Making my way

Funny…my first post of this year ended with how I was going to be making many decisions in the coming months and about the changes that were going to take place and how I would write about them. I believe I also said I would blog more. Well, that didn’t exactly happen. Seems that when things get really busy for me I drop all documenting activities and just get what needs to be done, done. My fiancée, on the other hand, has the opposite reaction. When things get busy for her she writes either as much or more on her blog than she usually does (in my opinion). Oh yeah, my girlfriend is now my fiancée. That’s one of the big changes that have happened since last I wrote. We were engaged the week before we graduated, at a vineyard about an hour and a half north of Greensboro called Elkin Creek Winery. If you love wine tastings, or have never been to a winery in your life (as I had), I would highly recommend that you take a trip to Elkin. It’s a beautiful vineyard with some great wines and amazing people. Oh, right, I also graduated from UNCG with a Bachelors of Arts in Economics! Finally, I’m done with my undergraduate career. This last semester was extremely hard, but I pulled through it pretty well and was given an outstanding undergraduate student award at the Bryan School graduation ceremony.
Graduating from UNCG was very emotional in the moment, when I was standing in line next to the stage waiting for my name to be called. Everything I had done, everything I had accomplished over the past four years seemed to sweep by me in an instant. Then my name was called, I shook a few hands, grabbed my diploma (which was just an IOU with a nifty cover, which stated that I would get my diploma later), had my picture taken and then sat back down amongst the other Bryan School students. It was a very fast paced day. I graduated, went to dinner with friends and family, and then crashed at my place, preparing to move out the next day as well as see my fiancée graduate. My undergraduate years feel like a separate life now. Even when I think back to my graduation it feels like it happened a long time ago. I’ve been living in Greensboro with my fiancée for about three weeks, and I’m just starting to get used to life outside of academia. Not sitting in class for hours out of the day was something that I quickly adjusted to, but it’s the lack of constant stimulation that’s hard to cope with. I’m trying to keep myself in German and other things, but it’s hard when you don’t have grades and a GPA driving you (I know I complained about the while GPA thing a lot, but it does come in handy once in a while).
I’m currently working part time in Winston-Salem, and also trying to get a job with RTI, a research firm in Cary, NC. RTI does, among other things, economic and social policy research, which I think are two intensely interesting topics. I’m crossing my fingers right now, hoping I can get in. That would be the position that I’d need to start building my career. It would be great. But if it doesn’t work out, that’s ok, there will be other opportunities.
But it would still be really cool if I got it. 
Although being a graduate can be extremely stressful at times, it’s also very satisfying knowing that you’re starting to make your way in the world. Side note: You know at your high school graduation when the speaker said something like “Now is the time that you enter college and go out into the real world and blah blah blah.” Well, in my opinion, you really don’t get into “the real world” until you graduate from college. I thought I was on my own when I moved to Greensboro and started taking classes here. But the last few weeks have taught me that I still have a lot to learn about the world.
Anyway, there’s a lot more I could write about, but I’m going to stop here. I’m not going to end this post with some saying about promising to write more, because I don’t seem to keep those promises. I’ll just write when I can.