Every "No" Brings Me Closer to a "Yes"

"How's the job hunt?" - I'm asked repetitively by those who care about me, and my answer is the always the same: "Still hunting."

I remember feeling so blessed that I had a FT job lined up the day after I graduated UCSD in 2013 and happy to beat the sufferable job hunt lull which I heard about from countless friends. I was caught up in the moment and happy with life that I never contemplated that I would get stagnant in work and eventually be hunting again. 

To be honest, I don't think job hunting is terrible! I actually enjoy it! Not to be misunderstood, I can not wait to be back in work and thriving in productivity, but there are positives to job hunting.

1 - I'm learning more about myself and my interests. I write on my webpage here that I'm interested in marketing, management, consulting, and user experience. All true. However, my interest bubble is expanding as I realize that I really enjoy technical support and operations as well. Essentially, the common denominator across these careers is problem solving. I really just want to solve problems. I like logic and I like answering tough questions. It's the most rewarding feeling in the world to find the bug in a code or say "Thank You" at the end of a presentation because it's a problem resolved.

2 - I have spare time to focus on tasks I wouldn't normally do, and therefore meet people I wouldn't normally get to! If I was employed, I'd be going to the gym in the evening. However, by getting to go in the middle of the day, I surround myself by a different crowd of people who have enriching life to share! I attended a stretch class the other day, and it wasn't as fulfilling as I anticipated, so I stuck around to do some sun salutations. One elderly woman also stayed after class to work on hip opening stretches. Some friendly gym small-talk led into an amazing conversation about her life as a modern dancer. Being a modern dancer myself, we chattered on about local studios and inspiration for some time. I left feeling grateful for the opportunity to use time differently because you never know when you're going to have a life-changing moment.