An Alumni Weekend Worthy of Itself

September 28th-30th marked the first official "reunion" between the 2012 Gettysburg College graduates with each other as well as with past 'Burgians. Despite the fact that graduation day was only four months ago and some of us had seen each other since then, it was great to get that sense of familiarity back, even if only for two plus days.

Although there were plans being made left and right weeks before the weekend even started, the vast number of people and events that was filling up the campus made such plans hard to keep intact. Alumni weekend really begun Thursday night when a few old faces popped around campus, but the swarm of people who relished in the class and madness that Gettysburg brought to their lives came in Friday afternoon. After a Thursday night of some old jokes with friends, Beirut, a touch of energy, and the ever-smoky Mama's, I was ready to really see this historic weekend come into its own throughout the next two days.

Friday was a day of reminiscing and lowering my self-esteem by hearing people's great jobs and busy grad schools just enough to seek out some Gettysburg fun. However, seeing everyone regress to the Gettysburg way(with a bit more maturity and a little less... tolerance for certain things) made me feel a little better about myself. Although the night started in a similar fashion to Thursday night, seeing Garryowen's Irish Pub packed to the point where my friends and I were unable to find a seat to enjoy our pints of classy brews made me realize the importance of the event. Every college has its own identity, and Gettysburg is marked by the loyalty of its past and present students to the local bars, restaurants, town spots, and of course, the college. It really became one of those "appreciate this moment and smell the roses" cliche moment.

Saturday night was a monster of its own. It was a day of recovery through exercise and water, but the night had other plans. Between beers and pizza my friends' house, hanging out at my girlfriend's apartment and preparing for The Attic, the quality conversation-driven host provider social at The Attic with my brothers and friends, the pit stop in the science center to take a piss, the hot and humid basement party, and the late-night blackout party, it was an unbelievable 11 hours that were coasted through with no regrets and nothing but satisfaction.

This trademark Gettysburg weekend will be one to remember even though the post-college reunions have only begun. Nevertheless, it was a chance to remember the opportunity that Gettysburg has created for those alums with jobs and grad school, as well as those of us who have yet to find such luck or even figure out how to move forward from here.

Still Unemployed

So I decided to start a blog to deal with the somewhat mundane and boring life of a post-college lifestyle without a job, but I don't have much to complain about. I haven't exactly been vegetating in my couch for months upon end the way many college graduates do upon entering the ever-dreaded "real world", but I haven't exactly figured out any long term plans yet.

I'm not gonna lie, I had a kick-ass summer. I had an enjoyable part-time job, ate a lot of wings, drank a lot of booze, and basically partied with my Gburg friends on a regular basis. It was sort of like a last hurrah, encapsulating my entire college career in a very brief three-month period of reckless shenanigans. But it was still different.

Although I was still coasting through the carefree rides of a college playground, I was facing a dead end after that. Whereas many of my buddies had a sweet entry-level job, a PhD within sight, or even a year or two of college left, all I had was rejection upon rejection after hundreds of job applications and somewhat ambiguous plans for starting grad school on September 2013. Although I am now pretty much at that stage, with the exception of being around Gettysburg for a little longer and the new GREs under my belt, it all seems like an uphill battle from here on.

To quote a classic cliche, this period of stasis is both a gift and a curse for recent college grads like myself. On the one hand, it feels like this is the only moment in life where I can take a break from literally everything: no school, no work, no Greek life, no stress. My appreciation for life has never been greater than now, with this much freedom, and I doubt it ever will be again. Yet there is still the fear of uncertainty that continues to drag me down and linger on. The same fear of failure that existed when filling out college applications, taking exams and anticipating graduation are still very much alive. Even with this post, the ambiguity that exists within me right now is hard to explain or define, which is why I'll end this on an abrupt note. Until next time, when things are hopefully clearer than now, early September 2012, three and a half months after living my first twenty-one plus years in a world of structure.