quest

Well friends, the quest continues... What will Tory do after she graduates?

At the beginning of this journey, I decided to sit down and write out what an "ideal" job would be for me. While I knew I more than likely wouldn't find an ideal job (who does), I wanted to at least know what things were important to me, and what things to look for, even if they didn't come in an "ideal" package.

The goal of my resume reads: To be working in an environment where I am able to utilize my experience in administrative and creative roles in order to make a difference in the lives of others. That's a pretty generic statement, but to the point. I have experience and skills in administration, but I want to work somewhere I feel I am making an impact on society. Can we say non-profit, people? That's seriously what that statement screams... and honestly, that's where my heart is. I have a huge desire to impact people's lives, even if I don't know in what capacity.

So, I began to think about non-profit organizations. Where could I work where I could impact others? I am currently working at Sonlife Ministries, and that is something that is "others" minded - teaching students and leaders how to "lead, love, and live in the way of Jesus." I've applied for Resident Director positions at different colleges, hoping to impact the lives of college students... However, as I continue my search, both of these things seem to be "on hold" or falling through for the time being. Because neither of those situations seemed to be moving forward, I started to seek out other opportunities.

As I began thinking about where I'd want to work, more often it became about where I'd want to live. More and more thoughts about Wisconsin, particularly Milwaukee, began to cloud my brain. Now, for those of you who know me, you know that for the longest time I've wanted to move away... like, far away. However, as I've been journeying through this whole "what do I do after graduation" and as I've been spending more and more time in the city, the more I'm starting to really enjoy Milwaukee. It's a knowable city. Big enough to feel city-ish, but small enough to be known. Plus, what would I do with out my multi-week runs to Alterra on the lake? There's a part of me that doesn't want to leave Wisconsin, but rather move downtown Milwaukee and work there. Just another thought that is tugging at my brain.

I've also been traveling down the "working with kids" road a bit more. I've mentioned before my desire to teach, and I still would like to shadow a teacher or two, just to get a better feel for what it's like. But another thought occured to me today... What about Children's Hospital? I poked around their website and found a lot of administrative positions were open. A new idea if I were to decide to stay here...

Then there's the small part of me that thinks about going back to school at some time in the near future, if not for teaching, for cultural/societal studies. There are so many non-profit organizations out there that have such good causes. HIV/AIDs organizations, homeless shelters/food pantries, children's organizations (Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Boys & Girls Club), environmental organizations, organizations that deal with poverty like DATA or Habitat for Humanity... All of these are places that are involved in the community and strive to serve people. What could be more rewarding?

So, as I have all these ideas, and no direction, I sit stumped. I am overwhelmed and clueless as to how to proceed. Frustrated, and feeling kind of sad. The hard part is, I'm locked into my current situation until the end of July, making it tough to apply for particular positions right now. Granted, I'm totally grateful to have work through July - makes it less scary to have to find something RIGHT AWAY... However, I'm definitely ready for this quest to be over. I guess you could say I'm like every other college graduate - very excited, but very scared... and most of all, anxious to have some things fall into place.

I hate waiting.