Duluth, MN

We did it.

At 9:00pm, we pulled into the campus of The College of St. Scholastica, my new home. Mom stayed with me in the city for a few days as we played tourist and set up my new place. The first night we were in the apartment (I'm a live in staff member, so I have a spacious apartment in the residence hall for the first year students), was also the Halloween Dance, which, as you can imagine, equals pure chaos in the hall.

As I sat in my room (which isn't really sound proof), and heard the screams, laughs and running up and down of the hall, my mom just looked at me and said, "are you sure?"

I didn't know the answer. Yes, I was sure that I wanted to enter the 'real world,' and I was sure that I wanted a paying job. But I wasn't sure if I was ready to be over 3,000 miles from my parents, and in a new place where I literally knew no one.

Instead, I just nodded yes, and we went to bed.

Once my mom left, and I was officially alone in a new place and a new job, I really began to feel like an adult. It hit me that I had graduated and was no longer "Katie W., Student Body President," or "Katie the Rugby Player," or "Katie (fill in the blank)." I was just Katie Wieliczkiewicz, the new kid on the job who didn't really have any professional experience.


As you can imagine, this is a pretty scary thing to go through, trying to figure out who you are and needing to redefine your identity, and starting fresh with everything about your life.

It was a lot at once, but I know my experience wasn't really unique, this was, finally, the beginning of being a graduate.

The power of a roadtrip

Alright, so we've officially made it out of the state of Washington at this point--huzaah! In the maybe 4 days it took to travel across the country, we hit every season, I kid you not. Well, maybe not spring, but 3/4 isn't too bad.

summer

fall

winter

Driving with Mom was an enjoyable experience. Anyone who knows us, knows that sometimes it can be a challenge since I'm too Type A and she's very Type B. Even my dad pulled me aside and warned me to behave on our trip out there.

my mom is the best

I think any recent grad can relate to this, and parents as well. After you graduate college, you're in a very weird place: no longer a 'child,', but barely an 'adult.' You have to redefine your role with your parents as well. They slowly become more of a friend and advisor, rather than just a disciplinarian. As a grad, you also begin to realize that they were in fact right (most of the time), and that can be a lot to swallow at once. So, while I wasn't sure how the trip would go, looking back, I'm incredibly thankful Mom came with me and helped me transition into such a new life.

Side note, and quick shoutout: on the road, each big city we stopped at for the night, I had someone there I knew and was able to catch up with. This is the perk of attending college and expanding your network...you almost have friends everywhere, and it's awesome. (think free bed if you're ever on a trip).

from the local pub in Billings

Case in point, I got to see this amazing guy, Andrew

While driving, (we're almost to Duluth, I promise), we came across the prairies of the Midwest. People were not kidding, these are FLAT. I have to admit, as someone who grew up in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley in Alaska (google it), I was blessed to grow up surrounded by mountains, and find a lot of peace in that. These prairies were so flat and empty, that I literally cried when driving. Mom was even a bit shocked and asked if I knew what I was getting myself into. My answer: kinda.

nothing. as you can imagine, it made for a riveting drive

we did find this friend though.

Well, over 1,000 miles later, and mom and I made it to Duluth.

On the road again...

The time had finally come. The car and Uhaul were packed up (after quite a debacle with finding a trailer hitch), and Mom had flown down from Alaska to drive the 1,664 miles from Seattle, WA to Duluth, MN with me.

After a tear filled Sunday, we hit the freeway, and stopped about an hour outside Seattle to grab lunch before the straight shot to Spokane. Nothing is ever easy though, is it? Naturally, the trailer towing my car got a flat tire, and UHaul officially became my life-long nemesis.

oh yes, this happened.

Mom knitting while we waited for the tire to get fixed

Only about an hour later then, we were back on the road to Spokane, WA, where we would be spending the night. Why you ask? Well, the next day we had to put a hitch on my car, and take everything from the Uhaul truck and put it in the Uhaul trailer. Let's just say mom and I had some major bonding time, BUT, it saved us about $1000.

lots of space in the 10' x 10'

not nearly as much in the 5' x 8'...

