What Am I Going to Do With My Life?

As the days go by, and I remain unemployed, there seems to be a question that plays like a melody in my head that I can't keep out got me saying like... na na na na everyday, like my iPod stuck on replay.. replay! Ha... Sorry. Anyways, like I was saying, there is a question that tends to pop into my head all the time, "What am I going to do with my life?"

Even as I was pushing paper on the daily grind at my previous place of employment, that question would pop into my head every now and then. What was I going to do with my life? Was I going to be at the same job 5 years... 10 years... 15 years from that point in time? Was I going to find something better? Nowadays, I don't really have a choice. Whatever job I take now has to be better than not working at all. Right?

As much as I know almost any job out there is better than not working at all (barring selling myself to science or working the McDonald's around the corner), I have to be picky with what it is I'm going to get into. For example, do I really want to work 40 hours a week at $15 an hour doing mindless filing and organizing for a company I know nothing about... OR... do I keep holding out for that one diamond in the rough job that I really want to do, all the while, raking in the obligatory Team 860 pay check? It's pretty much the "fine... I'll just work here for now until something AWESOME comes along" or the "dang... it's not bad getting paid to look for my dream job"... Let's create a Pros-Cons list for each scenario.. shall we?

PROS (to picking up the "fine... I'll just work here for now" job)
- WORK!! -- I'll finally be off my ass (at home) and on my ass (at another desk) making more money than I did sitting on my ass at home
- Money in the pocket -- no need for explanation here. I'll finally be making money doing something aside from doing nothing
- Being a contributing factor to society -- nothing feels more wasteful than waking up for breakfast at lunch time and going day by day checking your email hoping the next new piece of mail in your inbox is from an unfamiliar email address that's not a virus
- WORK!! -- Did I mention being able to say "I have a job" when someone asks what you do and being able to respond with the standard cookie-cutter response: "O, *eyebrows raise*. I work for _____. I do ______. The pay is ok and the benefits are fine. Hey... it puts food on the table *elbow nudge to the gut followed by comically fake laugh* Am I right? Am I right?" At least it wouldn't be the automatic "What do you do for a living?" conversation-ender that is unemployment: "I'm unemployed... *blank stare a la Jim Halpert*"
- Occupied Time Till Awesomeness Comes Along -- pretty much all of the above rolled into one... I'll be making money, killing time, learning something (hopefully) and working my networks until that CAREER comes along. As a 25 year old, I highly doubt the next job that I land will actually be my career. O and by the way, there is a difference between your JOB and your CAREER, but that's another post.

CONS
- Settling -- Who wants to settle? As a kid, who responded to the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and responded (proudly) with... "I want to be a professional administrative assistant!" (Which of course, loosely translates into "I'm going to be someone's bitch!")
- No More Days Off -- of course, I complain a lot about not having a job, but it is so nice to the freedom to do whatever, whenever I want (barring that it doesn't cost to much to do so). Waking up at 12PM isn't something I always do, but to have that ability isn't such a bad perk overall.
- Working to get paid -- well, it's not so much of a con as it is an addition to the last con.

PROS (to staying on unemployment and raking in free money)
- Free Money!! -- it's like FAFSA all over again. A few of you know what I am talking about. How great was it to take that financial aid check at the beginning of the quarter and just go nuts at the mall upgrading your expiring wardrobe of free college giveaway t-shirts and old hoodies? It's pretty much the same with unemployment checks (except that they go towards rent and credit card bills from college)
- Time -- all the time in the world! I can do anything I want at any given time of the day. I can go to the gym, snowboarding, the mall, your house, your mom's house.. anywhere really. I have the time.

CONS
- Limited Money Supply -- $860 every two weeks only gets you so far... it's not like I can go on a vacation with that money
- Too Much Time -- all the time gets quite boring. Boring enough to start a blog and exhaust every video on Youtube.
- Chauffeur Duties -- "Jum!! I need to go " I have become my mom's personal driver. Not that I don't love my mom, but I would like to use my car for other things -- like driving to my place of employment.
- Looking for Jobs is a Job -- I don't want Craigslist surfing to be my profession

So there you have it... In listing it down, I think I have an idea of what it is I want. Aside from the obvious, I want something that stimulates me. As much as I want a job to actually help take care of rent, I want something that actually keeps me going. For now, I may settle for that job that passes the time, but overall, as many other people out there feel, I want a job that can ultimately become my career. Till that day comes, I'll have to settle with blogging and youtubing till I get there.

And now for your Jersey Shore clip... Enjoy!