Breakfast Babble: ED’s own little space on the inter-webs where we gather to discuss ideas and get pumped up for the day. We judge things too. Sometimes. Always. Whatever, call it catharsis and join in people.
No one can prepare you for when you wake up one day in the morning, only to realize that you no longer have to go to University or worry about grades and attendance. Most of all, no one can prepare you for the seemingly endless time you seem to have for yourself in the immediate days after. It doesn’t last, however. How can any good thing?
Soon, you are neck-deep in job applications, twitching furiously as you refresh your Gmail in the hopes that you don’t miss your next interview call. But, c’est la vie.
Preparation or not, however, you know that’s the process, what’s supposed to happen. Relatives, neighborhood Pepsi aunties, family friends who suddenly have a passing interest in you, those are the ones you’re never prepared for. Worst of all, you’re never prepared for that one dreaded question, ‘What’s next?’
Read: Breakfast Babble: Old Friends Often Become Strangers; Time To Accept It
In all respects, I’d like to think of myself as a cautious person. Keeping open a path to all possible options and contingencies before I rush into one I may not want to pursue in the future. That’s planning (in my head at least). Now, if only relatives understood that.
You see, there are people who find jobs right out of university. There are even a lucky few who get one even before they leave Uni. Good for them. But, that’s not the case for everyone. A majority of students in this country and abroad, graduate university and take some time off to sort their applications and apply to only a select few places, rather than sending applications wholesale.
I happen to be one of them. I also happen to be one of the people having a degree in a specialized field, a field where a successful job application, means half a dozen interviews, written exercises and personal, criminal and financial background checks that may span over six months (I’ll admit, that’s a teensy bit exciting). And you know what, I don’t regret it one bit because eventually, all this effort will be worth it.
But again, colony wali aunty ko kaun samjhaye? In a society where achievement and progress is often measured by how well you are doing when compared to others (if you’re up against Sharmaji ka beta, you’ve already lost, haven’t you?), my answer to the question ‘What’s next,’ is downright unacceptable (also, while we’re at it, why do relatives have to pester you every day with the same Q. I mean, what’s the probability of my answer changing every 12-24 hours?).
When used as a flourish by President Bartlet (if you get this reference, you get me) to initiate policy and action, the words ‘What’s Next,’ like most of Sorkin’s writing is worth repeating over and over again.
But when used day and night by people (more out of the need to talk about something rather than plain gossip), it’s bothersome and maybe, a tad unfair. After all, if I’m happy taking the time I need to find the right opportunity for myself, why should others feel the need to be bothered by it? Why should I have to explain myself to people if they don’t have any faith in what I want to do and how I plan to do it?
But, who am I kidding? All this talk of mine, all this rhetoric always fails. After all, how long can you avoid a family event, a church gathering or the sheer coincidence of running into them while you’re out buying Oreos? You can’t.
So, you do the only thing you can do. Which is, not accepting a friend request from any relatives or family friends on FB. That’ll teach them a lesson.
Image Sources: Google Images
