Hello, World.

Let's get the formalities out of the way, shall we? My name is Neva. I recently graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in both Arts & Humanities, and Theatre. 

"And you've started a blog about finding employment in America?" - The World.

You're witty, world, but don't think your sarcasm is lost on me! Yes. I confess. I am a liberal arts major. And yes, I do expect to find a job, a career even. From where I sit, I can see eyebrows raising behind computer screens even as I write this. I can just hear people retorting, "Good luck finding your job in the arts! Hope the economy doesn't trip you on your way out the university door!" Let's throw in some maniacal laughter for good measure. Of course, that's assuming people will read this in the first place, but that's my optimism for you!

It's simple, really. 

I, and so many other people, are at a crossroads. We just graduated the last safety net that comes with being a student. We are currently part of the statistic that fuels so much of the political fires in America: the unemployed. We are young. We are hungry. We are passionate. We believe in our liberal arts degrees and we will be damned if we hear another word from the naysayers about how we should have gone into engineering. Trust me, if God had bequeathed any sort of mathematical prowess into my artsy little brain, I would have. But as it stands, I chose what I knew in my heart I would be best at. So, here we are!

This brings us to why I started this blog. Again, it is simple. Navigating this new chapter in my life is completely foreign to me. Gone are the days of scantron exams. Gone are the days of knowing that my ability to write well would allow me to produce a fifteen page paper overnight. They have been replaced with cover letters. They have been replaced with endless research as to who and what is hiring. They have been replaced with soul searching and truly examining where I fit and what I should be doing with my skills. But that is exactly what students of the humanities and the arts need to be prepared for! Unlike those engineering majors, we don't come out of school with one single solitary job we know we can do well. We come out of school with an ARSENAL of quality tools that could serve us in ANY job. We just need to examine where our passions lie and make it our mission to carve a name for ourselves in those industries.

This blog is for anyone who feels lost in this new world. We are novice adults. We are entry level at real life and it would serve us all to know that we each have a path. This is the reason social media and blogs are so important. It's that connection. Sometimes it's just nice to know that there is someone out there in the world that is going through what you are going through in the same chapter of their life. 

In the end, this is just one arts graduate's tale of forging her own career as an arts practitioner. It could very well turn into a cautionary tale. I hope that it doesn't. Again, optimism.  

Let's do this.