just keep on going

How are you with persistence, rejection, and change?

Of course, it differs based on the type of person you are. So, which type of a person are you when it comes to these three emotions?

When faced with rejection, what do you do? Does your pride take over you, do you put up an immediate guard and adopt a couldn't-care-less attitude? Or do you accept it as part of life, feel sorry for a little while, and continue on your ceaseless adventure of the search for whatever it is you're looking for? Or maybe you are the rash one, the type who gets mad with the world when you get rejected.

Which one are you? Or, more appropriately, who are you?

I used to think that I was type 1 -- the one who lets pride take me over, then erect such a concrete barrier that nothing gets past that wall of mine, and I pretend I don't give a damn about the world. I realise now that perhaps, when people grow up, so, too, do their feelings and emotions and everything else they carry with them in their little grown up selves.

Rejection is common now, in this life that I dare to call mine. In my quest for a job, rejection is common. More accurately, in search of that dream job of mine, rejection has taken its common place with me. Oh, I do not doubt that if I couldn't bother about the kind of job that I wanted, I would have already been accepted into some company or the other. But it's a dream job, so my choice of jobs has been narrowed quite considerably.

I want to be a writer. What type of a writer, I don't know yet. Perhaps, in trying out a variety of writing styles, most probably I will be able to discover the writer in me. Technical writing, business writing, advertisement writing, report writing, copy writer, editor, columnist, blogger, author, oh the list goes on.

In this country, it is tough being a writer, if only because this country is so focused on businesses that aspiring writers, the budding arts community and the literary and performing arts sector are often left behind. Even the amount of jobs available for editors/writers of all kinds are at a minimum. Of course, the recession isn't helping as well.

I have applied for a few freelance writing jobs. Only then did I taste the bitterness of rejection. For a while, that is. Right at the beginning, I couldn't accept much of it. But after some time, it just becomes part and parcel of life, and you just continue going on, you know what I mean. I have no experience. My degree is not in anything related to journalism or communications and arts. My working experience thus far has not been anything writing-related. I have no idea how to begin my portfolio or a sample of my writings.

But I just write. Just write, and perhaps, after writing for a long long time, something will come my way.

Something did come my way, for a while, that is. Well, at least that is a sign that I'm not stupid, that my educational qualifications are actually something to be proud of. For a while I actually thought I was so stupid that I could not get any job. I got to be a freelance writer, if only for a few assignments. It's better than nothing, and it's a start and an experience, at the very least. My style of writing, however, did not suit the person I was writing for, because my sentences are not simple at all. But well, it's a start, and it's a nice start, at least.

Currently I am shortlisted to be a part-time blogger, writer, and internet administrator for a company based here. I hope it turns out all right, for one sweet candy in the midst of that bitterness would be a lovely thing to experience right now. Trust me, being penniless in order to search for your dream job is not an awesome experience, believe me.

I used to think I don't do well with rejection, but that part of me is changing, I believe. Right now, no matter what rejections I face, I just keep right on going. I just keep writing, building up my so-called portfolio and writing samples that I do not know how to do, and I just keep right on writing and applying. Persistence, after all, comes after rejection has made its point. Change, it comes together with persistence.

It is my dream job that I am fighting for, and for that, I need all the persistence that I can get, and swallow all the rejection that comes my way. Learn from it, and persist even more.

For I believe that dream jobs are supposed to be that bit harder. If dream jobs were so easy to come by, then there wouldn't be much of a point in calling it a dream job, ain't it so?

Just keep writing. Keep writing, and one day, something will come my way.