Lately I've been thinking about what I'm actually accomplishing with my life and feeling guilty about the answer: nothing. Well, maybe not nothing, but nothing as great as what Jess or Amy are accomplishing. While I am feeling slightly guilty about doing nothing, I'm also enjoying being a little lazy. Five years ago (I can't beleive it's actually been that long) I was working 35-40 hours per week while taking 15 hours of classes and walking dangerously close to the line of absolute burnout. It was solely my drive to finish school and get that diploma that kept me going in my last year of college. That and the fact that I actually thought having a degree would get me a good job, but that's a topic for another post.
In the five years I've been out of school I have had no desire whatsoever to go back. I really can't think of anything that would motivate me enough to want to resume the lifestyle I had in undergrad multiplied by 100. But I really feel like I should be doing MORE with mylife than I am now, learning something that will push me to higher levels of thought, and maybe even higher levels of employment.
As far as my job goes, I'm pretty content. I'm learning a lot about Human Resources, and having the opportunity to develop HR practices from the ground up is actually really great experience. I finally have some HR mentors to help me in this process so I don't feel like I'm floundering out there on my own. And in talking to them I've realized I have a much better grasp on HR concepts than I realized. Apparently I'm not an idot, and I'm kind of good at this. Who knew?
Next spring I'm going to start working on getting my HR certification, which in the HR world means more than any masters degree. I've heard this process is pretty challenging and the certification test is more difficult than anyone ever expects it to be. I'm excited about this upcoming challenge and what it could mean for the future of my career. Maybe I'm doing more than I realize, and maybe my life doesn't have to assume some kind of insane pace in order for me to be accomplishing something.
Comments (2)
"my life doesn't have to assume some kind of insane pace in order for me to be accomplishing something."
I think you're right about this, at least I hope you are because in a year when my degree is over I fully intend to ramp it down a notch, or ten!! Believe me, I think I speak for both Amy and I when I say that at the end of the day, every day, any joy we feel about what we're doing is mixed with the need to wonder WHY we're doing this to ourselves and the profound fear that, in the end, it won't be worth it. If you can find work satisfaction in a field that doesn't require you to assume an insane pace, then I think you have found something valuable and are a wise woman for haning on to it.
Posted by Jess | September 15, 2006 9:21 AM
Posted on September 15, 2006 09:21
You give me more credit than I deserve, Andrea.
Posted by Amy | September 17, 2006 10:37 PM
Posted on September 17, 2006 22:37