 Finally then, we made it back on the road for the actual roadtrip, when the real adventure would begin..

Transition Time

Good news. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, I got the job in Duluth...whoop whoop! I was told within a week of flying back, but just had to wait for the background check to come back clean before I could actually begin traveling there.

So, very quickly, the real world became much more real. There was no timeline on the check, so I presumed every week to be my last, and tried to live like that (example: talking to my youngest brother, "this could be my last week, so you should really do my chores so I'll remember you fondly.") Ya, I pulled that card.

When you first become "an adult," everything that your parents do that you now get to is exciting: apply for a credit card, get a car loan, make adult decisions... What they don't tell you though, and no class really prepares you for, is how stressful everything is and how none of it makes sense. (Anytime I filled out a loan or something 'official,' I was convinced I'd done it wrong and the IRS would collect me any day...)

Dad helping me "be an adult"

About a mid October, I got the call that I was approved to work at Scholastica, and quickly boarded a plan and headed off to Seattle to pick up the aforementioned car, figure out my life, and finally switch out the clothes that I've been wearing from the same suitcase...

See ya later, baby bro

New wheels

yep, a tattoo...that's normal, right?

Use your time wisely

Good news: the phone interview on the interstate in Boston was enough...I landed a second one through Skype, and did enough research through the interweb to discover what school and position I was actually applying for: Coordinator of Residential Life at the College of St. Scholastica--Google saves the day, yet again.

So, just like that, within a few weeks, I was on a plane to Duluth, MN, to interview for the position: I was in the actual city (plane landing to take off), for less than 24 hours, and about 6 of those included interviews--talk about being efficient with your time.

First View of the School...looks like a Castle

I think it went pretty well, but then again, I'm biased. When walking the lake walk with a mint chocolate chip ice cream from the local malt shop, I happened to accidentally spill a little bit of it...all down my chest and on my shirt, it's cool though, it was just a nice mint green on my deep blue tank. I hoped that the people I was with didn't notice (my potential coworker and his wife), as I attempted to wipe it off casually and keep walking and talking. Let's just say it was difficult, and sadly, not that uncommon for me. 

After I left Duluth in the afternoon, I traveled back to Alaska to then start my first day as a substitute teacher at the local High School, and my alma mater, Wasilla High School, Home of the Warriors. 

No worries though, everything went just as planned. We had a 4 hour layover in Arizona, so I was pretty late getting into Anchorage, and didn't make it home until about 4:00am. Thankfully, the skills I learned in college paid off...how to operate well on two hours of sleep. 

It was go time. 

Before being a substitute teacher, I thought I was fairly decent at crowd control, and pretty 'cool.' Wrong. 

I kid you not, at one point, there were literally pencils in the ceiling, paper airplanes flying, and 35 14 year olds trying to convince me that I don't know how to do fractions. It gets better...then, I lost a kid. 

I actually lost him. He seemed to be behaving, so I thought I'd let him be rewarded and allow him to go to the bathroom. He left his book and belongings, so I never thought anything of it. Boy, was I naive. 

After the bell rang, he never came back, and his book was just sitting there--like he was sucked up in the second coming! A teacher came by and asked for the student, and I had to look her in the face and explain I wasn't exactly 100% sure where he was at the moment. She just looked at me and said, "ya, he does this a lot." What?! Students like that should come with a warning. 

#livingathomesolidarity

Boston, and the vacation were over. Back to Alaska (with the same suitcase), and back to the real world and reality of graduation.

While many of my friends were preparing to go back to school, I didn't have anything to go back to--it was only the future to plan for, which is very tricky if you have no idea what's next.

So it's simple: move back in with your parents. The good thing, to avoid the cliche, is that I didn't have to live in the basement, but as my brother reminded me, it's almost worse to have your own room. For me, it was still the dream and the adrenaline of graduation kept me going.

Surprisingly (or maybe not), a lot of my friends (and yours will too), moved back in with their parents. Enter our Jesuit education value of solidarity, which soon became a running joke and support word, especially over social media, like Twitter.

