No Use for Excuses, Do the Work!

More often than not, I use past experiences to come up with material for this blog. I've been out of school for nearly a decade, but will be returning this upcoming semester to complete a degree in anthropology. If you're asking yourself, what you can do with an anthropology degree, you need to be reading the blog that I dedicate to everything anthropology. And to take this line of thought a little further, it was a discussion with a girlfriend of mine who happens to be an Anthropology professor at a University in Newfoundland that spawned the idea for this particular post.

Professor Bell was putting the final touches on a final exam for her students at home one evening, and when the clock struck ten, almost simultaneously and in a machine gun-like manner, her inbox began  filling up with emails from students who were subsequently taking the test the following morning. Bell sighed, exasperated before she had opened a single email, already anticipating the onslaught of nonsensical questions, but what she got instead, was a series of excuses as to why different students were unprepared for the impending exam.

The list of excuses, though comical, actually made me shake my head in utter disappointment. These students were my age. They were grown adults that were part of my generational cohort, and for the most part, were raised in family environments that were not radically dissimilar to my own. Yet the divide between my study ethic and preparedness, and this group of students is so wide, it's difficult to comprehend! Several of the students complained that they were unprepared because of a final paper that they had to submit at the end of the semester, yet they were assigned the paper three months earlier. Some complained that their work schedules were interfering with their studies, yet they knew that when they signed up for their courses months ago. And some complained of any number of medical issues that might prevent them from an exam, and for those particular excuses, sometimes there is actually some merit to them, but c'mon, people, if I can write an Economics final with a migraine and the flu, you can absolutely do it.

When you step out into the real world, there is little room for error, and most employers have no time to listen to you run the gamut of excuses, so why on earth would you think it's acceptable to pull that sort of nonsense in an adult classroom? It's time to pull your socks up, get your act together, and lose the excuses!

Don't Put it in Writing!

I can't tell you how many times I've woken up, shuffled over to iMac, switched it on and logged into Facebook only to find some less-than-flattering photo, or post someone's uploaded onto their page, or friend's page, from the night night before. I generally just have a laugh, go put on a cup of tea, and get on with my online courses. But the other morning, I logged on to shoot off a quick message to my girlfriend in London, and at the top of my notification page, another girlfriend of mine had posted photos of herself at a party, in her bra, shot-gunning a beer. The status read, "Just another night out - The Before Shot". I laughed at first, but then I remember that she worked at a prestigious law firm, was a mother of four and head of several parental committees. And I started to worry, what's the "after" going to look like?

We all know that a picture says a thousand words. But words say so much more. I'll admit it, I judged. I immediately thought, what if the wrong person got a hold of those photos, or read through her posts and came to the wrong conclusions. She could lose her job, or worse, she could lose her children. I waffled for a couple of days. A part of me said I should just mind my own business, and laugh it off, but I just couldn't shake a nagging feeling.

I swallowed hard, picked up the phone and invited her for coffee. I didn't want her to feel like I was ambushing her, but I really was concerned. I know how hard she worked to get to where she was. Law school is no walk in the park, and neither is getting hired on somewhere half decent. So, I very delicately explained my concern, and braced for impact. It was like a light bulb came on, and she agreed with me 100%. She whipped out her iPhone and deleted the photos immediately, and thanked me for watching her back.

The moral of the story, never, ever post anything that could be misconstrued as sinister or inappropriate. We are an outwardly expressive culture, but we also live in an age of spies. I know it sounds a little Cold War-ish, but it's true. It's not uncommon for employers to go trolling for background information on a prospective or current employee. Shot-gun whatever you want, but don't write about it or post photographic evidence online!

Life in the Stress Lane

I'm a University student. Well, at this very moment, I'm a university student moonlighting as a full time freelance writer until I go back in September. I've been playing the waiting game, and just received word yesterday that I have been accepted to one of the most prominent Anthropology universities in the world. Woot! Four months to save, and four months to figure out how the heck I'm going to manage my ridiculous schedule.

This isn't my first rodeo, however. I've spent the last year and a half attending a smaller university, and because I'm in my 30's, I've had to maintain a full time work schedule while managing a full-time course load. Needless to say, I've felt a bit like a circus clown, juggling my life around. I've also had the added pressure of maintaining a near perfect GPA to ensure that I got into that ivy league school. My life feels a bit like a fairytale right now, but none of it would be possible without some serious hard work, and some major stress management skills! Here are a few of the tools I have in my arsenal:

Always have a tennis ball near by
You're probably sitting there scratching your head, asking yourself, "what the heck am I going to do with a tennis ball". No, you won't be hitting the court. I use it to undo all of the tension in my neck, take the knots out of my back, and ease my sore wrists. It's cheaper than getting a massage!

