?"

I hate that question, but it's the one EVERYONE asks.  Even before I graduated everyone had already begun to ask what my plans were; where I'd be living, where I'd be working, what I planned to do with my life.  Ultimately the answer is that I don't know yet.  I'm almost 22 with only a couple thousand saved up, student loans to repay, and a long distance relationship that involves expensive travel costs...I don't have much I can do.

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I understand that this is the natural question to ask college graduates, but in this economy and especially in such a small state there are not many opportunities.  It's not like our parents' or grandparents' generations where when they graduated they had job offers and opportunities.  Teaching elementary school in the USA especially has dismal job prospects and comes with negative attitudes from many outside the profession.

Last I checked my parents didn't have their lives figured out at 22.  It's an unfair assumption that every college graduate is supposed to know what they want out of life at such a young age.  I honestly don't know.  I have a grand scheme of where I see my life heading but it doesn't involve a specific job or location yet and I think that is only natural.  Why would I settle now?  When I'm young, active, and able to travel and see the world.

So as yet another person asks me that dreaded questions I force a smile and bite my tongue and politely say, "Well I'm not quite sure yet." and explain my plan.  I've already been accepted as a substitute teacher to one local district, have my same job available in the fall at the YMCA, and will look into nanny positions a couple times a week.  I am not above working three jobs and have also applied to three English teaching positions in Spain so far and am in the process of working on my Fulbright ETA (English Teaching Assistant) application and improving my Spanish.

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Maybe it's not my ideal plan, but at this age I am open for adventure.  So I look forward to my two month adventures in Spain this summer, I deserve it.