What’s this? Yet another blog? Correct. And what’s so different about this blog? Absolutely nothing, I’m afraid. In fact, unlike the myriad of blogs on the interweb that cover subjects far and wide, the unique selling point of Plimsoul Blog is that it doesn’t really have a purpose. In truth, I hardly know what a blog is; I’ve never consciously followed one, and have only used the medium once before to record the experiences of myself and my girlfriend, Holly, as we travelled around the world together (www.hollyandalex.wordpress.com).
My ignorance of the blogging world goes deeper than this, however. In many ways I have actively rejected the idea of a blog, something upon which anyone can write anything in any style. It’s certainly not that I disagree with these principles, but rather that the sheer vastness of the online society terrifies me. So why have I decided to join it? Simply, because I love writing. I think words and the way in which they can be combined are the most wonderful and potentially powerful things on the planet. However, without practice, one’s ability to write eloquently can languish, and lucid thought becomes harder to attain.
I have resisted the urge to write my own blog for some time, but realise now that I’ve probably been cutting away at my nose to spite my face. You will always look better in a job interview if you say: ‘I took the initiative and wrote a blog in my free time’, rather than: ‘I made the conscious decision not to write a blog, because I wanted to stand out from the crowd’. The latter seems slightly oxymoronic, for you must surely be in the crowd before you can stand out from it!
Standing out from the crowd is certainly something that has been on my mind lately, for I currently find myself in a position familiar to many recent graduates: in severe debt, very unsure about what I would like to do for the rest of my life (and probably unable to get a job even if I did know), and feeling terrified by the current crisis that has enveloped the globe. We are the forgotten generation, burdened with gigantic loans which have paid for degrees that apparently aren’t worth so much as a half-eaten Curly Wurly (although I’d definitely still pay something for a half-eaten Curly Wurly). Job prospects are grim, we are told, and if we are lucky enough to get a job, we’ll be doing it until we die.
However, I don’t agree with the popular conception that university is just an expensive jolly, at least I don’t think it is if you go with the intention of taking full advantage of the opportunity to learn and advance yourself. University developed my critical mind and instilled within me great aspirations, although it is perhaps these qualities which seem so incompatible with today’s economic climate. Indeed, I find my greatest foe to be myself; it is I who is applying the most pressure to work out what it is I want to do, and to take the necessary steps towards that goal. I am unwilling to get any old job to make money for the time being, and feel a need to head into a profession with a long-term trajectory. Whether this attitude will prove to be an advantage or not, only time will tell.
The biggest issue I have as I float aimlessly around the spectre of graduate employment (or, rather, unemployment), apart from my own personal expectations, is with the ubiquitous negative comments that seem to accompany any new idea or career: ‘there’s no money in that profession anymore’, ‘but it’s so difficult to get into’, ‘there’s a lot of legwork to do before you get any kind of responsibility’. People don’t seem to realise that none of these things are in the slightest bit helpful. Quite the opposite, they serve to discourage and dishearten, turning even the most aspiring young graduate into an indecisive, uncertain wreck. What’s more, they’re largely irrelevant, purely because they seem applicable to every single profession that exists at the moment.
I do see something positive in this tragic mess, however, an opportunity for an entrepreneurial whizz to defy all predictions and achieve something. What we need is optimism, or, more specifically, a company who offer optimism and encouragement to quivering graduates. I’m not talking about a university careers service here, I’m suggesting a place where you can pop in to speak to someone about your ideas and hopes, and receive simple encouragement in return, even if it is the most unrealistic, doomed plan ever devised. That’s what will drag us out of the gloom and propel us towards prosperity: sheer, unadulterated optimism.
Plimsoul Blog 