Learn to meditate 
This is a relatively new venture for me. I am definitely a person who suffers from stress and anxiety and I started to recognize that it was affecting me physically. I started to get severe back pain, headaches and I felt like I couldn't catch my breath sometimes. There are a series of meditating techniques that will help you to calm your mind, get centred and feel refreshed. Sometimes you just need to hit the restart button.

Eat a balanced diet
This should come as no surprise that what you eat can have a positive or negative impact on your stress level. You don't need to go learn how to become a dietician to know that consuming high amounts of refined sugars makes your blood sugar shoot through the roof, but also increases your blood pressure. High blood pressure and stress can go hand-in-hand, and it's a combination for disaster. You know how the old adage goes, "stress kills"? Well they weren't kidding.

The Party Bus Has Left the Building

College life is a bowl of cherries, right? Well, not exactly. It is a minefield of class assignments, complicated relationships, faulty friendships, life-altering exams, tough lessons and any number of other issues that face a young person coming out of adolescence and into the challenging world of adulthood. The path you take after college is not written in stone. If you feel that your four year degree is enough to land you a killer career, than go forth and conquer! Or perhaps you've been bitten by the academic bug, and feel you need to start looking at top rated online colleges to get your Master's while you earn some cash, either way, life as you knew is about to change dramatically, and the party is over!

If you managed to navigate your way through college without passing out in the bathtub at some frat party, or without pulling some stunt that was borderline illegal at the behest of a friend's dare, you deserve a medal or two. However, your days of stumbling into class hung-over are long gone, and if you think for one moment that you can continue to binge-drink your weekends away and stroll into work the next day with a pair of sunnies and a big smile, you are sorely mistaken!

It's time for a wake-up call! You've had the last four years of your young life to engage in countless acts of debauchery, and unless you're independently wealthy, or don't give a hoot about that all-important piece of paper that says you have a college degree, you've got a whole host of responsibilities that you need to fulfil. Being at college is a lot like being on a four year holiday for many students. You're away from home, someone else is footing the bill (either the government or your parents) and your main responsibility is to study. If you look at it that way, it's not a bad gig!

It's time to replace those binge drinking habits with some grown up activities, like job hunting, house hunting, and debt repayment. Sounds exciting right? Maybe not all of it, but this is what you've worked for. Independence, freedom, and a new career. Why would you want to blow it all just because you can't let go of your frat days? It's time to join all the adults in the real world. Don't be so glum. Chin up, there's plenty of ways to get in trouble that don't involve a race to the bottom of a bottle of cheap Tequila!

Ethnic Tolerance in the Workplace

The North American workplace, much like a North American university, has changed dramatically over the last three decades. If you worked in an office setting thirty or forty years ago, you might remember that if you had looked to the left and right of your desk, there was a great deal of homogeny in the workplace. Everyone was probably the same colour and gender, white and male. And even if they weren't the same religion, they were most likely tight-lipped about their personal beliefs because that wasn't the sort of thing you spoke about in the lunch room. 

Never before in history, has the North American workplace been more diverse. As a Vancouver native, I've spent the last eight years working in office settings where no one ethnic group was more prevalent than another, and being a visible minority myself, absolutely loved coming into work each day to a rainbow of faces. However, because of the significant increase in diversity, most employee handbooks now include entire chapters on cultural and ethnic tolerance. Employers have recognized that creating a safe and tolerant work environment makes for a productive and happy workforce. Once you leave the open-minded world of your college campus, it's important to understand what being tolerant in the workplace looks like, so you don't lose that job you've worked so hard for!

1) Your language usage needs to change dramatically, that is, referring to people with the correct terminology. Referring to someone as a "black" person is not acceptable, and using the term 'African American or African Canada" is considered to be more acceptable. But to really safeguard yourself from getting into hot water, don't refer to someone by using their ethnicity, but use their name and position instead when discussing them in a social setting. 

