Just When I Thought I Had Things Figured Out...

Mirroring the frustration that is my life, this is the third time I've tried to post this entry.

Similar to the recent posts by Lindsay and Courtney, I too am thinking about moving far, far away. Advice, comments and suggestions are very much appreciated.

Some sort-of good news: I got a new job. Starting next week I'll be a floor supervisor at a store in Lincoln Park that sells baby products. It's in my chosen career field, has better opportunity for advancement and comes with benefits. Reasons I am not excited include: selling baby products does not excite me, (I would rather be in womenswear), I'll be making less money than at Highlife, (this job is less hours per week, but hopefully I'll be working more at my part-time job), and I won't be getting the interaction with/getting to meet as many people as I do at Highlife. It is though, definitely a step in the right direction.

Come end of May/early June, I will be homeless. My roommates to be and I have had a hard time finding a place; two apartments we applied for ended up falling through. Their current landlord approached them and asked them not to move, saying he would give them a discount on their current rent. So now, I'm screwed. I'm fairly confident I can find a decent studio apartment, though I expect it will be more than I was looking to pay. What is worst is that I really do not want to live alone. I fear that once I start my new job that involves no social interaction, if I am living alone I will be constantly lonely, bored and depressed. (If anyone knows of anyone in Chicago needing a roommate, let me know!)

This brought me to the realization that moving to Chicago was a mistake. I am doing no better for myself than had I stayed in Indiana; I'm perhaps a bit worse off. Of course, I never would have known this had I not tried Chicago out. I have shared this thought with a few and in response to, "Well with your lease ending, why don't you move home?" I know this would be a mistake. I would end up working part-time retail again, and I do not need to go back to square one for the third time. I have a full time job here and that is worth trying out. One plus to possibly living alone is that if I would find a good job somewhere else it would be easy to pick up and move. This is very unlikely though as I am still in the entry-level stage of life, and none of those jobs offer relocation coverage. I figure I'll give it one more year here and if I'm not happy, move on.

I've been thinking a lot about what I should do and grad school is seeming like a very positive idea. I have slowly started the long process of figuring out what type of program to do and which schools are right. I definitely want to have it figured out as to specifically what I would do with my advanced degree as to not come out of school overqualified and unsure. I am leaning toward school abroad. I want to experience other cultures at least one more time, and this is a cost effective way to do so. I am though going to look at programs in the US as well.

Again, any thoughts, suggestions, advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, I have been looking at nannying as a good way to make money while saving to go back to school, (I'll make much better money than in retail). I have had NO response from jobs I've applied for on Sittercity, so any advice on that would be appreciated as well.

Shannon