Confessions of a College-Educated Busboy
By Ryan Schmidt: “I was raised in The Granite State of New Hampshire (for damn sure!) I am not a writer, not by definition. I am a 25-year-old wanderer, wonderer, who finds value in filtering my experiences as such through the medium of the written word. My favorite things about being on this Earth include drumming, telemark skiing, photography, documentary filmmaking/watching, long-distance bicycle touring, slacklining, sitting idly & running wildly. The names of the wordsmiths who’ve inspired me are; Edward Abbey, Hunter S. Thompson, Ken Kesey, Jack Kerouac, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Annie Dillard, Aldo Leopold, Charles Bukowski, William S. Burroughs, Robert Frost.”
I’ve never been able to explain it. Why some are handed beautiful bouquets of flowers while others seemed doomed to shovel shit all their lives? Maybe it’s the cards we are dealt; maybe it’s how we play them. It is certainly not so simple as to be able to be reduced to gambling vernacular, but if life is all a game, then the person writing the rules has little to no affinity for fair play.
Whether you’re fresh in, fresh out, or fresh in the middle of your post-secondary education, you’re no doubt well-versed in the challenges of the shrinking job market, the struggling economy or the myriad of other road blocks, detours, speed bumps, spike strips, gaping canyons, lakes of fire, and three-headed hydras standing between your college-educated self and the job of your dreams.
I majored in journalism at the University of Alaska in 2009, a time during which the foundation of that field was being decimated by the advent and accessibility of news, “quasi-news,” “micro-news,” and “nowhere-near-news” organizations via the Internet.
Even the most patriarchal institutions of journalism, such as The Associated Press stylebook has moved into the digital cyberscape. @FakeAPStylebook, muses about journalistic employment, pointing out that in the list of alternative words to “Journalism major,” “Barista” is at the top of the list.
I don’t even drink coffee.
I talk about the world of journalism because it is what I know, but it’s easy to see that this cloud of uncertainty has come to rest directly over the heads of the entire Millennial generation. No matter where your passions lie, or what your degree says, we have all been handed the fantastic, albeit daunting, responsibility of reshaping the modern world as we see fit. Within this climate of ambiguity and insecurity, we refuse to advocate surrender and instead choose to embrace the challenges of a new world, one starkly different from that of our parents and predecessors.
Many of us walked out of college with the confidence that knowledge was the yellow brick road to ensure employment. Unfortunately, jobs in my discipline no longer looked, smelled, tasted, sounded, or felt like I was taught they did. Fortunately, my professors hosted invitational seminars and Q&A sessions to discuss the daunting realities of finding gainful employment as a journalist in a world where even the definition of the word was being redefined. I watched students who had always wanted to write for a news outlet simply drop all their classes and switch to new majors.
That was six months ago, and since then I’ve made some bold, if not reckless, moves in search of my “career” since leaving school. I moved from Alaska to Colorado via New Hampshire in hopes of breaking into the ski media industry. I’ve filled out countless applications on paper and online. After all that, I am at least proud to say that I am not a barista; I’m a busboy and line cook at a smokehouse restaurant in a tiny, boring, nowhere Colorado mountain town called Nederland.
I can feel myself sinking deeper everyday that passes without hearing back from a potential employer. Deeper still when I hear the ever-familiar tune of “Thanks, but no thanks.” Deeper each time a friend finds success. Deeper each time I’m left with nothing after paying for food, housing, and heat.
On average, members of Gen Y will change their jobs 29 times in their lifetimes, and for many of us, that number is higher. Our propensity to change jobs in search of dreams is more a reflection of our commitment to greatness than our complacency or inattention.
Even with all of that, even with all of the pressure and fear and uncertainty, I hold on to hope, we hold on to hope. Even with all the force of our planet’s gravity pulling us down, we believe that we will achieve our version of our own better life, the good life. The word hope, I know, is easy to scoff at, easy to dismiss as idealistic, and even naïve. Understand though, that when I use the word, I do not mean to suggest that if we close our eyes, cross our fingers and pray, our dreams will come true.
True hope comes from concrete actions, it comes from having tangible dreams and goals, as well as – and this is the important part – a solid foundation from which to strike out and achieve them. The millennial generation has time and again proven our ability to combine such a foundation with unbridled passion, tenacity, and downright stubbornness. We may fail; I won’t pretend that we can’t, but it is that same honest stubbornness, that entitled air, and our overt ambition, that will allow us to make anything possible.
Therein lies the best explanation I can summon as to why some of us get flowers and others, fertilizer. Some just want it more, and this Millennial hasn’t stopped trying.
This is such a well written article. Great job, Ryan! It's great that you're not giving up and you aren't settling. I'm not a settler either. This article clearly shows the strive, determinations and passion of our generation.
Ryan, congratulations on completing your degree and for being from the great Granite State! I think the most important thing for you–and all Gen Yers is to stay active, think positive, and put your chips in as many pots as you feel comfortable with. The more exposure you get the more connections you make. I graduated from Emerson College with a degree in marketing in 2007. The only work I could get for a few years after school was slinging beers and margaritas to tourists in Boston, and although the work was sometimes fun, it was eating me up inside. With every fake smile, yes ma'am and late night I was making the rent, but forgetting about my true talents and aspirations. That changed when I woke up one day last December and told myself I would not take “no” for an answer. I quit the bar gig, printed my resume, and walked right in to an advertising agency in my town. I got hired later that day. The important thing to remember is that there are thousands if not millions of us all going for the same job. Looking for a proper job these days is a full-time job. Instead of constantly filling out applications and seeing no fruit, try another angle, maybe even one that you think won't work, you may be surprised.
Well, this is thoroughly depressing. I wonder though, what have you tried beyond filling out applications? There is so much you can do to get yourself noticed by the right people. And especially in a job market such as this, doing something extraordinary is almost required.
This was a little heartbreaking, but in that life-affirming Millennial way. I don't know how the children of such terrible times grew up to be such patient optimists, but here we are! My dad told me, when I was a senior in high school, that if I focused on doing what I loved, money would follow somehow. That advice paid off for me, and my allegedly useless film degree has translated to a very healthy career as a freelance media producer.
This is a really beautiful, honest portrayal of how our generation interprets “the times.” Your section on how hope is expressed through action is particularly eloquent. Bravo!!
Perception. It is wonderful that you found a job when so many are out of work!!
Some suggestions since you are unhappy about where you are.!. Be the best busboy you can be, and write about how life handed you fertilizer. 2. Label yourself a journalist instead of a Millenial busboy who is sinking deeper daily. 3. Forget about your education and learn a trade. (oops you already are). 4. Perhaps back to Alaska to 'reshape the modern world as you see fit'. Perception! …… both in life and in journalism is everything.
It seems like we're all (forcefully, more often than not) learning that life doesn't always go our way, and we just have to hold on until it does. Like everyone else has said, congratulations on not giving up hope — your big break will come.
I really like your writing! Don't give up!