Life in Chicago & Life Lessons

Oh, wow! I haven't posted in a long time and a lot has been happening.  I'll give you a quick rundown.

My fantastic cousin, Roxanne, and her fantastic husband and her ridiculously fantastic kids came to visit at the beginning of July.  They were on their way to Michigan to visit family and stopped in Chicago for a few days of fun.

We did some sight-seeing, took Hannah on a tour of The University of Chicago, saw a couple of plays (one very good; one very bad), and participated in a whole lot of laughing and catching up.

It was so great to see all of them!!

Free Slurpee Day at 7 Eleven. :)

Hannah riding the train.

Caleb has a new best friend. Can you tell?

Seriously, have you ever seen a cuter family? I didn't think so!

Jerry arrived the day my cousin and her family left.  He was here for a week and we had a great time but really just chilled most of the time.  We did manage to eat at all of the places Jerry requested (Dairy Queen, Sonic & Chili's) as they are not available in Manhattan.  Sure, sure, everyone loves a dipped cone, drinks as big as your head that are filled with vanilla and cherry syrups and chips and salsa and fajitas that will put you in a coma, but in retrospect, I don't recommend eating all of this within a week's time span.  TUMTs, anyone? While I'm at it, I should probably go ahead and confess that we ate a ton of equally terrible (as in calories, not in taste) food all over the city.  Seriously, we both needed a detox after he left! Sad? Yes. True? Yes.

We did squeeze in a few other things besides just eating however.  We saw a couple of plays and did some sight-seeing and I think we went to see a total of 3 movies the week he was here.

We also took a sailing trip that was nice.  Thank you, Groupon!

Our view on the sailboat. Jealous?

I love that brother of mine and am so glad that he came to visit.  He has been very supportive during my move and continues to be one of my absolute favorite people on the planet.

The morning of the day Jerry left, I had a job interview.  Then, that afternoon got called back for a second interview, which resulted in my new job that I am about to tell you about but also resulted in me having to drop Jerry off at the airport HOURS early so that I could make it to my second interview on time.  Sorry again, Boo.

Okay, so let's transition to the J.O.B:

One of the the main reasons I moved to Chicago was to open myself up to new opportunities and experiences so that I could grow and develop more as a professional, but more importantly, a human
being.  I definitely got what I was asking for.  Who knew it would come in the form of job hunting?

I need to take a moment to express my feelings of hatred for job hunting. Here goes. I find job hunting to be rather gross, disgusting and an equivalent to hell.  Seriously, I forgot that looking for a job is a full-time job in itself.  And, might I add as a reminder, a full-time job that you are not getting paid for!

I started applying for jobs in March.  Mind you, I didn't start agressively seeking a job until I moved but still, I was looking, sending resumes and participating in phone interviews MONTHS ago.

Thank goodness all of that is over now.  I am now a full-time employee of a fantastic charter school network, LEARN.  I am the social worker/counselor at the LEARN South Chicago Campus and I couldn't be happier.  The school is full of fantastic administrators, teachers and support workers who all seem to have the same genuine desire to provide a quality education to children.

Job hunting was definitely a test of patience and character.  For a while, I was feeling rejected and unworthy and was beginning to feel hopeless.  I interviewed at one school and got the dreaded "Thank you but we are going with someone else" e-mail.  On top of that, I had sent somewhere near 1.7 million resume's and wasn't getting any calls/e-mails for interviews.  I got a tad desperate at one point and started looking for part-time work on craigslist thinking that if I didn't have a job in my field by the end of the summer (when my pay from Caddo Parish Schools ran out) that at least I would have a little income coming in.  So, I interviewed with a family for a babysitting position that was supposed to start July 20th and run for 3 weeks.  I was feeling a little better until the mom e-mailed me and said "Thanks but no thanks."  Really?  I didn't get a babysitting job?!?  At this point, I was very discouraged.  I thought if I couldn't get a 3 week babysitting job with a master's degree and a ton of experience, that I was certainly not getting any other offers.  Humbling? Why, yes!

I had been trusting that my desire to move to Chicago held more purpose for me than to just simply move.  I felt very strongly that the time was right and Chicago was the place.  The problem is, I'm not very good with letting go of control and allowing God to take over.  Moving to a new place where I knew absolutely no one and did not have a job required a leap of faith that I'm not used to.

This is what I've learned:

#1 Rejection is important to keep me humble.  It's not a great feeling but necessary to keep me focused on what's important and to keep me working hard.

#2 God's timing is perfect.  I almost lost it when I didn't get that babysitting job.  I understand now that it wouldn't have worked anyway because I started my new job at LEARN the day after the babysitting job would have begun.  I didn't understand it then and quite frankly was a little more than pissed but thankfully God knows what we need better than we know ourselves.

#3 Surrender is key. During this whole time, I had been praying that I would find a job and had been following that up with action - actively searching and applying for jobs and researching and preparing myself for interviews. I learned that there is only so much you can do.   I realized that if I was actively seeking and prepared when interviews came along, and they still didn't chose me, there wasn't much else I could do.  When I had this revelation, I started praying not only that I would get a job but that I would get the one that was meant for me.  After that, I still kept searching and applying, but things had changed.  My attitude and approach changed.  I learned how to surrender and trust. It's such a simple and lovely thought and yet so hard to do.


#4 Empathy.  I know the country and economy is struggling and I know that people are losing their jobs, incomes and homes everyday but this reality hasn't really hit me personally so it didn't really effect me. Having the experience of being unemployed and looking for work made me think about how difficult it must be for people who have been searching for months or maybe a year or more and still can't find work. I'm much more empathetic and this experience has given me perspective that I never would have gained otherwise.

So, all this to say, I'm amazed at how God uses circumstances and certain situations in my life to teach me important lessons, if I'll allow it.  Also, I am so grateful and honored that I have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of my students and their families.

I understand how blessed I am and hope that I can fully use that blessing to be a blessing to others.

Okay, switching again.  Other random things that have been going on lately:

My fantastic roommate, KM, took me to my first Cubs game.  I'm hooked. It was so fun!! And, they won so I got the pleasure of experiencing the Go, Cubs, Go! songs.  :)

I've made cupcakes!

I've experienced my first but definitely not my last deep dish pizza!

I've gotten to see more of Chicago and have fallen more in love with it!

For those of you who are wondering about the Sophie.  She's doing great. 

Her favorite place is the dog beach (pictured above) but other than that, this is how you can find her most of the time.....

Happy Sunday, Everyone!