There and Back Again.. and Again

So here I am sitting at my computer listening to Better Son/Daughter by Rilo Kiley lacking the words right now to sum up my summer. (BTW if you haven't heard this song, stop reading now, go down to the player on my blog, and turn it on. Its basically my theme song) 

Well where do I start... *cue theme song* ok so if you didn't know I just recently graduated this past May and finding a job in the media business has turned out to be, well, quite the project if not a depressing one.  You're constantly faced with robotic-feeling career websites meanwhile timidly sending off your hard-worked resume and cover letter into some cyberspace void never to be seen or heard from again.  And you sit at home biting your nails wondering if you could finally be "The One".  After a while of no response besides the unfeeling automated emails, your hope turns into a dead realization that you're not getting the job.  And than you find yourself wondering if you've even got the skills, the creativity, the pizazz to make it in the industry.  Make it or break it, right? Sometimes you even wonder "What the heck was I thinking going into this field.." Trust me- I've been there and back again... and again... and again.. and again several times over.    

Slowly I've begun to come this realization that maybe this process is almost like an unspoken test.  Forget midterms, finals, thesis's.  I'm talking THE big enchilada. Instead of trial by fire this is a trial of perseverance. Its not about how good you are or how well you can create a fierce looking project or even how creative you are. Its all about the perseverance- do you have the perseverance to keep chasing after your dreams no matter how elusive they are? So when they say "Do you have what it takes?" they are really asking "How far are you willing to go to make your dreams a reality?"  No matter where you are at in your journey if you have the love, you will find the perseverance. They are best friends who go hand in hand. If you have that than the world will be your oyster, my friend.

I have yet to land that big wig job, but I will tell you right now- I'm not giving up anytime soon. While I send off my resume into the great unknown cyberspace, I'm crafting my skill. And like anyone else, you have to start somewhere so I've started at a community college. I'm taking a few art classes to keep my mind sharp and my skills deft and believe it or not, I have learned ALOT. Not only that, but I find myself becoming more and more comfortable in programs which leads to a faster and more intricate turnout of projects. I'm only getting better.

So while I sit in the back of a crowded classroom with my laptop computer crammed between a printer and a mammoth desktop monitor working feverishly on projects, I find myself asking "Do you have what it takes, Jackie?" And I respond, "HELL YES, I DO."