Example:  

Dinner date tonight!! With mom, dad, and people from his work. #livingathomesolidarity

If anything, it's great to know that other people are in the same boat as you, and spend most of their Friday nights knitting with their mom as well. 

Speaking of social media, Pinterest also became a huge part of my life (and bank account). Lucky for me, it was near Halloween, so I was able to use the holiday as an excuse to fill the boredom gap in my life. I'm talking anything and everything you can imagine...even golden snitch truffles.

Living at home though, certainly had it's perks. I spent a lot more time with my younger brother, Mike, who I almost missed growing up since I had been in college. We were able to go to movies together, avoid the parents, and take the dogs out for a walk (he will say I clung to his social group as well, but this blog isn't to promote myths). 

L-R: Amadeus (the escape artist), Mike, myself, and my adventure pup Holly (notice she doesn't need a leash)

yep, this is Michael

Other good things include blowing up pumpkins in the old microwave when Mom is gone as well, and who can say no to that? Spending time at home, no matter how much I complained (or other grads), is really a nice change of pace and for the most part, very enjoyable. Sure, you don't have a lot of friends your own age to hang around, and sometimes you fall asleep in movies before your parents, but honestly, as long as it's not too long, I'd recommend it to anyone. 

Yes, this happened. And yes, that is my Dad's hand

However, it's no good just bumming around, I did need to get out for some sanity, so I did the only natural thing: found a part time job.

 

I Think I'll Go to Boston...

So here we are, in the middle of August, not really sure what's next in life. In a very lucky raffle in January, I had won two round trip Southwest Airline tickets, and the beauty of being single means I was able to have two trips, rather than just one with someone else (blessings in disguise, right?).

After I found myself in the unknown, but back in Seattle without a plan, I riffled through my storage unit to find where I had packed the tickets (and switch some things out in my suitcase), and used it to leave a day later for Boston...might as well, right?

So I called a best friend, Erin (also known as my Steward of the Peeps when I was prez), and asked if I could just camp out with her family for 2 weeks, and boarded the plane.

While it may not be Europe, it worked for me, and I would encourage every recent graduate to take a random travel trip (even if it's just a day or weekend), while you can--especially if you don't have silly things like a job holding you back. 

Good ol' Chelmsford, MA

Erin and her brother, Brendan, as I became an honorary Foley

The time back East was fantastic, I was able to see some family members and enjoy sites that I've always wanted to go to, but never had the time or resources. Also, the best part, by far, was telling people I had graduated. No longer was I attached to a specific class in school or just a 'college student'--I was a graduate. The worst part? When they asked what's next. I'd recommend coming up with a canned response so you know how to respond, but just make sure to keep it ambiguous...that's the key to survival.

Man: "would you like a picture with a real Bostonian?" Me: "Sure, why not?"

Some of the Raymond Cousins at my Aunt's wedding

One day while driving through Downtown Boston, I received a phone call from a number in "Duluth, MN." Not knowing what to do, I decided to answer it while in the car. The lady on the phone explained she was with a school (I wasn't able to understand the name, which as you can imagine, made it difficult), and she asked if I had time for a few questions.

I assumed it would be just the basics, but it turned out being a full phone interview (remember, I'm still sitting in the car with the Foley Clan on the freeway), for a school that I had no idea the name, location, or even the specifics of the job I applied for. Good thing I majored in Strategic Communications though, and know how to fake it till ya make it.

After the interview ended, I just tried my best to remember key words so I could Google the school later if I had a callback, ya never really know...

The trip was refreshing, no doubt about that. I was able to soak up some sun, consume an embarrassingly large quantity of Dunkin' Donuts and Fried Clams, and create a lot of memories that included a lot of 'firsts' (first time cooking a live lobster!).

After that, I headed back to Alaska (still just with my one suitcase), and try to figure out what was next...

Being an Adult Means Finding a Job

You guessed it. The first key to becoming an adult is finding a job, there's no secret in that. As you begin the process of finding the right job, people share all sorts of 'useful' advice: "being involved in school really helps," "no one finds the right job out of school anyway," "just be you..." The list goes on.

