It's not that there aren't jobs. It's just that there are so many jobs for people with far different skills than you have who have been practicing those skills for far longer.
As I look over sites like Monster and Indeed, I see postings for people with no skills, and postings for people with a great deal of skills - but very few for people with the ability to acquire skills. Perhaps this quality - and I call it a quality because I find that second only to "curiosity," it is an essential part of a great person - is difficult to prove. One's aptitude to figure out new things quickly and to rise to the challenges of any job is not a quantitative skill, and so, on paper, it appears that your only worth lies in the skills you have already acquired.
What jobs did you work in college? If you worked at all, you probably did not work in a field you want to see yourself in ten years down the road. Personally, I made it through college by waiting tables at Olive Garden. This is because, when I started college, I was not qualified to be a full-time writer, editor, teacher, or professional of any kind. But now that I've finished school, it seems potential employers only care about the work I have already done - not the work I am now capable of doing.
But it seems that by working for car dealerships at just above minimum wage and waiting tables to pay for school has only qualified me to continue doing what I did to get qualified to do something else.
But I will keep hunting - and hunting is the right word, because the animal known as "dream job" is an elusive and shy creature.
Showing posts with label College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College. Show all posts
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Mix. Don't Match.
You know what has always seemed like a funny idea to
me? That people are thought to thrive
best when they are surrounded by their peers.
Isn't this the idea behind grades in school and why youthgroups exist in churches and why we are encouraged to spend time with people
our own age? But the problem is really
simple. How can anybody learn anything of
value from people who are in the same stage of life as they are? What could a twelve-year-old possibly have of
value to teach another twelve-year-old?
I certainly cannot imagine what that would be.
This seems obvious when it’s down on paper, but the acceptance
of this notion is far-reaching and its consequences are not menial. Entire generations are being emotionally
stunted because they are looking around at the people next to them and the
people next to them are doing the same.
This breeds “trend-setters” who are hailed for greatness because of
their confidence rather than for their competence. It is the appealing, not the good, that sets
the bar for young people in this system.
This is dangerous for the simple reason that “the appealing” for a
twelve-year-old is almost never good for them.
They’re twelve.
Mix. Don’t match.
The “one room schoolhouse” model of teaching might have more
merit to it than we might have thought.
Kids who are put in a position where they are helping younger kids with
the things they used to struggle with teaches responsibility, caring, patience,
and a non-self-centered worldview. In
churches, kids should be learning from people who are older and more mature, not
pandered to by a childish adult who is trying to relate to them.
Here is my personal view of how someone should learn to be
an adult: find someone you want to be like and spend time figuring out how to
do that. Also, keep an eye for younger
people you can teach a thing or two to.
Usually this will happen by you seeing someone else fail at the same
thing you used to fail at. Step up and
share what you learned from your failure so they will spend less time than you
did figuring out what’s wrong.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Our Ethical Response to Prostitution
This post deals with the moral responsibility of a society
towards the abuse of prostitutes.
Because I am a Christian who believes that we are created by
God, I find the idea of exchanging sex for money highly contradictory to my
personal morals. However, as a Christian
I want to, and am even commanded to, love people, love mercy, and advocate for
those who are being abused.
So here is the question: should prostitution be
decriminalized?
An automatic response by much of the Christian church must
no doubt be an absolute “No!” in an effort to steer our country away from a
lewd society void of any morals, but I would ask you to really consider the
question and not just respond before you think.
Women who are in prostitution are often not there by choice,
but even if they are, they are subject to environments of high abuse, violence,
and the constant danger of murder. When
a prostitute is being beaten or tortured, who can she call? Her environment is dangerous, and the police,
the protectors of the powerless, function as the enemy who should be avoided at
all cost. They are doubly bound and have
no way of help.
So, if that is the case, what is the ethical response? Throwing abused women in prison doesn't fix
anything, and it’s not economically feasible.
Because the system that is currently in place perpetuates abuse and
binds abused women from every angle, what is a society’s ethical response? Providing a source of help from the police
might be the necessary first step.
As a last word, I want to say that I am genuinely open to
feedback from anyone who would like to comment in the box below this post. However, since this might be a touchy topic
for some people, I’m going to ask that each post be gracious. If there is vulgarity or prejudice or
sweeping and mindless claims, I’m going to take them out. This is a place for mature, rational, ethical
discussion.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
My Brother Joshua
This is a paper I wrote for an English assignment. Our assignment was to write a profile of a person in our life who has had a great impact on us. So as a practice in allegory, I profiled Jesus as my big brother, and called him Joshua.
