So first off, a few site related announcements and an apology.
I'll be cleaning house on this site soon. By that, I mean I'll be restructuring/updating a few things (the extras page will likely be changed, the politics page will be updated, and pics will (hopefully) be added if I can find them). Also, a few pages will be deleted. The fiction page, which was a great idea at the time, will likely be moved into the extras page due to the fact that I got out what I wanted to get out of that. I'm also getting rid of the "...of the Week" section because, frankly, I haven't had the time and energy to do weekly updates (and only a few people were looking at them anyway...the page was for the benefit of my readership more than my own, so it doesn't make much sense to keep it around). If you want any of the items formerly contained within these sections, please let me know.
Now, the apology: I've been pretty busy and haven't updated over the last month or so. I've kinda had my hands full lately and really just didn't know what to write. It wasn't until I had a discussion with my parents that a light finally went on.
For those who don't know, I was just recently hired for an internship at the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association. I start next week. The day I found out I was hired, I put in a call to my parents to end the endless game of email/phone tag I was playing with them. They were both happy I finally found something, though in two different ways. Mom seemed happy and excited. Dad seemed relieved. That's fine. Quite frankly, I was feeling both, so I wasn't wholly surprised. I was worried, though, about what this meant long term and whether this would in fact count for my internship. My mother was optimistic and supportive, which led to this exchange:
MOM: It'll work out.
ME: Yeah, I know. It always does.
DAD: I wouldn't go that far.
ME: I would.
Which got me thinking...who's right here? I see Dad's point, but I think his reaction had more to do with the fact that my one (well, two) brief lines of dialogue don't do justice to my position. I would have explained, but I was getting ready to hang up (and it sounds like they were too). So, instead, I'll use this space (lucky you) to present my full case and to update you on what I've been up to for the last month.
It is my opinion that everything, in the end, works out. By this, there are a lot of things I DON'T mean. I don't mean that everything works out the way you (or I) want them to. I don't mean that everything will just magically be the way it should be. I don't mean that we are completely absolved from responsibility in whatever happens.
All I mean is, simply, that as long as I put in my best effort into everything I do, then no matter what the outcome I'll be able to deal with it. It may not be what I want, but my life won't end, either.
This job may be the start of something big. It could lead to the full time job I've always wanted. It could just be another notch on my resume, leaving me to find whatever work I can to be able to support myself by the time I graduate. Either way, I know I'll make it through, as I always do.
Not only that, I believe that this applies to, at the very least, the people I know. It seems as though people sometimes believe that once they make a change or something happens, they expect things to be better right away. If it doesn't happen, people generally get one of two ways: frustrated at the lack of movement or depressed at the thought that it won't change. I've been there. I've done that. Neither of those are remotely true. Show me one person who can adjust to a major life change within a matter of hours (or days) and I'll show you a hundred who can't. As far as I'm concerned, there are two immutable truths about change in human beings: it's slow and can only come from within. It's amazing to me the number of people who think that they can change someone quickly. It amazes me further when they (predictably) fail and get all upset about it. You can try to inspire change all you want, but in the end the other person has to want to do it.
I know that's not an easy concept for a lot of people, but whenever you have trouble dealing with that, remember the Rolling Stones: You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need. They believed it too: everything works out. Not for the best, not the way you want, but it works out. You (whomever "you" may be) are not alone in what you think, and others have survived in your situation. No one I know is incapable of improving their own lives in whatever areas may bug them...I just hope they can start the change in themselves to realize it.
A bit of a ramble, I know, but something I had to get off my chest. I do hope, at least, that everyone's summer is going well.
Marc-I approve of this entry. Congrats on the job! What exactly will you be doing?
Andrew-I'm searching the internet for information they need and finding newsletters their members need to be reading. I've also been told I could be doing some policy related stuff, so who knows?