2) DO NOT make racial or gender jokes of any kind! Leave the Russell Peter or Chris Rock comedy routine to the professionals, and ditch any ethnic humour. If you want to go have drinks after work and shoot the breeze with your multi-ethnic co-workers, and the deem it acceptable to make those kinds of jokes, it's up to you to show good judgement. But in the workplace, you never know who you might offend. 

3) DO NOT forward or manufacture offensive memo's, emails, or notes to be distributed around the office. First of all, the distribution of offensive material not only has the potential to get you fired, but if one of your co-workers finds it exceptionally offensive, they can bring about a lawsuit depending on the severity of the correspondence for workplace harassment. 

Post-College Conundrum - To See the World, or Not?

As I neared the end of my twenties, I started to feel anxious about my impending high school reunion. I was still in touch with a handful of my high school friends on Facebook, but it wasn't the same thing with having to be in a room with three hundred people, who last knew me as a gangly, awkward 17 year old. I started to look back on my life, and what I had and hadn't accomplished. I started to compare myself with lives I knew nothing about, and eventually, I began to drive myself mad. My reunion eventually came around, and after an evening of mingling and hob-nobbing, I came home feeling a certain sense of satisfaction.

Nearly everyone I had spoken to, who had graduated from university had done the exact same thing. They graduated, found themselves a job which turned into a career, found a partner, got married, and either started a family, or, were well on their way to having children. I found myself repeating the same sentiment over and over, "Oh, how wonderful, that sounds so great". And no sooner had the words left my lips, I could read the disappointment on their faces as they realized that their lives hadn't quite gone the way they expected them to. I was regaling one of my many African adventure stories to a couple of my classmates, when before I knew it, I had drawn in a small crowd. I looked into the faces of my educated colleagues. A pharmacy tech, a marine biologist, a lawyer, a chartered accountant, it was a room teeming with successful professionals, with important careers, yet I was the main attraction.

So why was I so different? Well, for one, I took a few extra years to complete my first degree. I didn't see the rush! As a young student, I never understood why everyone was in such a big hurry to be what we deemed a "grown-up", doing grown-up things like starting a family, and getting a mortgage. When I closed my last book, I booked myself a ticket to Thailand. And over the course of the last four years, I'd been stepped foot on five different continents, and experienced cultures I'd only read about in National Geographic. And as I watched their faces light up as I took them on a journey through the jungles of Northern Thailand, I realized as I said goodbye to them that night, they were left inspired but sad, wondering why they hadn't done the same thing.

Travel is the most exquisite gift you can give to yourself. And after spending the last four years cooped amidst the stacks, stepping out into the world, literally, is beneficial not only to yourself, but also to those you converse with. It opens your mind, humbles you, and reminds you that life is so much more than Christmas vacations with the -in-laws, dentist appointments, cubicles, office meetings, and anything else mundane. There is an entire world beyond your doorstep, so get the heck out there and live it!

Hmmm, I Didn't Think About That!

Do you remember when you were nearing the end of your high school days and your parents, teachers and school counselors were trying to prepare you for college? Maybe you had a conversation with your parents about finances and ensuring you stick to a budget. And maybe your teachers were emphasizing the need for you to get exceptional grades to ensure that you have plenty of options when you started to apply for post-secondary institutions. And maybe your school counselor coached you on what it meant to leave high school, and tried to provide you with tips to help navigate your way through the next four years. But during this time, we're young and impressionable and still need a great deal of guidance.

In the latter part of our college years, we've grown into responsible young adults, capable of running our own lives. We will often seek out guidance to determine our career path, and try to find coping mechanisms that will allow us to go out into the big bad world. But sometimes, but in life, there are issues that pop up, that we're not quite prepared for! Here are a few things to consider when you start making your own way in the world.

1) Dealing with the Debt Monster! Almost every college student in America is racked with debt that feels insurmountable. It really isn't. When the time comes to repay sit down with the "community" (the family) and work out a long term and short term repayment plan so there are no surprises and you can have realistic expectations. You think your budget was tight in college? Just wait until you have to start paying grown up bills like rent, utilities, medical costs, groceries etc. Debt effects you both financially and emotionally, and it's important to take care of your state of mind as much as your fragile bank account!

