Of Frankenmuth

I came home with the normal expectation of offing myself with boredom before day 3.

Well, it's day 5 and here I am forcing myself to blog because I've been anything but bored.

Sure, there have been some really negative aspects of this trip...

Like the fact that everyone I went to high school with who still lives here seems to be 1. Exceedingly Attractive and 2. Acceptably Happy.

 It's been 5 years since I graduated, and I hoped for a little more Paunch and Happenstance if you know what I mean...(see what I did there?)

When I returned, I thought I wouldn't be able to relate to anyone. How could I possibly have anything to talk about with people who were STILL LIVING in Frankenmuth. 

And then I realized that we all had so much to talk about because we are all STILL LIVING.

I realized that no matter where we spent our four years of college and no matter where we climb into bed at night, we are all bound by this terrifying feeling that our lives could very well amount to nothing.

I call this: BEING 23.

or 24, or 25, or 26.

I had lunch with a fellow fashionista from high school (we used to be a part of what we called "The Council of Pretty People"...yeah...) who has spent the last few years traveling the world (and stalking me). She's lived in Spain, London, New Zealand, Australia and I'm sure more countries but I had to stop listening because all I could think was

"Wow...I'm incredibly jealous." and "I wonder if I could pull off that necklace."

And as we sat there staring at our plates of carbs trying to judge how much the other one would eat before we took another bite, we found ourselves in a predictable case of

the grass is always greener...

Here I was the "Next Big Thing" and there she was the "World Traveled Gal", both with degrees, both with hope, both unemployed. 

I went from wondering why this girl (and half of America) would be stalking my blog to understanding exactly why.

the same reason I turn on "No One is Alone" from Into the Woods  and sob in the shower. 

It helps to know that in a world where 16 year olds are superstars and we're somehow still expected to fall into fame and glory in an economy that wants us to work for free during a 3-month "internship" we moved across the country for with the dangling-carrot that they'll hire 20% of their interns if you're blood-thirsty enough to compete with them for a dream

that you're not alone.

that everyone is struggling.

that you're going to be OK.

If you remember that everyone who interviews you for a job was interviewed for their job and was also rejected from 20 other jobs whether they're a C.E.O. or a C.S.A., nobody seems that intimidating. And if they try to make you feel smaller than you are because you don't get the job or the role, you would have been miserable working for them anyway.

Doesn't unemployment feel better now?

So one day when I'm incredibly famous and you don't hate your job, or just have a job to hate, we'll get lunch together and laugh at the college kids in the booth next to us who have no idea what they're in for.

But we still won't eat carbs. 

Until then, struggle on America.

Beer is so cheap here so why is my glass empty,

TJB: Making It