Wednesday, March 19, 2008

7 months in...

and I'm still going strong as a VISTA. A couple days ago the realization hit me in the face like that time I threw a piece of white bread at a friend during a party. I've been collecting a living stipend, paying for food with an EBT card, and limiting fun outings that cost money to no more than 2 a month for over half a year. To me, this means that I'm almost done - which is fantastic until I realized that it means I'm almost done.

It was about this time last year when, as a graduating senior at UNH, my friends and I all freaked out about our future. Letters from grad schools were opened with cautious care like that of a bomb squad and internet job searching took the place of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Well, it may be time for me to do that again. My few applications to rejoin academia resulted in denials so becoming a full time student clearly isn't an option once I get to late August. My living arrangements have changed and I have been living with a friend of mine in Concord since late January. I have a small commute to work, but I also have a more fuel efficient car and I pay Grant less than my dad so it is working out well. However, our agreement is only until August, at which point I need to make more money than I am currently. Of course, this isn't hard since any job you take after being in AmeriCorps translates into an automatic raise in your eyes. So now I am attempting to plant the seeds of a paying position in one of the organizations for which I work or with which I work. The good thing about being a VISTA is that over the course of a year I have engaged many businesses and non-profit organizations. Sure, I can't apply for a position with them all but I can probably get some key references depending on what I do apply for.

On Friday I will be attending a training day held at UNH-Manchester by VolunteerNH.org entitled "Life After AmeriCorps Day". I'm not really sure what I will get out of it but I signed up for job searching, grant writing, and the resume workshop creatively titled "how to capture your year of service on paper".