Why I chose to revert back to being a part of the "Generation Screwed"

Ironically, about two months ago I wrote about and attempted to start a series of blogs about being a new reporter.

Let's just say I failed after only one post.

I can't say that I was ever "too busy" to blog or didn't have anything to blog about: I just didn't do it.

Now, two months later I am attempting to get back into the saddle of everyday writing and figure out my next move. I feel like I've said that a number of times within the past three years but it's true.

My "ugly blue house" in Fort Scott.

Since my last post in June,  I have quit my job, moved out of my own house back into my mom's in Topeka and have fully embraced the title "Generation Screwed".

I'm not thrilled with my current situation- single, 25-years-old living in my childhood room, my  two animals in a different location- but I think it was the best decision for me personally, financially and professionally.

I chose to go from being part of the small pool of recent graduates who had aquired a position in their field to joining the ranks of the unemployed. (Note: I'm not really unemployed, I just don't have a full-time position in my field anymore.)

I became apart of the 1/3 of 25-34 year olds who live with their parents and I did so voluntarily.

While the odds are stacked against our generation and recent graduates, we have something that other generations somewhat lacked: a passion and optimism that everything will work out in the end.

We, myself included, went into fields and careers simply because we enjoyed them and were passionate about them. I mean, I'm a journalist and will not likely make millions of dollars in the near future but I'm okay with that. Correction, I will be okay with that after I find another full-time job that I can actually financially survive off of from day-to-day.

I don't ever think I chose the wrong field but I do think I was a little ill-prepared for "the real world" and all that it entails.

Cal Newport, a writer and assistant professor at Georgetown University, said in a recent article that the passion I mentioned above is incorrectly invested for must of us.

He said, "We're ambitious and ready to work hard, but we need the right direction for investing this energy."

"Follow your passion' is an inspiring slogan, but its reign as the cornerstone of modern American career advice needs to end," Newport wrote. "We don't need slogans, we need information — concrete, evidence-based observations about how people really end up loving what they do. "

He nailed it, in my opinion. No one told me how hard the first year or even six months of my first professional job was going to be professionally and financially. No one told me about how expensive health insurance was and how horrible my coverage was going to be.

Instead, I was always told "do what you love and it won't matter".

Wrong.

It did matter.

But fortunately, I've decided I'm going to try my hardest to let my optimism overshadow what I consider my first professional failure. I'm going to keep applying for jobs- I did get on as a freelance reporter with the Lawrence Journal World recently!- and looking into graduate schools, regardless of how many times I hear no or "you're not qualified enough".

I have to believe that things are going to get better and that I will ultimately become the journalist I want to be. I have to hold on to the hope that I will slowly detatch myself from all that makes me part of the  "Generation Screwed" and move on to becoming, well, not screwed.

But obviously questions and doubts abound. Did I give up to quickly in my first quest post-graduation? Or are we really facing some tough odds in pursuing professional careers in fields that we chose because of our passions and not because of the money?

How do you deal with being a member of this so-called unfortunate generation?

Mr. Bob Marley said "everything little thing is gonna be alright". Do you agree?