Expectations vs. Reality - Rhonda Baldwin
"Dreams may face detours, but with courage and faith, each challenge becomes a stepping stone to greater purpose."
Society has taught us to believe that a college education is essential to pursue employment in your chosen field. Parents spend a lot of money so their children can feel confident in their prospects of landing a job they will like and that will ensure their financial wellbeing.? Thus, new college graduates leave school with a high-priced diploma and high hopes for a rosy future.? However, especially in this post-Covid era, many of them face a different realty.?
Quarantines and shutdowns at the onset of Covid forced many companies to reduce their workforce or to go out of business entirely.? This, coupled with the recession that ensued, created a very different employment landscape that continues today.? Unemployment and underemployment are a fact of life and are especially hard for young adults looking to land their ideal job and start “real life.”? They are not just anxious about the future.? They are physically stressed and emotionally depressed about their current reality and their ability to make a decent living.
Add to this the new reality of working remotely that blossomed during Covid and that has become an accepted part of many jobs.? While a lot of people thrive in this environment, others find themselves lonely and isolated, which leads to further mental and emotional issues.
There are many other problems associated with college graduates’ inability to find jobs that pay what is expected after earning a bachelor’s degree.? Many find it impossible to afford housing and are forced to move back in with their parents.? While that sounds logical, it falls short of expectations and often comes with a sense of humiliation.? Then, there are those who accept work they could have easily done straight out of high school to make ends meet and who find themselves stuck in a lesser paying job with no chance in sight to move into a position with substantially higher pay and benefits.
"Challenges don’t diminish dreams; they build character, teaching us to rise stronger, one step at a time."
Fear, depression, suicide, solitude, and questioning self-worth may be associated with anyone who sets life objectives and then fails to meet them.? When their plans do not come to fruition, their world is turned upside down and they find it hard to make sense of what is happening.? It was not supposed to turn out this way.? Disappointment, embarrassment, and financial stress are a few other factors that may lead to an unemployed person’s decline in mental and physical health.? While it is hard to definitively prove suicide rates are higher due to unemployment and underemployment, it is believed a correlation exists between the two.?
Fixing the economy and creating jobs in all sectors so that everyone has their dream job straight out of college would be a wonderful solution but that has thus far been impossible.? So, there will always be disappointment and broken expectations.? Colleges are trying to figure out the best way to go forward?? to equip students with the necessary education and skills to help ensure their success but there is no answer to solve all the woes, especially in today’s ever-changing employment market.?
Perhaps one way to better train students to deal with the trauma often faced when graduating and finding no employment opportunities or less-than-gratifying job offers would be to instill in them the fact that excelling in classes may not always ensure their desired outcome, especially immediately following graduation.? Every May and June, thousands of students don their caps and gowns and eagerly accept their diplomas, which are often seen as a golden ticket to a blissful future.? The job market is flooded with these new, talented young people and they need to not just be aware of the chances of disappointment but to be prepared to handle the disappointment.? This common-sense approach should be instilled in them from the onset of enrollment in their first college course and reinforced through their college careers.
For students with a spiritual understanding of God, they should be encouraged to tap into their beliefs and seek guidance.? Their faith in a higher power may lead them and strengthen them when trials, such as employment woes, assail them.? The power of prayer in stressful times will sustain them and give them inner peace as they pursue His will for their life.? While this is not the usual approach employed in secular colleges, it is certainly an opportunity that should be explored if it will help students remain positive and hopeful during the difficult times that may occur after graduation.
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About "Following His Lead" by Rhonda G. Baldwin
Cayden Dewitt’s plan after college graduation is to settle back into family life with her parents and brother and find a job. However, her constant prayer to follow God’s will is soon answered in a series of circumstances that others might see as mere coincidences, but she recognizes as God’s hand leading her along a different path that will fulfill His plans for her life.
A broken-down car on an interstate in Northern Virginia on a holiday weekend results in a new job, a new home in a new town, and many wonderful new friends. While following God's lead may not always be easy, Cayden is determined to trust His direction for her life and is rewarded with joy, happiness, and maybe even love.
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