2) Friends Don't Come Easy. When I finished my first degree, I was completely caught off guard by how difficult it was to meet new people. In college, for a significant amount of time, you are surrounded by people who are close to you in age and share many of the same interests. There are any number of clubs and organizations on campus that you can become a part of, but when you graduate, that safety net is no longer there. And just like high school, you will most likely lose contact with many of your college friends as they move on with their careers. In the big bad world, it's not a popularity contest. It's going to take some serious effort to meet quality individuals that are going to contribute something good to your life.

3) A New Wardrobe, New Grown-up Life! College, like high school, may have been a bit of a fashion show, but opportunity won't come knocking just because you look cute in your new oxfords. When you start hunting for that dream job, you are going to need a grown up wardrobe. First impressions are absolutely everything, and what you wore in class to impress your colleagues may not be acceptable in an interview setting.

To Move Home or Not to, That is The Question!

The college years are full of discovery, and new found freedom. Your mind is open, your heart is open and your wallet is hemorrhaging! The price for admission to a college life is quickly creeping towards being an option only available to a privileged few. So here you are, one of the privileged few. You may not feel so privileged when you've got the weight of an entire college degree's worth of debt on your shoulders. Here you are standing at the edge of the world, your business degree from Saint Leo University in hand, and it's time for you to start banging on some doors to make it all worth while. But without the luxury of time and money, someone could come knocking on your door with their hand out, expecting payback for all those college years. So to avoid that, you have to make some tough decisions.

Even the idea of moving home after college can bring just about as much dread as a crippling tuition bill. But you're a grown up now, and it's time to make grown-up decisions. You need to take a good hard look at your financial situation. There are a few poignant questions that need to be addressed; Are you currently employed, and if so, do you make enough to pay to live, pay off debt,  and have the time to seek out a career in the field you graduated in? Sounds impossible doesn't it. Of course it isn't, you just have to be prepared to make some tough choices.

Moving Home - It's time for a heart-to-heart with Mom and Dad. Moving home is the ultimate way to save money. Save up to buy a house and save up for an emergency fund so when you do eventually move out that way you'll have a nest egg to support you in case you fall on hard times. Another great thing about moving home is that you don't feel like you're in a pressure cooker, you have the luxury of time so you can find your dream job!

Some may argue that moving home is more stressful than living out on your own because of tensions or family issues. This is entirely possible, but perhaps you can use this as a time to heal old wounds, and work on your relationship with them. If the past is irreparable, than perhaps it isn't the best idea, and you need to seek out alternative, and affordable living arrangements. But if this is an option for you, it could be a win-win situation for all involved; Your parents get to put off their empty-nest syndrome a little longer, and you get to save a boatload of cash so you can pay down your debt, and start building a better life for yourself.

Post-College Life in China!

It is undeniable that university graduates are facing more obstacles than ever before. Whether it be economic challenges, a lack of positions in a particular field, or being hampered by geographical positioning, a college degree  in the United States, is no longer a ticket to success. It is estimated that a 40.4% of the American population is in possession of an associates or bachelors degree which translates into nearly 125 million people walking around with experience in higher learning. Despite

such obstacles, even during the recession, it was estimated that close to 95% of college graduates in the United States were employed. This of course doesn't specify the type of jobs those college grads are getting, of course. And who knows how many grads are actually getting jobs in their field, the statistics are fuzzy.

Imagine for a moment, if you can, living in a country where the number of graduates increases more than a million every year! So not only are you competing with an unimaginable number of fellow graduates, but your job prospects as a graduate are worse than if you were a rural worker looking for work on any number of major construction projects being commissioned in Shanghai, Beijing or Guangzhou.

Unlike college in the USA, where the government has no say in what classes or degree you pursue, in China, the situation is far more sinister. Driven by the need for economic prosperity and unnerved by economic strife in America, Chinese universities are geared to becoming the worlds top research facilities, top economic think tanks, top everything. So what's wrong with being the best? Nothing, provided it's not at the expense of student minds, and provided said students have realistic prospects at the end of their invested time and money. Students have little choice in what they can study, unless it benefits the party and it contributes to China's economic future. Little value is placed in the arts, literature, history, culture.

Another issue domestic university graduates face in China, is an influx of Chinese students graduating overseas, and returning to the mainland with internationally recognized degrees from American and European ivy league institutions, taking up highly sought-after positions.

College graduates all over the world are facing more and more challenges, domestic and international. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to discourage students from pursuing their dreams, because despite statistics, or grim reports, there is still room in the world for college grads to pursue their dreams. 