What they don't tell you (at least not explicitly), is how hard it is to find job. Not just time consuming filling out the same application for different places a million times (sorry friends, no common app in the 'real world'), but how much it sucks you dry to basically present yourself to strangers to be judged, without a chance of meeting them in person most of the time.

But don't worry, they'll love you.

Friends, maybe they love you, but most of the places won't even call you back to say, "no thanks." You are officially on your own, so get ready.  One thing that's true though, is that it's not what you know, but who you know. Trust me, I graduated with two degrees (both with honors), and a great resume (I was student body president even!), but what got me my first job was my rugby coach's friend who needed a campaign manager. Lesson learned: just play rugby and you're golden.

So that's what I did. I signed up to be a campaign manager for a woman who I didn't know too well, with her never having run for political office really, and myself never having been a campaign manager...let me say this though, as of this point in my life. It has been my favorite and most challenging yet engaging job yet.

'The Office' (Stephanie's kitchen table)

Our other office...her van.

So thus began my life as an adult. I earned a paycheck, kept a schedule, and had real responsibility...I was on the right track to becoming a millionaire (or at least paying off my student loans), within 5 years. Boom Baby.

One thing about a campaign though, you can't really plan for the future. So, when my lease ran up at the end of July, I moved out of my apartment...without anywhere to really move to. I put everything in storage and traveled the city of Seattle from friend's house to friend's house with my suitcase for almost a month--surprisingly, it wasn't nearly as stressful as I thought, and it's fun to have sleepovers even when you're an adult. 

Another Hard Day at Work

The best boss (and politician) out there: Stephanie Bowman

The one thing they don't emphasize enough in college, but a skill I've used most in the real world is: act with confidence and people just assume you know what you're doing. Truly, this is the best way to go. Also, when in doubt, ask--people don't mind telling you. (editor's note: however, there is such a thing as a stupid question, so make sure it's a question worth asking, especially to your boss). 

The primary election took place in August, and we felt pretty good about the results. We canvassed the streets like nobody's business, hammered signs into all available spots, and most importantly, we ran a clean campaign--that's what we were most proud of. 

The results wouldn't really be known until a few days after the election, so I booked a roundtrip flight home to Alaska to spend a week with my family, assuming we'd hit the general election in November. 

Mom, Dad, and Jake camping on my week vaca

Sadly, things don't always go as planned. Despite our best effort, Washington just wasn't ready for Stephanie yet (they'll know better next time, that's for sure), and we lost the election, and I lost (literally) my first job--all within 2 months of graduating college. 

So I got back on the plane to Seattle (after some major conversations about discernment with my parents), without a home, without a job, but with a few good friends in my life, the same suitcase from before, and adventure on my mind.

The Beginning (or is it the end?)

First, in total honesty, I have to admit that I'm not that recent of graduate I suppose. It's been nearly a year since I graduated from Seattle University with two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communications, and a Bachelor of Public Affairs, but more about those later.

However, a lot has changed since then, and my good friend, Nicole Gaddie, encouraged me to write a blog about it so that other soon to be grads can be prepared.

So here it is, a bit about my life. Graduating is exciting, and you're never really prepared for it, no matter what people think. These are just my stories, and only one person's experience, but I hope you find them helpful, or at least a bit humorous.

The Basics:

Let's go back to the Spring of 2012... where I thought that nothing would be better than graduating. Four years in school, and you think you know everything about life. I survived moving to a big city, was somewhat successful in college, and had my life planned out for about a month after I graduated--pure gold.

The whole Wieliczkiewicz clan flew down for graduation, I walked across the stage, shook some hands and hugged more people than I actually thought I knew. Boom, just like that, I was Katie Wieliczkiewicz, College Graduate.

We took the traditional family photos, and even had a cake that said Bon Voyage (not that I really knew where I was going yet though)

After the celebrations ended, I headed out to Ecuador for 10 days with a group from school, and came back to the states ready to change the world, but more importantly ready to find a job.