Ramblings of an Unemployed Twentysomething...

As I sit in a coffee shop on a Wednesday afternoon, I am amazed at what a happening place this is & how many other people around me aren’t at work/school either. I’ve seen everything from old friends reuniting to a nun checking out the classifieds. I overheard a girl complaining about her job & realized that used to be me. From my experience, living life hating your job & having to commute in rush hour traffic on a daily basis is much more stressful than not having a job. However, feeling like you’re constantly in transition & having your spouse support you fully is tough & even earth shattering after awhile.

This is the part in my twentysomething life that I’m supposed to decide whether to focus on my career, travel around the world, have kids…the world is my oyster, right? So why does it seem so difficult not to get caught up in all the “responsibilities” of adulthood - health insurance, 401Ks, upgrading your house/cars/tvs etc? Would I be happier if I were sitting in a coffee shop in Auckland, Dublin or Colorado Springs - maybe? Would my life be complete if Ben & I created a new life & we would be able to experience everything in a whole new light - maybe?

I believe that relationships with people matter - stuff doesn’t. So why do we all go to work everyday to make more money to have more stuff? I know there’s a healthy balance of being responsible & not becoming a workaholic. Ideally, Ben & I would both have part-time jobs to support ourselves, yet also have time to enjoy more of life instead of spending it being at work. Ideally, ideally, we would both have part-time jobs that we loved, were passionate about & could make enough money to travel the world in all our spare time.

Mostly, during the past couple of months people have given me advice like, “just enjoy this time you have off,” which I am happy to say that I am so I hope these thoughts don’t come across as, “whoa is me, my life sucks.” A journey of self-discovery is better than no journey at all & I am happy to have the opportunity.