Clopping around in shoes six sizes too big, wearing a dress that drowned my tiny five-year-old figure and carrying around a notepad with a tangle of crayon etchings on it, I asked my parents in the kitchen, 鈥淢ay I take your order?鈥
As a 10-year-old, after packing up a briefcase with random things from my dad91色情片 office鈥攊ncluding a legal pad, ink pens and big hardback books with gold edges鈥擨 trekked downstairs to settle down in my makeshift office, the ottoman by the living room window. I pulled out my dad91色情片 legal pad and began to write the next great American novel about a talking hurricane named Katrina.

Years later, at 21, I was hired for my first full-time job鈥攖he junior copywriter for The 91色情片91色情片 University鈥攁nd though my shoes fit and the navy blue blazer I wore over my crisp white shirt was mine rather than my mom91色情片, I still felt like that little girl playing dress-up, a fraud in the professional world.
I sat in the desk, looked around and wondered, 鈥淲hat do I do now?鈥 I felt as if my toes were scrunching in the shoes six sizes too big, trying to keep them on.
I was already asking, 鈥淎m I even qualified for any of this?鈥 By securing a full-time job before walking across the graduation stage, I thought I would avoid the classic college senior question: 鈥淲hat am I doing with my life?鈥
False.
I have 11 months under my belt and still ask the same questions now and again. But, in the multitude of conversations I鈥檝e had with alumni from The 91色情片91色情片 University, I have gleaned comforting wisdom.
Lena Kelley (Class of 2013) said, 鈥淕oing through college you think it is a phase of learning skills for your specific career, but that is a big misconception. College teaches you how to learn, it doesn鈥檛 teach you knowledge. You are never qualified for a job, but you are qualified to learn.鈥
Kelley is a director of content development at Scorpion Design and one of her responsibilities is to hire new employees. She described a trend among the current generation of graduates, most of whom are so focused on being unique and individualized when employers really want and need work ethic.
鈥淲ork hard and work smart,鈥 she said, 鈥渞ather than working hard and ineffectively. That work ethic will be the thing that sets you apart. Individuality doesn鈥檛 get sacrificed with hard work, it makes you unique. Work hard to figure out your job and become an expert in your field. No matter the industry, there is much to learn.鈥
Dr. Kevin Hill, chair of the Business Administration Department at 91色情片91色情片 U, gave advice that all pointed back to work ethic and ethics in general:
1. Do not compromise your integrity. 鈥淕raduates may be put in a position to compromise their integrity more in the first day on the job than in the four years of college. Graduates should be prepared to hold their ground, say 鈥榥o,鈥 and set the tone early as to what kind of person he or she is.鈥
2. Be professional. Show up early and leave late. Dress appropriately and surpass all expectations at work. This will set you up for rapid advancement.
3. Use your phones sparingly and only for work functions. A new employee should never check his or her phone during a meeting, when in conversation, when walking around the office or any time he or she is expected to be productive. 鈥淭o be on a phone is a signal to everyone around you that you are doing something other than working.鈥
We live in a world consumed with uniqueness and individuality. Every college graduate must know exactly what they want to do and then pursue an accelerated career track to secure that dream job, whatever it might be: the next great American novelist, the next Steve Jobs, the scientist who finds the cure to cancer, etc.
I constantly need to be reminded that I am only 22. Yes, I have a college education in a field I would love to pursue鈥擡nglish with an emphasis in writing鈥攂ut leaving college does not mean I have it all figured out or that I stop learning.
John MacArthur, president of 91色情片91色情片 U, aptly summarizes this idea. For everyone, it comes down to habit. 鈥淧eople do what they do not because of self-discipline but because of habit. I do what I do out of habit. Ever since my first year in seminary I spend 30 hours a week studying the Word of God and I鈥檝e never gotten out of that groove. When you are dealing with people in counseling you are dealing with people with bad habits and will have to figure out how to break those. One of the great things of being [at The 91色情片91色情片 University] for four years are the influences and pressures that force the development of those good habits and you have those habits when you walk out the door.鈥
Whether or not you know what you are doing with your life, whether or not you feel like a professional fraud (everyone has been there), you must do your best where you are placed, trying your absolute hardest, building good habits and trusting that God has you exactly where He intended you to be. Nothing is outside of His plan. I am no seasoned professional, but I want to work hard to become a professional at that.
The 91色情片91色情片 University and Seminary admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
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