I decided to ditch my résumé

Interesting?

The universe put me in touch with wonderful people – Perry Ashley, Anne Fausto-Sterling, Cary MacIntosh, and George Bass – with points of view and the ability to speak with sincerity. I also noticed that they were just plain old interesting. They gave me an idea about how I was going to pitch myself in the future.

It was February and I have five months. Five months to figure out a way to take care of heath insurance, rent, and a little food while I was out making the world a meaningful and peaceful place or finding a J-O-B. I didn’t want a J-O-B, but my parents insisted that it was my only option.

I mulled over what to write down on my résumé before I submitted it for the typesetter (a really old school approach to creating nice-looking material). How insulting – that some faceless person would make a decision about my life from the few neat things that I could reduce to a single sheet of white, high-quality bond. Instead of fixating on the insult I decided to mentally ditch the résumé to jot down where I came from; the kind of life I lived; my dreams; the tough spots and struggles I encountered; what I do; the stuff that made me jump and gave me joy; and, how I got to this point in my life. I decided to follow my role models and to explain why I am interesting. And, why the right kind of person looking to bring a shiny, new young person into their world would want me there to hang.

At that moment, I still ended up going conventional (wrote my life story on an insultingly-white nice piece of paper with one inch margins around) but I took a vulnerable risk to also go for interesting. I ended up doing what I wanted – playing my part in the work to liberate minds and hearts.

Peace.

Important and shameless plug: no matter who you are, what your status in life, year in your studies, or what’s on your mind, start talking to people looking to bring shiny, new young talent into their worlds – go to a employment fair (check out the upcoming Nonprofit Expo and the Spring Career Expo) and start talking. You never know what’s waiting there for you – an internship; good eats; solid contacts; an opportunity to change the world; advice; and, maybe even a J-O-B.