----------------------------------------
My Brother Joshua
My brother Joshua is a man worth profiling. He is my oldest brother by adoption and my best friend. I first met him when I was very young, but finally decided to be adopted by his family in the spring of 2006. Joshua is not hard to like. If anyone really gets to know him, they will find him the most faithful of brothers. He and I became very fast friends and it’s not hard to see why. He has a passion for helping others. This is what first drew me to him. People that are despised, he loves. People who are outcast he takes in. He loves everything America despises. America loves the beautiful, the whole and the strong. Joshua loves the unattractive, the broken and the weak.
I will never forget the day I finally made the decision to be adopted. It was mid-May and was about to turn sixteen. I was working in my yard when Joshua stopped by. He and I talked while I worked.
“Hey Stephen”
I smiled because whenever he says, “Hey Peter” like that, I know he is going to teach me something worth knowing. I always enjoy it when he chooses to teach me something. He is very wise and very patient. He loves to teach in ways that, at first, confuse me. Generally he will say something that seems simple, but as soon as I apply it to my life, I find it’s harder than it appeared.
“Hey Stephen” he said. “You’ve got one day to live.”
I paused. His odd statement puzzled me. I have one day to live? Did he know something about my health that I didn’t? Why did he say that? I like to try to figure out what he means on my own, but this time I had to ask.
“What are you talking about?”
He smiled. He knew he had piqued my curiosity.
“Look at it this way,” he started. “Yesterday is gone. You can’t change yesterday anymore than you can change the first day of time. It’s completely lost; only found in your memories.”
He gave me a second for it to sink in, and continued.
“And who has guaranteed you tomorrow? What rule is written that says you will have another day? Yesterday only exists in your memories, and tomorrow only exists in your plans. The only time you truly have, is the brief moment we call today. You only have one day to live.”
The second time he said it, the phrase made more sense. I did only have one day to live. This was Joshua’s way of saying “our offer of adoption still stands. What do you say? You want to be my brother?”
Over the next few days I talked to my guardians and Joshua’s dad and decided that it was the right thing to do. Joshua is now my oldest brother, but he is not my only sibling. I was adopted into a large family. A few of my new siblings fight far too much. This is the one drawback to my new home. They disagree on a lot of little things. But the one thing that we all agree on is that we really like Joshua. We all love him and try to let our love be the thing that keeps us together. It’s no secret that we almost idolize him. Some say we idolize him too much and others say we don’t idolize him enough. Still, he’s everything that we want to be. We just have a hard time agreeing on other things. But Joshua is always patient and always kind. He never lets our bickering get to him. He is the living example of what love and strength is.
Joshua is by far my best friend. No one knows me nearly as well as he does. But friends don’t become best friends just because of the good times they’ve shared together. Usually, they become best friends because of the hard and difficult times they’ve shared. Joshua has always been there when I needed him. He always hurts with those who are hurt. But even in the hard times, he’s trying to teach me something. Once, after a very painful breakup, he taught me one of the most helpful lessons I have ever learned. We went for a long walk and spent several minutes in silence. Then he said,
“Hey Stephen”,
in that special way again. But I couldn’t find the courage to smile this time. He continued,
“Gold is put into a fire for a very important reason.”
Again he gave me a moment to let it sink in.
“When gold is put into the fire, it melts until its liquid. Then the impurities rise to the surface and are scraped away. Gold cannot be purified unless it is put through a fire. This is why we suffer – to be made strong and pure. Don’t ever run away from hard times. In every fire you go through, there is a lesson. Look for it. If you don’t look, you may miss the jewel that’s only found in the ashes.”
As he was still speaking, I already knew that it was true. I was a little ashamed of myself for being so easily distracted. I assured him that I would be looking for the lesson.
Joshua has this strength and love because of our dad. He and my new father are exactly the same. If anyone wanted to get to know my dad, they should get to know Joshua. He does what he sees our dad doing. He opens our door to anyone who knocks on it, and helps anyone who asks. He and his dad decided that they would not force me into being adopted and they gave me the final decision in the matter. All they did was offer. The choice was mine. There are many reasons why I chose what I did. But all of the little reasons pale in comparison to the one factor of Joshua.
Some people wanted to know more about the actual person my brother is. In this profile, I’ve only told what I know first-hand about him. There are other books written about him, if anyone wants to know about the man himself. You see, Joshua is a Hebrew name. When it is translated into Greek, it’s Jesus. Joshua is Jesus Christ. This entire essay is an allegory. It has a truth deeper than the literal meanings of the words. But my adoption is a real as night and day, black and white, and heaven and hell. When I was adopted as a member into the family of God, Jesus became my older brother. We both share the same father, and my earthy parents became only my guardians. Other Christians are now my brothers and sisters. And it’s true; they do fight far too much.
