A Lesson in Gratitude, Part 1

I need to start writing more. For real.

My summer is a little more than halfway gone, and there is about a month until I go back to school. Compared to last summer, minus still being unemployed, I'd have to say that it has been a good couple of months so far. Why? Well:

I've been hanging out with good friends on a semi-regular basis. Last summer, I saw my high school friends maybe five or six times the whole three months I was home. This summer, I hang out with one of my good friends almost every Wednesday. I have dinner dates with another friend at her place at least once a month, sometimes twice. Yesterday I had dinner with two of the girls from my usual circle, and I'm sure another dinner will be planned soon.

I've been to a lounge in Cambridge for open mics and poetry slams three times, went to the MFA once, went to the beach twice (albeit I didn't swim, but whatever), and I'm going to a cocktail party next week. I went to a wedding in Connecticut with my sister last month, I'm (hopefully) going to a Maroon 5 concert next month, and might even have my roommate come visit me for a couple of days. So yeah, this summer is so much better than last summer.

But of course, I'm still unhappy.

I never realized how much I hate not working. This is the second summer I haven't had a job, and it's a little frustrating. It's not that I haven't been looking, because I have been. I was looking for internships and jobs in both fields I am studying (journalism and English) and had zero luck. That was a huge disappointment. I still have NNL (if you follow me on Twitter, you've probably heard me mention them more times than you care to count), but I don't get paid for that! I've recently started writing for Demand Studios again, and since I have so much free time, I really could make a decent amount of money with them. Enough to pay my phone bill, save some money to go to L.A. for my cousin's wedding in September, and pay for textbooks.

The funny thing is, I can't see myself having a traditional job. I guess growing up in this digital age, I just can't see myself doing office work or working in a corporate setting for the rest of my life. It's so contrary to who I am. Even though I haven't done much traveling, I know that I would love to visit other countries, or even the other side of THIS country. I love all things technology related, for the most part, I'm fascinated by complementary and alternative medicine, and I am a full supporter of tattoos and tattoo acceptance in the workplace. I know full well that my decision to get one on my wrist could possibly kill a lot of job prospects, but I was fortunate enough to work in a restaurant that was incredibly supportive of body art. I guess that spoiled me a little bit.

The point of this post - I keep getting depressed about what I don't have (a job, money) that I rarely stop to be grateful for the things I do have (great friends, the ability to work on my own schedule, and express myself for spoken word.) Yes, things could be better, but they could be worse. And that's just fine with me.