How Following Your Dreams Leads to a Post-Graduate Nightmare

You were told at a young age that you should always follow your dreams whether it was told to you by your parents, the media, or perhaps your invisible friends. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a mermaid and a famous writer. Well, I'm neither right now, so you can see how well that panned out. But, those weren't my only dreams. I wanted to be a paleontologist, an archeologist, a gymnast, an F.B.I. agent, a detective, a member of the X-Men, you name it. I wanted it all. You spend your childhood thinking about how cool and fabulous life will be when you are an adult, and once you become an adult, you remember how cool and fabulous it was like to be a kid.
You worked your ass off in school to the point that you almost had no social life, and you never did drugs, or drank. You were always one of the best students in your class. You always felt like your efforts would pay off--that it all mattered. You invested in student loans because scholarships are hard to come by unless you are extremely lucky and know the right people. It was okay that you invested in student loans because you were doing something with your life. You were following your dreams. Your major in college was something some people raised their eyebrows at, but that was alright because it was your dream.
If any of these statements apply to you, you may be a homeless and unemployed college grad.
No?
Well, how about this. You have graduated from your undergraduate school, but you soon realize that there is very little you can do with your degree you just spent thousands and thousands on. You begin to realize that if you aren't in school, you will have to start paying your loans soon. Well, that's alright because you love learning. You'll just go back to school! You'll get your Master's in something you love because that's still kind of following your dream. And that'll give you more experience to get a job. And you'll get a teaching assistantship while you're there which will help push you a little closer to your dream.
After applying to several graduate programs, taking the GRE or whatever irritating test you have to do to apply to these things, you are out of a lot of money. After all, each application usually costs at least $50. And the GRE is over $100. And you recently graduated and you cannot find a decent job. But that's okay. You are trying to hold onto the scraps of your dreams. You are exhausted from the application process because each one is different and requires copious amounts of silly writing about yourself and/or massive essays you have edited and rewritten from an undergraduate class.
Rejection letter after rejection letter comes through the mail. You are eventually waiting to hear from one more place. If you aren't accepted, you have no idea what you will do with your life. Finally, the day arrives that you receive an acceptance letter. It wasn't your first choice, and it wasn't your last. But it will have to do.
You feel relief rather than happiness. And later you discover you didn't get an assistantship, and that most people who apply the first time don't get them. So, you take out more loans to pay for that school just so you can, sadly, avoid paying those other loans you have. It's okay, though! Once you graduate, your phone will be off the hook because everyone will want you to work for them.
Oh, and you are trying to achieve your dreams. So, perhaps more debt is worth it.
Does any of this sound familiar? You maybe be a homeless and unemployed college grad. Still doesn't apply to you? Keep reading.
You keep applying for the assistantship once you get to the school. You find out that, actually, you have to suck up to the administration and faculty and play the politics game for them to even consider you for an assistantship. You try that. You aren't very good at it. But, maybe you still have a chance. You, at this point, are so burnt out on school that you start to forget why you came here in the first place. You somehow graduate, extremely unhappy and jaded without any field experience because you always came THIS close to getting an assistantship.
You figure that there is no way you can have both a Bachelor's and Master's and still have trouble finding a job.
At this point, your dream has crawled into a very tiny corner of your mind. Sometimes you think about your dream, and say "that would have been nice." Now, it has all come down to making money. Considering where you live, it is almost impossible to find a job unless you move. But you can't move because you can't afford it. So, you have to try and get some job that doesn't have anything to do with your degrees.
But here, even jobs as a cashier in your local department store are hard to come by. The college grads are competing with 16-year-olds Justin Bieber fans for the same job.
You can't pay your rent. You can hardly afford food. You are going to have to start paying loans in a couple months. You spend hours on Monster and Craig's List just hoping that maybe you will find the next job to get you by.
All because you tried to obtain a dream you've had since you were five.
Ring a bell? Perhaps you are not in the same exact situation; maybe just some of it applies. Nonetheless, many of us are on this same sinking ship. When did college degrees stopped meaning anything? Sure, there are some degrees that are guaranteed to get you a job (like if you go through medical school, for instance), but what about everyone else?
Does none of this strike a chord with you? Maybe you are one of the lucky ones. You happened to get a degree in something you both loved and could place you in a nice paying job. Maybe you have rich parents, and you never had to worry about loans. And you can just laze around in their mansion all day. Or, maybe you are a genius and happened to have a ton of scholarships thrown at you. Or perhaps, you never went to college so you didn't get into massive debt, and you were lucky enough to find a nice job. Maybe you didn't follow your dreams, and you got a degree in something that you don't really care about, but you are good at it, and you will be making bank as soon as you graduate.
Whatever it is, I ask that you sympathize with those of us who have followed their dreams only to be crushed beneath the foot of debt and rejection. Maybe you can offer some advice. Or throw a quarter into our cup whenever we are sitting on the sidewalk with sign asking for donations for the poor (a sign we recycled out of our degrees).
If you are part of the Homeless and Unemployed College Grad club, then perhaps this blog will serve to show you that you aren't alone. It may be painful to remember that happy-go-lucky kid that wanted to do everything and has ended up doing nothing, but at least you tried. Your degrees may count for nothing now, but maybe one day that'll change.
If not, I hear McDonald's is always hiring.