It’s hard to describe someone who means as much to me as Joshua does. In all honesty, I owe everything I have and everything I am to him. No one person has ever had as much impact on my life as Joshua has. Needless to say, my brother is the man I hope to become. Through him I have grown and become wiser. He is my hero, my mentor, and my friend. No one would do badly if they tried to be more like him.
My Brother Joshua
My brother Joshua is a man worth profiling. He is my oldest brother by adoption and my best friend. I first met him when I was very young, but finally decided to be adopted by his family in the spring of 2006. Joshua is not hard to like. If anyone really gets to know him, they will find him the most faithful of brothers. He and I became very fast friends and it’s not hard to see why. He has a passion for helping others. This is what first drew me to him. People that are despised, he loves. People who are outcast he takes in. He loves everything America despises. America loves the beautiful, the whole and the strong. Joshua loves the unattractive, the broken and the weak.
I will never forget the day I finally made the decision to be adopted. It was mid-May and was about to turn sixteen. I was working in my yard when Joshua stopped by. He and I talked while I worked.
“Hey Stephen”
I smiled because whenever he says, “Hey Peter” like that, I know he is going to teach me something worth knowing. I always enjoy it when he chooses to teach me something. He is very wise and very patient. He loves to teach in ways that, at first, confuse me. Generally he will say something that seems simple, but as soon as I apply it to my life, I find it’s harder than it appeared.
“Hey Stephen” he said. “You’ve got one day to live.”
I paused. His odd statement puzzled me. I have one day to live? Did he know something about my health that I didn’t? Why did he say that? I like to try to figure out what he means on my own, but this time I had to ask.
“What are you talking about?”
He smiled. He knew he had piqued my curiosity.
“Look at it this way,” he started. “Yesterday is gone. You can’t change yesterday anymore than you can change the first day of time. It’s completely lost; only found in your memories.”
He gave me a second for it to sink in, and continued.
“And who has guaranteed you tomorrow? What rule is written that says you will have another day? Yesterday only exists in your memories, and tomorrow only exists in your plans. The only time you truly have, is the brief moment we call today. You only have one day to live.”
The second time he said it, the phrase made more sense. I did only have one day to live. This was Joshua’s way of saying “our offer of adoption still stands. What do you say? You want to be my brother?”
Over the next few days I talked to my guardians and Joshua’s dad and decided that it was the right thing to do. Joshua is now my oldest brother, but he is not my only sibling. I was adopted into a large family. A few of my new siblings fight far too much. This is the one drawback to my new home. They disagree on a lot of little things. But the one thing that we all agree on is that we really like Joshua. We all love him and try to let our love be the thing that keeps us together. It’s no secret that we almost idolize him. Some say we idolize him too much and others say we don’t idolize him enough. Still, he’s everything that we want to be. We just have a hard time agreeing on other things. But Joshua is always patient and always kind. He never lets our bickering get to him. He is the living example of what love and strength is.
Joshua is by far my best friend. No one knows me nearly as well as he does. But friends don’t become best friends just because of the good times they’ve shared together. Usually, they become best friends because of the hard and difficult times they’ve shared. Joshua has always been there when I needed him. He always hurts with those who are hurt. But even in the hard times, he’s trying to teach me something. Once, after a very painful breakup, he taught me one of the most helpful lessons I have ever learned. We went for a long walk and spent several minutes in silence. Then he said,
“Hey Stephen”,
in that special way again. But I couldn’t find the courage to smile this time. He continued,
“Gold is put into a fire for a very important reason.”
Again he gave me a moment to let it sink in.
“When gold is put into the fire, it melts until its liquid. Then the impurities rise to the surface and are scraped away. Gold cannot be purified unless it is put through a fire. This is why we suffer – to be made strong and pure. Don’t ever run away from hard times. In every fire you go through, there is a lesson. Look for it. If you don’t look, you may miss the jewel that’s only found in the ashes.”
As he was still speaking, I already knew that it was true. I was a little ashamed of myself for being so easily distracted. I assured him that I would be looking for the lesson.
Joshua has this strength and love because of our dad. He and my new father are exactly the same. If anyone wanted to get to know my dad, they should get to know Joshua. He does what he sees our dad doing. He opens our door to anyone who knocks on it, and helps anyone who asks. He and his dad decided that they would not force me into being adopted and they gave me the final decision in the matter. All they did was offer. The choice was mine. There are many reasons why I chose what I did. But all of the little reasons pale in comparison to the one factor of Joshua.
