Two years ago today, it was a Monday and I walked proudly into the Herald offices. It was my first day at my first real job in journalism. This was everything that I had worked so hard for. Almost two years after graduation I was finally stepping foot into my career.
Despite the ranting, raving, complaining and crying I do on a regular basis, my job has been good to me. I write at least 12 articles a month and contribute to many more that don’t include a byline. In two years, my writing has come a long way and I think I’m pretty damn good. My editor and copyeditor make me look pretty awesome so thanks are in order for them.
Not a fan of Justin Bieber, but it was pretty cool to interview the hottest teen idol in the world right now.
My job does provide me with a paycheck that does pay the bills and allows me to put a little away for a future away from Long Island. In today’s economy and in this industry, it is nice to feel some job security. Yesterday, though, was a hard day to see the bright side of this place.
It started with sitting in 45 minutes of traffic to move five miles. Sure, there was a massive accident, but it didn’t help my sanity as I inched along the Sunrise Highway service road. Two years of traffic is starting to take its toll on my mental stability. I considered pulling over just to have a good cry.
I had two stories to write, only one of which I was mildly interested in. But, after writing a story about an animal control officer getting arrested for animal cruelty, I had to force myself to get through my lame story on beach erosion. With 99 percent of my stories being on topics that I don’t have any interest in, it’s getting harder and harder to push myself to write a good story. I always do though, since my name and reputation are literally on the (by)line.
I found it extra hard to push through because earlier in the day my good friend from college informed me that she and her boyfriend are taking their savings and picking up and moving down to Florida. Without a job lined up, like Tommy and Gina they’re going down with a prayer and a dream. “Should we just do that?” I asked myself. “Should we just go?”
A tweet from my friend Lauren answered my thoughts. She sent me a link to this Wall Street Journal article: The Next Best Career Move: Actually Moving
Wow. Thanks, WSJ.
The rest of the day was spent pondering if Chuck and I should pack our bags and hightail it out of New York. The WSJ article confirmed my beliefs that we would be better off if we moved down south with our savings and a dream. Easier said than done when you have minimal savings and every other article you read is about North Carolina’s 11 percent unemployment rate.
The mountain town of Asheville is the next area to be bombarded with resumes from Chuck and me.
Another blow was reading about the hiring freeze in the Wake County School District. This was great news after spending an hour printing out cover letters to accompany the 12 resumes that Chuck was planning on sending to various schools in the district.
So, what do we do?
Stick to our original plan on having a loose deadline of January 2011 to move?
Or, push up our deadline to August, save as much money as we can and just go?
Or, give up and take my mom’s offer of renovating the upstairs living room into an apartment?
I think some serious conversations need to be had between Chuck and me. The game is changing and we might have to change our strategy.
Ariella
