Multipotentia-what?

Recently, I watched the TED talk I've posted above: Emilie Wapnick: Why some of us don't have one true calling. 

But first: I applied to a job.

If you know me, you wouldn't be shocked at that last bit of news and that is for two reasons. 

1) I've applied to a quite a few jobs in the last few years, and

2) I complain about my current job. A lot.

I'm pretty proud of #1 there as it speaks of some perseverance on my part. I've applied to tons of jobs, I've had a decent handful (like, a large man's handful, not a baby's or something) of interviews, most of which I made to the final round of interviews. #2 though... yeah I'm sorry about that guys.

I've mentioned this before I'm sure but I work in a psychiatric hospital, in direct care no less. With TEENAGERS no no less. It doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to think "ohhh yeah that gal's burnt out." And she is. I am. 

This job isn't set up for people to stay as long as I have, and that's the real issue here. I stayed 8 (?!?!) years at a job with no real upward-or even lateral-movement. I focused on my life outside of work, got adjusted to living in a new state, made new friends, met now-fiancés, and I put finding a job on the back burner. Next thing I know, I'm scrambling to find a new job- not just any job but one I actually want- because all of a sudden, going to work has become an absolute emotional chore. I got complacent and now I'm panicking. 

And here, sort of, we come to the video I've included above. Whenever I'd mention to someone new about wanting a different job, they'd say, of course, "well what do you want to do?" And then I'd say...

"I don't know."

Because I honestly don't. I like lots of things. The world is an interesting place and I've always been in awe of those people who pick a thing they want to do, get all the requirements needed to do it, and, you know, do it. Be the thing. And I know there are a ton of people who are doing jobs that they didn't aspire to do but still, lots of them I'm sure had something the really wanted to do, they just encountered too many barriers. I couldn't even pick a dream job. 

I always thought this meant there was something wrong with me and I hated answering the "what do you want to do" question because my answer was so vague and made me seem unambitious. And then, I watched that TED talk. And I learned I was a multipotentialite.

As mentioned in that link, multipotentialite refers to someone who "displays aptitudes across multiple disciplines." And that video (and the website/community attached to it called Puttylike) made me realize liking and doing all sorts of different things could be a huge benefit to many jobs, and that I didn't need to have a super narrow focus in my job search. I could, crazily enough, do whatever I wanted and that's okay.

What a revelation. With that fresh in my mind, I cast a ridiculously wide net in my latest bout of job searching and came back with a job a library. A library! With books! I love those things! I had the job interview today and hopefully did well, though of course, like any human post-interview, I'm worrying about whether or not I got all across what I wanted to get across. Time will tell I suppose. 

In any event, it feels good to have a new lease on job hunting. It especially feels good to throw off the shackles (dramatic!) of needing to find a "career." Part of that, I will admit, is a desire to have a job that sounds impressive to others, as stupid as that is. But at least I now have a healthier mindset in my job search and feel like I'm finally moving forward, something I haven't felt in far too long. 

***

Anyhoo, that was kinda a bit much so I'll leave you with Ashley's Job Hunt Playlist. Enjoy!

1) Career Opportunities, The Clash

2) Blue Collar Man (Long Nights), Styx

3) 9 to 5, Dolly Parton

4) She Works Hard for the Money, Donna Summers

And last, but certainly not least,

5) Take This Job and Shove it, Johnny Paycheck

Yee haw!

I Read: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Occasionally, I go through these long stretches where I just... don't read. I mean, I can always answer the question "what are you reading right now?," I'm always schlepping a book around just in case I find myself sitting around somewhere with nothing much to do (I, of course, aim to make that happen as much as possible). Sometimes though, I just don't make the time to read. There can be a variety of reasons why this happens to me but sometimes I just choose a book that doesn't really hit that mark of what I want to read at the time, but I can't give up on it because by the time I realize it's not suiting my mood, I've also recognized that it's good and I feel like I'm in too deep to leave it for later. That, I think, is what happened with A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

Fantastic beginning to a review, amiright?

I've been familiar with Dave Eggers for quite some time as the founder of McSweeny's Internet Tendency which I occasionally pop over to read their often hilarious articles. Aaaaaaaaand I've already diverged from my review by going down two significant rabbit holes. The first is when I looked up Dave Eggers himself. I'm currently background watching the British Antiques Roadshow while typing this in my pajamas at 2:30pm because I played hooky from work (long day yesterday, long story) which made reading Eggers' list of accomplishments extra depressing. Aside from his many and various literary projects, he has an impressive list of charitable organizations he has a hand in as well. What am I doing with my life? How does he do so many things? When does he find himself with a few minutes to read the book he's been carrying around in his bag? This is terrifying.

The next rabbit hole was McSweeny's. If you're not familiar, McSweeny's is a San Francisco based non-profit publishing company that has a few interesting publications and lots of books under their belt, all geared toward championing new and unique writing, as well as a daily humor site, (Internet Tendency) which again is where I'm familiar with Eggers. If you also want to go down a McSweeny's rabbit hole with me, I highly encourage it and I'll like to suggest a couple articles for you: Encounters From Dungeons and Dragons: 2020 Edition and I Assure You, the Vaccine Our Administration is Rushing to Release is Not Just Three Kids Stacked Under a Trench Coat, both of which made me laugh out loud.

Ok, back to the book (were we ever there to begin with?). A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is a memoir, which is not something I usually pick up but because of my aforementioned interest in the author, the expectation of some smart humor, and the fact that it was $4 from a used book store, I thought I'd give it a try. It's strange that I'm not usually into memoirs/autobiographies/biographies though because I am endlessly nosey and always want to know about the private lives of people but this was the first memoir I've read, now that I think of it. To be honest, I didn't even know the difference between an autobiography and a memoir but found this infographic from Book Riot to be super helpful. 

Anyway, the book is Eggers' account of the period after his parents death when, at 21 he was charged with taking care of his 8 year old brother. It focuses on the logistics of being a good caregiver but also being a 21 year old trying to do 21 year old things after moving to California and struggling to start a satirical magazine with his friends. It's filled with that very 90s specific affectation, that excessive amount of cynical introspection that I find can get old quickly, but he balances that well in the book by constantly checking himself, so to speak, so just when you're about to roll your eyes, he finds a way to take himself down a peg, bring it back to earth.

I would give this book a 3.5 stars out of 5 and to be honest, I feel a little guilty about it. I'm not sure if my rating is purely based on the fact that it wasn't the kind of book I really felt like reading at the time or not but as of right now that's my honest rating. Overall, I'd recommend it if the description interested you at all, the style is more, I dunno, artistic I guess than expected from an account of someone's life which is most definitely a "pro" from me. It's also made me extra interested in reading more of Eggers' work in the future so take what you will from that.

***

Wow, this was such weird review. It wasn't so much a review as it was an account of my harrowing adventure trying to get through a book during a period of uncharacteristically apathetic reading habits. I live such an exciting life, what can I say.