Some people wanted to know more about the actual person my brother is. In this profile, I’ve only told what I know first-hand about him. There are other books written about him, if anyone wants to know about the man himself. You see, Joshua is a Hebrew name. When it is translated into Greek, it’s Jesus. Joshua is Jesus Christ. This entire essay is an allegory. It has a truth deeper than the literal meanings of the words. But my adoption is a real as night and day, black and white, and heaven and hell. When I was adopted as a member into the family of God, Jesus became my older brother. We both share the same father, and my earthy parents became only my guardians. Other Christians are now my brothers and sisters. And it’s true; they do fight far too much.
It’s hard to describe someone who means as much to me as Joshua does. In all honesty, I owe everything I have and everything I am to him. No one person has ever had as much impact on my life as Joshua has. Needless to say, my brother is the man I hope to become. Through him I have grown and become wiser. He is my hero, my mentor, and my friend. No one would do badly if they tried to be more like him.
Resolved
These are my own resolutions for my life, as inspired by Johnathan Edwards (the theologian). I wrote these in a class that lasted far longer than my attention span.
--------------------------
Resolved: To never err on the side of caution where God has called me to take a risk
Resolved: to not speak poorly of others behind their back, and to only do so to their face when I believe will bring some good to them.
Resolved: to not let the personality or appearance of someone cause me hesitation in sharing the gospel with them.
Resolved: to try, as best as I can, to love all people.
Resolved: to weigh the profit of any task against its importance in eternity.
Resolved: to live, as well as I can, with my own mortality in mind.
Resolved: to never open my mouth in prayer if my motive is a selfish one.
Resolved: if (or rather, when) I fail any one of these resolutions, I will not doubt the great forgiveness found in the grace of God.
Resolved: to never treat the greatness of God as common place.
Resolved: to never waste emotions on inanimate objects or unchangeable
circumstances.
Resolved: to go through my possessions often and see if there is anything which I would be ashamed to hold before the eyes of God.
Resolved: to pair actions with my beliefs.
Resolved: to consider I may be wrong before any disagreement damages a relationship.
Resolved: when I am confronted with my own error, I will not value my pride over the recognition of truth.
Resolved: to never, as well as I can, trade something which is best for something which is merely good.
Resolved: to read this list often, act on what I've written, and add to it when I can.
--------------------------
10.27.09
Resolved: To not let nameless, vague, irrational fears cause me hesitation in following through in God's will.
--------------------------
11.01.09
Resolved:
To love everyone. Regardless:
of their response
of their personality
of their race
of their usefulness to me
of their offences against me or anyone else
of their possibility of change
of the possibility of repayment
of their character
of how annoying they are
of how incompatible we are
of whether or not they ever know how much I've done for them
of how I feel
of who else loves them
of how long it takes
of how capable of love I feel
of how many times they've failed
of who knows
--------------------------
Resolved: To never err on the side of caution where God has called me to take a risk
Resolved: to not speak poorly of others behind their back, and to only do so to their face when I believe will bring some good to them.
Resolved: to not let the personality or appearance of someone cause me hesitation in sharing the gospel with them.
Resolved: to try, as best as I can, to love all people.
Resolved: to weigh the profit of any task against its importance in eternity.
Resolved: to live, as well as I can, with my own mortality in mind.
Resolved: to never open my mouth in prayer if my motive is a selfish one.
Resolved: if (or rather, when) I fail any one of these resolutions, I will not doubt the great forgiveness found in the grace of God.
Resolved: to never treat the greatness of God as common place.
Resolved: to never waste emotions on inanimate objects or unchangeable
circumstances.
Resolved: to go through my possessions often and see if there is anything which I would be ashamed to hold before the eyes of God.
Resolved: to pair actions with my beliefs.
Resolved: to consider I may be wrong before any disagreement damages a relationship.
Resolved: when I am confronted with my own error, I will not value my pride over the recognition of truth.
Resolved: to never, as well as I can, trade something which is best for something which is merely good.
Resolved: to read this list often, act on what I've written, and add to it when I can.
--------------------------
10.27.09
Resolved: To not let nameless, vague, irrational fears cause me hesitation in following through in God's will.
--------------------------
11.01.09
Resolved:
To love everyone. Regardless:
of their response
of their personality
of their race
of their usefulness to me
of their offences against me or anyone else
of their possibility of change
of the possibility of repayment
of their character
of how annoying they are
of how incompatible we are
of whether or not they ever know how much I've done for them
of how I feel
of who else loves them
of how long it takes
of how capable of love I feel
of how many times they've failed
of who knows
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