100 days and counting

Fanfare, please.

I learned to count! Today is officially 100 days until graduation. Yikes.

I think I'll start each post with my mood. So...

Mood: Oddly optimistic.

__________

I hate networking events. Well, I do and I don't. Great opportunity? Yes. Do I feel like a good-for-nothing poser when I go? Absolutely.

There's just something so fake about a room full of people networking. It just feels unnatural and so forced and expected. Schmoozers and phonies.

On the other hand, it's wonderful when you make a connection completely out of the blue. When it happens kind of organically it feels more real. Like you're not just collecting business cards for your own selfish aims.

I spent this afternoon emailing back and forth with a woman at the animal shelter. I signed up for a volunteer event and noticed her name sounded familiar. She used to work in my department before moving to the shelter, so I struck up a conversation with her about her job.

She told me all about how rewarding it is to work for a non-profit and actually feel good about the work she's doing. It was really inspiring, actually. I've been looking into the non-profit thing a lot lately and I was encouraged by the things she told me.

She also gave me good guidance about where to look and who to contact about possible openings.

Today I found out that one of the professional doors in my life will likely be closing soon. And after talking to this lady, I feel like it's a blessing in disguise, really. It's not exactly a closed-door-open-window scenario, but I'm at least looking into other windows, and that's a start.

I could feel down, but I think it's just that the winds are changing and for the first time in a long, long time, I feel less tired, less jaded, and, dare I say it, motivated.