Friday, November 11, 2011

Experience, experience, experience!

Every Sunday I volunteer at a hospital in Santa Monica, specifically at the nurse’s station of the post-partum wing. My shift starts at 10:00 am, and including traffic and getting-ready time, I wake up at about 8:30 am. (On a Sunday….!!!! Let’s keep in mind that I am a college student, and one that likes to sleep in whenever possible.) And once I’m there, I answer phone calls and occasionally make the trip down to the basement lab or to a patient’s room for water, juice, and other requests.

But today I did something crazy… I just quit!
                                                                                   
I just felt like it wasn’t a good use of my time, and I had more things to do that were worthwhile of my Sundays—namely sleep and homework. Now, those who are familiar with the pre-med path must really be thinking, “this girl’s crazy!” Self-sabotage at it’s finest.

But you know, I honestly felt like I was underappreciated—one volunteer among millions, just eager to add another title to their resume. Resume-fillers!!!

It seems that those of us in our twenties are pressured by society to accept just about any work or volunteer position, all for the sake of experience. And yes, obviously, experience is important—it should teach us valuable lessons in the work field or in life, generally.

But does it really?

Because at the hospital I was volunteering at, I didn’t learn very much. Like I said before, I was basically the secretary slash errand girl… And I definitely didn’t sign up for that! I wanted to learn more about the healthcare system, and daily procedures as a doctor. You know, the exciting stuff! (And granted, I understand that as a volunteer, I have no certification to do anything. Literally. But I should at least feel appreciated for spending so much of my time doing someone else’s work. I think the term is bitch work …?)  

But then, without this so-called experience, you won’t get a job and you definitely won’t get into med school! So, we are forced to apply for all of these useless positions. Sort of a tradeoff: do this, or you won’t get what you want.

So, in this sense, the concept of emerging adulthood isn’t necessarily due to just us kids. Contrary to popular belief, we aren’t reluctant to grow up or to accept the responsibilities associated with being an adult—we aren’t lazy to make something of our lives.

But we definitely are pushed towards establishing our careers only after we having completed/tried this, this, and that—a checklist for our future careers. Consequently, much of our time is spent satisfying these requirements and having these jobs/positions that don’t mean very much to us (other than how it can help our futures.) So, time is delayed. And it isn’t until we are much older that we have established our careers and are ready to begin the rest of our lives.

So, there it is. My complaining segment of the day! Hope you enjoyed my take on work experience and emerging adulthood. 

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