hikari*: Danger - too much inspiration for your own good.

I just passed another subject yesterday and another 3 more to go - due to be revealed this coming Friday. Despite so, I have been immersing myself in the infamous and over-rated or under-rated (i wonder) post-graduation blues - another thing to point out: that is if I graduate.

Come Friday, congratulate Loretta who's wearing a smiley face and refrain from calling up a seemingly MIA Loretta. Boohoo.

With all the negativities surrounding the employment world right now say, the economy? The prediction of a recession? The down-sizing of companies? The competitiveness in job-hunting? The ins and outs of acing an interview? Wardrobe-embarassments? . . . It is pretty easy to get all depressed, hopeless and sulky for new graduates. And to-be graduates like me (I remind myself).

I have heard mountains of complains from peers regarding their painful relationship with Seek.com.au - seek, seek, seek, seek. Their growing indifference towards reject letters - oh rite. . . I applied for this company. Their frustration as uncertainties mount up - casual, no, full time, no science, no music! External pressure from others despite of good intentions - 'soothing' comforts from friends and 'concern' from parents. Internal pressure due to impatience - aiya, amboi, wth, yada!

In fact, the last half of this year has been a marathon of this after spending time with some new graduates. I can soooo feel the tension and the hardship which are at the other end of this road. One I would open the door to greet come a happy Friday this week.

BUT BEING A HEALTHY MIND, I cannot say I am really all that bothered or worried.

Maybe it will be hard, maybe I will get all depressed, maybe I will take 17 months to secure a job, maybe I will be stressed outta my mind, maybe my Mum will call every 5 minutes to nag.

Sounds bad enough, yeah?

But aren't those just 'maybe-s'? With a 'maybe' being just a prediction or a work of the creative mind, a mere switch in belief and faith like the flip of a coin powered by some light force, can do wonders.

Yes it will be hard, but maybe I will gain a career I desire, maybe I will experience something unique.

Going through Seek.com.au is like a treasure hunt for me. It is exciting to see hundreds of job offers emerging each day, to learn of job titles you never knew of, to find out about industries you only heard of in movies and to participate *wink* I guess it does grow tiring and frustrating, if one is to participate in this treasure hunt after a while, but think about the treasure at the end!! Just joking.

No, actually hear me out: The Theory of an Optimistic Bikini-Perfect Soon-to-be Graduate (Me, in case you were wondering) - With these amount of new postings, it is only a matter of time and effort for one to secure a job. This is again, based on my theory of balance in this world. As new offers emerge, vacancy will be present in two forms - the new job itself or the vacancy created as one quits an old job for the new job.

An over-simplified theory, yeah, but what is the point of complicating everything by making up reasons or excuses to explain the hardship in getting employed which will ultimately demotivate you and transform you into a pile of tears-and-snot-soaked pathetic tissue papers?

In terms of reject letters, so far I had received 3 of them. When I received my very first reject letter, my feeling was - surprised, tad bit disappointed (although after knowing who got it, it was 100% acceptable), grown-up. Yes, you did not read that wrongly. I felt a bit more matured. Kinda like entered the next phase of life with images of high-waisted pencil skirt, professional glasses and an office desk with a canggih laptop and at some point, me in said outfit and desk, biting a professional-looking pen. Brrr.

Point here is, I did not feel rejection. SLOR - Standard Letter of Rejection. I personally think that it does not signify me as incompetent or as a failure. Instead, I am unsuitable, not qualified enough, or not as good as other competitors. These competitors are better than you in the aspects asked of by this job or valued by the company. Too bad, but that doesn't mean you are utterly incompetent or a failure as compared to the winner!

Say, for an accounting job, BabiHutan who got it has internship experience with one of the BigFours and a HD average in a major university, while SexyMe is still awaiting my one and only Accounting results despite having knowledge is science-y stuffs, can sing like a mean karaoke machine and have one of the warmest personality mankind has known. Of course, BabiHutan will get it, but hey, I am still not bad myself!

Just like how a love letter does not really spell love, a reject letter does not spell rejection.

Uncertainties. No one likes them. Why so? Don't we seek for excitement, freedom or most other emo-related stuffs in life? And aren't these usually the direct-result or by-product of uncertainties?

Security. Everyone want it. But security which is not created by us or resulted from our own actions, are mere restrictions imposed onto us in the form of protection provided by others. A perfect example of how we lived as children, safe in the arms of our parents while rebelling against all the rules set to ensure our safety.

But, security created for us by ourselves, is somewhat like an achievement and obviously, is a product of hard work through uncertainties.

I really do not see uncertainties as a very mean evil thing in life. Shake your head a little. See, uncertainties are opportunities viewed in a negative context, ain't it? It brings surprises and explorative chances. A more visible result of uncertainties - the very different, unpredictable, surprising and exciting career paths chosen by or given to your peers. If science undergraduates are sure-fire-ly destined to be in R&D in confined labs, we will all be inbreeding within this science-y community to create a purebreed science generation - nerd-certified, 5cm thick glasses by age 3, dinner talk about the wonders of DNA.

External and internal pressures. Pressures arise from every single thing in life laaaaaaaaaaaaa. Not only this rite? So what is new? Don't make this an excuse to sulk :-) A perfect example will be the list of things I sweat out on:

External pressure - Graduate and do my parents good, Hollywood pressure to be a bikini perfect, etc

Internal pressure - Secure a good job, summer's pressure to be bikini-perfect, uncontrollable pimples.

Erm, the point here is, pressures appear in all aspects of life and comes in all sizes. But whether or not it develops into stress, depends on how we see it. Like my example here, well, just take the bikini bit - both external and internal and far from attainable - but I am going to the gym and am determined to uphold this goal till the end of time. See another balanced equation. Pressure can easily become stress monsters, but not if we say no to it.

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After this very long ramble, let me just say that I believe everything will work out right as long as we try hard enough and believe in ourselves. Although I might change and ultimately become another tears-and-snot-soaked pile of tissue papers in 4 months' time, but as of now, I truly believe in this and am determined to uphold this simple belief of mine.

Last but not least, some random pictures, which I think are really inspirational:

Took this shot at Westfield, Doncaster. The little girl was so focused at the cartoon show that she was oblivious to everything that was happening around her - the snickering adults, the commotion, everything. Simplicity and sincerity at its best - for some reasons, I feel so.

If you are determined to achieve your goal (To look slim and bikini-perfect), it is only a matter of time and effort (!!) until you do so!