The Educated Unemployed - The Next Generation

"A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D. Unfortunately, they don't have a J.O.B." - Fats Domino

The quote above is really, REALLY true. Every since you were a little, you have always heard that in order to be successful you needed to get a high school diploma. More than just something that was spoon-fed to you as you were growing up....it's just plain common sense. Most jobs that are out there require at the very minimum that you have completed high school. As you near the end of high school, the push for a college degree begins. In order to be REALLY successful, you need to have a college degree. I'm buying it. College was the best 4 years of my life and the work that I put in to get my degree was SO worth it. But as I was nearing the end of my college career came a study that showed that the workforce was moving toward needed a post-graduate degree to be qualified for jobs where only an undergraduate education used to be necessary. By the time I heard that in early 2005, I already knew that I wanted to go to law school and had already been accepted to 2 schools. So of course I bought into that hype, too. Fast forward, almost 4 years later. I have been out of school for almost a calendar year and I am still unemployed. Granted I am waiting to get my law license (crosses fingers for good bar exam results).....but ummm....a job in the meantime would be great.

Even in law school, they push on you the fact that having a juris doctor opens up a world of opportunities for job possibilities that go beyond just being a lawyer. If that isn't the biggest load of crap, lol!! I love the fact that I have a J.D., but I am quickly realizing that I have pigeon-holed myself into one type of career with that degree. I have applied for a vast variety of different jobs since August 2008. What I have heard in the meantime is goes like this: overqualified, UNDERqualified, not comfortable with hiring you for a position that doesn't require a law license because you don't have a law license. UGH!!! I realize that I graduated at the worst possible time in history to look for a job. If it was just me, I wouldn't be so crappy about it....but I know so many people who are desparately looking for a job just to put a couple of dollars in their pockets. So this is us, huh? The educated unemployed. If you are looking for me....you can find me on monster.com, careerbuilder.com, at job fairs, and pounding the pavement. It's rough out there....

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Today is a special day!!

"All the pictures that hung in memory before I knew you have faded and given place to our radiant moments together. Now I cannot live apart from you. Your words are my food, your breath my wine. You are everything to me." - Sarah Bernhardt

Love is a beautiful thing, you know. I know that sounds very cliche'....but it's true. See that wonderful guy....that's Jay. Today is our official first anniversary. Official? Yes, official. We have been tied at the hip for two years and we celebrate that date, too. But today is the day we made it official. This is still a fairly new relationship, yet i feel like I have known him forever. We met in May of 2006 and became fast friends. I can talk to him about any and every thing. We have so much in common - we enjoy the same types of music, some of the hobbies....we just click.

This man is one of my best friends. He has my back and I definitely have his. The time that we have spent together have been all sorts of wonderful. To think...I almost passed him over!! I can't even begin to think about how it would be if he were not in my life because it is like he has always been here. I don't know what life has planned for the both of us, but I know that right now, I am enjoying the ride.


Today is also a special day because I just became a candidate for baptism. I have had a host of different emotions about this - which were tossed over with Jay because he really does get me, lol. I am happy for the next phase of my life....and another post or couple of posts are needed to fully explain it. But right now I am just basking in all of it.

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The Chris Brown/Rihanna Incident

"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up." - James Baldwin

So since February 8, the brutal fight between Chris Brown and Rihanna has been on everyone's news and entertainment channels. Everyone knows all of the details that the police know...hell even things that haven't been officially reported make their way into the gossip rags. Honestly at this point, I am kinda tired of hearing about it because it seems that the media has taken it a little too far in their coverage of the situation. But here's my two cents anyway.

The night of the Grammy's - when the shit hit the fan - my mother called me on the phone asking me if I had heard about. She knows that whenever she hears an entertainment rumor that I am immediately going to do an extensive internet search for the answer. Me and my boyfriend were looking it up and lo and behold! There it was. I must admit for the first 72 hours or so I prayed that this was something that the media beefed up too much. I hoped in my heart of hearts that it wasn't true. So after he apologized, I thought "maybe it wasn't as bad as the reports said....you know how the media overdoes things." So then I saw the pictures of her face and my next thought was, "Chris Brown is kinda cute so I hope he is already practicing how not to drop the soap in jail."

I'm sorry....that was kind of mean. But seriously I don't feel like there is ever a situation where people in relationships should ever be beating up on each other. In my opinion, if the relationship has gotten to the point where you have to put your hands on your significant other to get your point across....the moment where the relationship should have ended passed a minute before you took the first swing.

I feel sorry for the both of them. Both of their careers are essentially over....at least for the near future. There is so much talk about Rihanna losing the support of young girls everywhere because she is supposed to be such a strong woman and was marketed as such. That is so sad. Being marketed as a "strong woman" and being such are two very different animals. Doesn't Beyonce' have an alter ego to help her deal with celebrity craziness? Maybe that was Rihanna's strong force. People everywhere are mad at her for reconciling with Chris Brown and are trashing her CDs and are making her out to be a villain in her own right. I can admit that I was upset myself, but i have come to the conclusion that most people haven't yet. Rihanna is going through a very personal, private issue in a VERY public way. Everyone knows someone who is in relationship that is toxic. It may be your sister, mother, best friend, aunt or whoever. No matter what happens you let that person know that you are there for them no matter what. You may not agree with their choices but you always let them know that they have an ally in you. Turning our back on her isolates her more into what could be a possibly dangerous situation for her. Think about it. Pray for her....then get back to your life and let them handle it.

I hope he is sorry and never does it again. Studies may tell a different story....but I am always willing to be proved wrong. What about you?

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Introducing Myself....

"Diva is a female version of a hustler." - Beyonce'

If you didn't know already...my name is Kathryn. Kat to those who know me best. I am a 25 year old woman still trying to make my foray into "the real world." I have been a student for the last 20 years of my life. I was really looking forward to being done with school altogether.....until i graduated from law school into the worst economy known to man. (So I really don't know if it is the worst....but roll with me on this one.) So now I am searching high and low for a job and paitiently waiting the results of the bar exam.

Since I have all of this "free" time on my hands for the next month, I decided to focus all of my musings and rants into this blog. This is not my first experience with this....I blogged for about 4 years through undergrad. I let it go shortly after beginning law school.....which turned out to be a mistake because all of that extra frustration needed to go somewhere.

Why the title "Thoughts of a Southern l.e.g.a.l. Diva?" Well, Thoughts of a Southern Diva was the name of my last blog. My thoughts are...if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I added "legal" for shits and giggles. So relax and enjoy....

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