High Hopes

I must confess, the past few days I’ve been a little preoccupied with baseball. And by “baseball,” I mean the Phillies. (And by “a little,” I mean, a lot.) After a season of ups (Roy Halladay’s perfect game) and downs (more injuries than I could even keep track of) followed by a spectacular September, Charlie Manuel’s team found themselves not only in the playoffs, but the arguable favorite to win the NL penant. Which brings us to today: down 3 games to 1 in the Division Championship series, with our ace Halladay starting against San Fransciso’s ace, Tim Lincecum. Do or die. Win tonight or go home.

Any analogy I might make here to THIS particular situation and the job search or to how Career Services can help you get into medical school or prepare you for life in the real world would only be tortured, and not really useful at all.

So instead, I’ll take a page out of Harry Kalas‘s book and burst into song… (okay well I won’t actually do that, but I’ll copy some lyrics down and link to a video):

When you are down lift your head off the ground
There’s a lot to be learned so look around

Once there was a silly old ant
Thought he’d move a rubber tree plant
Everyone knows an ant, can’t
Move a rubber tree plant

But he had high hopes, he had high hopes
He’s got high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So when you start to feelin’ low
‘stead of lettin’ go
Just remember that ant
Hoop there goes another rubber tree plant
Hoop there goes another rubber tree plant
Hoop there goes another rubber tree plant…

(Wow, some of those fans are nearly as tone deaf as I am!)

So actually HERE is where I’ll make the aforementioned tortured analogy.

Considering life after college or graduate school and contemplating the “real world” can be incredibly daunting. I remember being not at all certain I could handle finding a job, starting that hypothetical new job, paying my own bills, keeping track of health insurance and dentist appointments and having time to make dinner and have a social life outside the comfortable confines of school. But, here I am, 5 years later and it hasn’t been so bad at all. I look around and all of my friends from high school and college are thriving, pursuing drastically different career paths but all having so much fun establishing themselves professionally and personally. I certainly felt like that fabled ant during college attempting the impossible, but my friends and I all DID move that rubber tree plant. You will, too.

Hopefully HK’s words can bring you some solace, as they do for me when I consider the challenge that’s ahead for the Phillies tonight. Let’s go, Phillies!