Journey In Unemployment Land | 27
Post 27: 4/28/2025
2025-04-28 19:09:40
🗓️Month 10, week 2: #JourneyInUnemploymentLand. It’s been 10 years since graduating from Agnes Scott College.
Colleagues, this weekend taught me a few things. Here are 10 of those lessons.
1. You don’t know who’s watching you. On more than one occasion, a classmate told me how something I said or did made them feel uplifted. How they remember how smart I was (then reminded me how intelligent I still am). This humbled the hell out of me. I didn’t think they noticed. I am so glad they did because I feel the same way about them.
2. It’s important to remind yourself where you started. The girl I was as a first year in 2011 is not the woman I am in 2025. I’m sure she’d be so proud of me. I know 2011 me would tell me to keep going. So I will.
3. There’s power in community. The dialogue in this country centers individualism. Branding. Egotism. That isn’t what makes things happen. Community makes things shake. So I’m tapping back into community.
4. There’s nothing wrong with a little competition. Agnes Scott, for better or worse, is a highly competitive environment. There are people in my class who are powerhouses. On magazine covers, scholars, nurses and doctors, published authors—I could go on. I sometimes feel some type of way about this but, instead of being a hater, it lit a fire under my butt. I either get with it or get lost!
5. People don’t care if you change your mind. The thing you said you’d be doing ten or fifteen years ago? Yeah, they don’t remember or care. They care if you’re doing it well and if you LIKE it.
6. Laugh with people. Listen to people. Be with people, authentically and presently. That’s when connection happens.
7. Show up. That’s it. Be in the room because, again, YOU DON’T KNOW WHO IS WATCHING YOU.
8. Act right. That’s how others measure your character. If you were a jerk, people will remember that. It was shocking how many people remembered the unfriendly classmates, weirdos, and skittish people from over a decade ago!
9. Don’t be afraid to step outside your circle. After spending a few years in professional spaces, it became harder to foster connections and navigate social hierarchies. But Agnes is a special place. There are people who were open (albeit many were reserved and nervous) to talking to a stranger. And it worked out fine.
10. Take the time to fill your cup. I didn’t realize how empty my cup was until I spent time with these people. I sat in old classrooms. I listened to professors teach. I spoke with old mentors. Rekindling the fire I had when I was younger is so fulfilling, especially in the midst of a battle I’ve been fighting for so long.
Colleagues, do yourselves a favor. Tap back in with who you were and who you knew in the past. You’ll be so happy with what you find.
To my awesome siblings at Agnes: I adore you.
