You goin' to your Volunteer thing?

I knew I was in love when my friend referred to my job at Catholic Charities as just a measly “volunteer thing” and I took major offense to it. For me volunteering at Catholic Charities was more than just a volunteer thing, it was actually my first real experience in the real world working for a busy company that helped the less fortunate with an education for their children and programs for advancement in their lives. Some people believe that volunteering and working for free is beneath them, but in this economy it seems as if those are the only options out there for a recent graduate who has yet to get their foot through the door. After only three weeks of being at Catholic Charities I was told that if I wanted a job at one of their sites, it was mine. This was just the boost I needed to get me out of the funk that there were no jobs and I would be poor for the next year or so. It gave me confidence in knowing that I was a darn good worker and it did not go unnoticed at this company. I began looking at my position at Catholic Charities not only as a volunteer thing but a semi-job(as I like to call it). I was helping this company succeed, whether it was answering phones, faxing important papers, making copies, or entering data on excel, I began to feel wanted and needed and took away valuable skills that are so necessary for my future career goals. When I did an event with Cocktails and Couture during Fashion Week I was lucky enough to meet girls that were in my exact dilemma, graduates from college, yet working for free at an internship or flat out unemployed. The difference between them and me was that they had rent to pay and I was still living rent-free. It felt good to know that I was not alone in this journey. Meeting these girls really changed my life. However it also motivated me towards the direction of figuring out my goals, my life and how I would get everything I wanted out of life before I got too old and wondered Where did my life go?

Volunteering for me started out as a ploy to avoid having any spaces in my resume when I applied to law school. It then progressed to getting a recommendation from the company but now I look at it as something that was life changing. I met two of the most generous, kindhearted individuals, who wanted nothing more than to see me succeed. I developed contacts, and learned skills that no amount of time in the classroom or reading textbooks could give me. I learned exactly what it means to be in the real world; and now I am on to my next venture, learning exactly what it means to be in the real world and get paid for it.