Guess Who's Back.

About a year ago, I moved to Indianapolis, started graduate school, and applied for a part-time job.

After positive feedback, a phone interview, and a week of high hopes, I got an e-mail informing me that I didn't get the job. Disappointed, I thanked them for considering me and asked what I could do to improve my resume and interviewing skills for future opportunities. A week later, they still hadn't responded.

So, I approached the professor who recommended that I apply for the job in the first place. Her response absolutely crushed me.

She told me that the organization was impressed by my interview and resume and felt I was fully qualified for the position. Ultimately, they didn't hire me because I had "inappropriate social media use." In other words, they didn't hire me because of my beloved blog.*

After a couple hours of crying and loving consolation from Jenn, I made one of the hardest decisions of my entire life (clearly, my life has been pretty easy). I decided to stop blogging.

Now, one year later, I realize how foolish that was.

I understand that my blog didn't fit the standards of that organization. They felt my writing wasn't professional and didn't want it to reflect poorly on them. I respect their decision. However, now I see that I don't want to work for an organization that limits me like that. If they don't want me for being me, then I don't want them, either.

When I stopped blogging, I lost a piece of myself. For years, my blog has served as my favorite hobby, a vehicle for my creativity, a way to record my memories, and a cathartic release of my emotions. Suddenly, I found myself in a new place, surrounded by strangers and completely alone for the first time in my life. Even worse, my reliable outlet for connecting with friends, venting, and expressing myself was gone.

Now, a year later, I'm back where I started, searching for jobs all over again. Over the last two months, I've applied to at least 100 jobs and internships. At first, I applied to sports writing positions only, focusing particularly on hockey. Now, as my bank account threatens to dip into the red, I've applied to secretarial work, call centers, and other things I deem even less desirable than a root canal. I'm frustrated, discouraged, and half-convinced I'll never write for a living.

If that's the case, so be it. But, I'll never stop writing for me.

So, I'm bringing my blog back.** I've already missed out on chronicling one of the most exciting years of my life. I wouldn't hide an aspect of my personality from a prospective employer, why should I hide my blog? Your definition of 'inappropriate' might be stricter than mine, but I don't classify something that I let my grandparents read as 'inappropriate.'

I can't promise I'll blog with any regularity. I can't promise I'll be interesting, funny, enlightening, or even enjoyable. But, I do promise that I'll be here, sharing my unadulterated thoughts, pictures, and memories from now on. I don't even care if no one reads it. I'm back for me.

*Much to my humiliation, she even referred specifically to "Man Meat Monday." Imagine trying to explain that to a professor.

**I'm temporarily suspending Man Meat Monday. Not because I think it's inappropriate. Because I finally met my ultimate slice of Man Meat.