By Ashley Ohriner
News editor
When I was 12 years old, I dreamed about going to New York City, where I would live in a one-bedroom apartment as I typed away on my Mac, racing to make deadline.
Today, I dream about going to New York City and living in that same one-bedroom apartment – OK, maybe a two bedroom if I am really dreaming – as I type away on my Mac, still racing to make deadline.
Not much has changed in 10 years. One thing I can say is the thought of life after graduation has started to haunt me quite a bit more these day, especially with graduation around the corner.
Now that I am a full-fledged grown-up who knows it all, I realize life isn’t a “Sex and the City” episode. There aren’t many freelance positions at Vogue, and a writer absolutely cannot afford Bottega Veneta shoes, even on New York salary.
I will graduate in December 2012 with a major in journalism and minor in film and digital media.
When the time comes to interview, I can to say I had four internships, was the news editor for the Baylor Lariat, and public relations chair for my honor society.
I picture it going like this; I walk into the editor in chief’s office and meet with her snooty assistant, who laughs in my face when I ramble off – verbatim – what I consider to be my impressive resume.
OK, so that’s the opening scene to “The Devil Wears Prada,” but college students can learn a thing or two from that movie.
Wake up, seniors. There’s a whole other life outside, and it’s cut-throat.
What are you doing now to land that impressive job after graduation, and will it really assure you a job in a world where there are no assurances?
We can spend our entire four years at Baylor preparing for a job after graduation, only to find there aren’t any positions available.
In August, the unemployment rate in America was up to 9.1 percent in a population of 312,249,047. That’s 28,414,663 people all competing for one spot in the short stack.
I bet you’re saying ‘OK, thank you for the pick me up.’ Don’t get me wrong, hard work and experience pay off.
What we fail to realize however, is life is a lot like a treasure map that changes every five seconds. It is a journey we have to be willing to get a little beat up on. I guess the old saying is true: “Anything worth getting isn’t easy.”
All this said, step back, take a long look at that five-year plan you made as a freshman, and laugh. Go on, laugh because I’m pretty sure God is letting out a tiny chuckle too.
Ashley Ohriner is a senior journalism major from Las Vegas and is the Lariat’s news editor.