The Eternal Student

Nothing tastes as good as freedom. Freedom from stacks of reading, free from the all night coffee binges just to stay awake to finish a research paper you started the night before it was due; freedom to get out there in the world and make a name for yourself. You just dedicated the last seventeen years of your life (including secondary school) to education, to achieve your dream, and after a long, painstaking search for the perfect fit, sifting through posting after posting of teaching jobs, you've finally found your dream job, at a fantastic school, and you get to work with an exceptional faculty of

great minds. Many college graduates, especially those who don't move on to grad school, don't appreciate the importance of keeping their credentials fresh and current. No matter what field you enter into, new thoughts, new theories and new research will continuously reshape the future of your profession, and if you're not keeping track of what's new and hot in your field, you risk the possibility of making yourself redundant, or in this case, as a teacher, you'll eventually fall out of touch with generational changes occurring with your students, and miss out on the opportunity to make a real difference.

Not only is it important to keep educating yourself to keep your skills sharp, but it's also a great way to stimulate your brain! Education doesn't necessarily have to be structured. Try taking an online class with Penn Foster College. You can create your own schedule, and get educated from the comfort of your own home. Furthering your education doesn't necessarily mean it has to be in a classroom or online setting, try taking a seminar, or signing up for a workshop.

These are great ways to learn in an open environment, where you can engage your peers in helpful discussions about what's new in the field. Perhaps you've been struggling with a particular component of the job, why not share your thoughts and concerns with other professionals who maybe having a similar experience?

Another fabulous option, and one of my favourite options is gaining experience abroad. This could manifest itself as a unique volunteer project, or perhaps doing a quick one year contract working in another country. Whether you volunteer or work, this sort of international experience will automatically distinguish you from your peers. We tend to think that the college education we invested in is in some way to superior, and this is often not true. It's important to gain an understanding how other countries orchestrate a particular field, and to recognized and appreciate the differences. Who knows, you just might learn something that will change the way you think for the rest of your life.

Mind the Gap

 

Diploma in hand, satin gown gleaming, a bright grin from ear-to-ear, you feel like you've just conquered a four year ascent to the top of Everest. College graduation is a distinguished privilege and great accomplishment. But after the dust settles, there you are, your accomplishment has the potential to become your burden. Emotionally and financially. Many college students zip straight from cozy the halls of their high school to the slightly less insulated walls of a dorm room. Life on campus and the pursuit of higher learning is meant to blast open the young mind, fine tune the intellect and promote personal growth. For some of you, however, college may have been one big blur, an endless slew of keggers, sorority gatherings, and wild weekenders. And here you stand on stage, degree in hand, with a monumental hangover and a mountain of debt. 

After everything is said and done, there are a number of essential decisions that a college graduate is faced with. What now? How do I find a job? Where am I going to live? How am I going to pay all this debt off? What is my college degree worth? It can be overwhelming. So much so, that standing in one place seems like the best solution. Millions of college graduates, fraught with debt, move home after they've completed their degree, get a job flipping burgers, and admit defeat. There is a certain feeling of loss when you walk out those doors and into the world. A loss of community, and a loss of security. It's time to fly the coop and stand on your own two feet. You're a college graduate now. The world is your oyster. This should be an exciting time in your young life. A myriad of options lay at your feet, and it's up to you to choose one that best suits your needs and wants. 

In the UK, and Australia, university graduates often take a gap year before they head out into the real world. Your education doesn't end at the college gates. As you step out into the world, the real educational process begins. A gap year, or partial year abroad gives a college graduate the opportunity to make use of newly acquired skills, explore theories and ideas they've learned and help them to gain an awareness. As college students, we often get wrapped up in the drama of our own campus existence. The buzz of activity on campus shapes decisions we make, and perspectives we take on every day events. Travelling to another country, and experiencing cultures different than our own, offers a unique educational experience that college can't offer. If you're concerned about the financial burden a trip abroad can cause, apply for a working holiday visa and earn while you learn! Australia and the United Kingdom have fantastic working holiday programs, and their convenient geographical locales allow fabulous travel opportunities. 

If you're after something more adventurous, why not teach english in China, help build a schoolhouse in Uganda or conduct research on lions in Zambia? These may not all be paid gigs, but if you're careful with your pennies, can be an affordable way to experience new cultures, foods and belief systems. College is not an ending, but rather, the beginning of the rest of your life. Make every moment count.