First post!

And so, the adventure begins...

As a recent college graduate, all I really knew what to expect when entering my first professional position was that I'd have to work harder than I did for any other job, I'd have to avoid procrastination, and I'd have to prove myself worthy of continuing on to an even better job once I've decided to move on. I also expected to be getting paid much more than I am right now (which I'm literally getting paid at the poverty line), but seeing how the economy is so low at the moment, I was willing to take any job offered to me. I feel that I am fortunate enough to have gotten a job where I will be working for such a good cause. To get a better idea of what I'll do doing for my job, here's my job description:

"The Cedar Crest College PACC*VISTA member will work with Lehigh Valley agencies providing programming needs for low-income communities in the areas of children, youth, hunger, homelessness and poverty, while promoting volunteerism and civic engagement to the students of the college. The PACC*VISTA member will work closely with Cedar Crest College students to provide training and mentoring while they work to tutor and mentor local children and youth."

PACC stands for Pennsylvania Campus Compact, and VISTA stands for Volunteers In Service To America. My position is unique because I am working on a college campus, but I'm technically not a college employee. I am employed by AmeriCorps, a government funded agency working to alleviate poverty and other issues the country faces on a regular basis. To have a VISTA position, it is required to have a college degree. Seeing as how my degree is in Journalism, I never saw myself doing this. I applied for this position at my college, Marietta College, on an impulse, and when I didn't get the job, some slight panic set in. My AmeriCorps application was already filled out and saved on the website, so I sent it to any other schools offering the same position with the minimum salary, a meal plan, and housing. Needless to say, I got the position at Cedar Crest College, a women's liberal arts school in Allentown, PA.

Basically, I will be using this page to copy down observations I make living in what has been referred to as, "The Real World," and hopefully will be able to use this as a reminder of lessons I've learned in my first year as a professional.

Today has been a long day already, and I'm afraid I don't really have the energy to start reminiscing what I've learned so far. Hopefully you'll hear from me soon and I'll have some useful insight into the world we all strive to someday be a part of.