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Welcome to my first post on Knowledge Post College! Here, I give you a little insight to what my month looks like whether that is the good, the bad, or the in between. -- Jin
Lifestyle: Jobs, Productivity, & Hobbies
During the month of August, I really focused on applying to jobs and improving myself during the free time I had. I sent out countless numbers of job applications, which mostly lead nowhere. I find it really hard to find the balance of finding a job that sounds interesting to me and finding a job that is most convenient to me. What I mean by convenient is looking over the job qualifications and seeing that I fulfill most of the checkboxes but not necessarily finding interest in the job descriptions. I’m still finding the balance between those two because I don’t want to jump into a job that I end up hating. Finding the “perfect job” post grad is definitely hard and the pandemic definitely does not help. However, I am going to keep pushing myself instead of giving up because I know a lot of people are struggling as well.
Besides that, I took advantage of the LinkedIn Gold free trial and took LinkedIn Learning classes for topics that I was interested in. I was able to get the two certificates in Digital Marketing and Social Media. This was really helpful because I promised myself that I wouldn’t stop learning even after I graduate college. I think that there is so much I do not know and so much that I can learn. Although it can be hard to motivate yourself to take these extra classes, I think that there’s a lot that you can learn. However, I would recommend taking classes you are genuinely curious about because it can make it a lot more fun and not let it be about the pressure of needing to perfect another skill to put on your resume.
During the month of August, I realized that I never really had the free time to figure out what my hobbies were. During high school and college, I would spend my free time taking naps, taking on a part-time job, or hanging out with friends. I never really had a lot of free time to think about what it is that I liked to do alone. By reflecting on this, I learned that there is so much I still want to learn that I find fun and interesting. Keep reading to find out what my new hobbies are!
Lows: Post-Grad Anxiety
Now that it’s almost the end of August, I have started to become a lot less motivated than before. It’s definitely disheartening to not see results in the effort you are putting and it can make you want to give up. It’s hard when you see other people doing great or at a place you want to be and you start comparing yourself to them. However, I know that everyone has different paths and that you shouldn’t compare yourself to others. I remember someone telling me that they love how confident I seem about myself and my future. However, the truth is that I’m not actually all that confident in the skills or experiences I have because they are definitely not top tier compared to others. I definitely still have post-grad anxiety and the fear of being falling behind and not being successful. But I may look confident because I truly believe in the idea that life will take me wherever I need to be as long as I don’t stop trying.
Lessons: Take Care of Your Mental Health
Throughout my month I realized just how important it is to take care of your mental health. I picked up a lot of new hobbies such as painting and crafting. I started drawing and painting both physically on a paper and digitally on my iPad. Whenever I am painting, it gives me a sense of nostalgia because they were my favorite hobby when I was younger! I also started crafting such as making bead rings and making rattan coasters. I realized with crafting that it can easily become frustrating when things don’t go your way but you just got to start over and keep going because the end result is so satisfying!
There's still so much I want to do such as learning how to bake, do latte art, and play different instruments. After graduating college, I felt so so old and like I had to give up my youth. However, the truth is that I am still so young and there is so much future ahead of me. Therefore, it's not too late to pick up new hobbies or skills that I want to learn. There's a quote that really stuck to me which is:
“A good beginning is half the battle.”
This quote is saying that starting something is always the most difficult part. Therefore, once you start something, it's almost as if you have already finished half of your accomplishment. Don't push away things you want to learn because you think you'll have time another day. Don't be afraid of starting something just because you' think you'll fail. Don't look back a few years later and regret not taking the first step.
Therefore, I recommend you to go pick up old hobbies or explore and find new hobbies that can help you take your mind off of things when life gets a little overwhelming. I also encourage you to take your first step into whatever skill or hobby you always wanted to learn.
Songs on Repeat:
F2020 - Avenue Beat
I found out about this song through Tik Tok (my latest obsession) and I found it so relatable because I started off 2020 thinking it was going to be the best year yet since I was graduating from college and starting a new chapter in my life. However, it turns out that a lot of things went wrong and life didn’t go the way I thought it would. Although I am still grateful for everything, I think this is just a relatable song of how bad the year 2020 has been for a lot of us.I Can't Breathe - H.E.R
This song and title is directly related to George Floyd's murder by a white police man. This also greatly shows how the systemic racism is real and the struggles that Black people face everyday. Although I have had my own struggles with racism as a minority in America, I understand the privileges I have had growing up. For example, I never had to fear for my life when stopped by the police. Therefore, I think it's important for us to continue to educate ourselves with the history and take actions to be anti-racist.I Don't Think I'm Okay - Bazzi
Throughout the month of August, there were many times where I literally felt like I was not doing okay. This month as well as the months previously have been very overwhelming and stressful due to numerous factors including how the world was doing as well as how I was doing. I honestly think I cried a lot this month because many things did not go the way I expected. I also like listening to sad songs when I'm sad so that explains why this song has been on repeat for me this month. However, I'm slowly learning how to be happy again so perhaps I won't be needing this song next month (woot woot). My Pick of the Month: Picnics!
Covid-19 has made it super hard to hang out with a lot of our friends and family. Therefore, I have been loving going on picnics whether that is with my family or one of my friends- while social distancing and wearing masks! It's a great way to get the sun, which always greatly affects my mood for the better. I totally recommend buying flowers, making a charcuterie board, and blasting music with a friend at a close park!
Thank you for reading my first post and I am so excited for what the future holds. I hope that this was a good way for you to reflect on what your lifestyle, lows, and lessons have been for the month of August and start to get excited for the endless opportunity for the month of September.
Talk to you later,
-- Jin
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