Graduation, the Holidays and the New Year

Graduation 2012 (Carter Whitt, Photobomb Guy, Myself)

I haven't had a lot of time recently to update my blog, which makes sense considering the insane amount of coursework I've completed in my final semester at Georgia State University.

I'm glad to say it's over, but a twinge of panic has also crept into my daily thoughts: what am I going to do next? After consulting several professors -- and even in the face of the stagnant economy -- I've been advised to gain work experience in my field instead of pursue a master's degree. I'd rather do this anyway; I want to know what it's like outside of the academic world, and not just as a part-time barely-above-minimum wage worker.

I do a few things well, and I'd like to apply those professionally with the academic acumen and theory I have learned. Working for the Robinson College of Business' Office of Communications and Marketing was certainly a wonderful experience; I flexed my intellectual and creative muscles (the left and right arms, respectively), wrote press releases, interviewed interesting people for feature stories I was writing, and even ghosted an article. Some of my copy has been on the Robinson website, and will soon grace the pages of their quarterly business magazine. I'm ecstatic, but still a little green with anxiety. Everything in the adult world seems scarier than it really is, and every challenge I've faced I've gotten through with flying colors and a little more wisdom than before.

Finishing my undergraduate degree has been a culmination of a lot of people -- not just myself. Sure I wrote what seemed like endless amounts of research papers, trudged through a number of group projects, and managed to slip in a study abroad to Istanbul, Turkey on the way, but none of that would have been possible without the support of my family -- both financially and emotionally -- and some very special friends who at times had more faith in me than I had in myself.

While this has been a momentous and triumphant year for me, it has also been rife with stress, anxiety, and its fair share of loss. But what victory would be as sweet without adversity to conquer? So although I graduated and am now transitioning from the familiar world of college into the slightly more scary world of the professional, I'm not alone. I have a network of friends, family, and connections who believe in me and know, despite my own neurotic worries, that I will succeed.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me get to where I am today, and who continue to nudge me forward when my feet get a little cold.

Happy Holidays, and have a wonderful New Year!