About my "new car"

It was a little over a week ago that I graduated from business school. It was good to attend the ceremonies and be reunited with instructors and classmates whom I hadn’t seen in months and had been trying to keep in touch with by e-mail. I’m proud of my fellow paralegal classmates, and I think they all have bright futures, especially this one, who deserves at least as much praise as she heaped on me. I’m just not so sure about my own future.

The commencement speaker compared getting a college education to getting a new car, in the sense that we graduates are all now getting accustomed to our new accessories. Yes, it was an awkward analogy, but rather than critique it or mock it, I’m going to extend it. When a person purchases a car, once she has taken into consideration such practical matters as affordability and getting from point A to point B, she makes a purchase that reflects her personality and values. And that’s probably why I feel like I went out to pay cash for a used Corolla and ended up with a 60-month lease on a new H2.

After a couple good months at my new job, I began to feel uncertain about whether I could make it in this line of work. I began to believe I have the ability, yet doubt I have the personality. I knew I would graduate with honors, but began to wonder whether my grades reflected my aptitude for the work.

I’ve come to the conclusion that my grades do reflect my aptitude – not for being a paralegal, but for being a writer. And it’s way past time for me to get back to work. To those of you who wished me good luck in my new job, and those of you who have been checking my blog from time to time watching for an update, thanks.