Something I’ve been struggling with lately, is my lack of a college education. I never intended to stray from the four-year plan. I wanted to be a teacher. I attended a solid community college to save money, ready to transfer to a teaching college in Nebraska when the time came. Unfortunately, a lot of chaotic life experiences got in the way, and my goal of becoming a teacher fell by the wayside.
Reading Carey RavenStar Robin’s memoir, Office Girl: A romantic comedy and true story about the terrible jobs one reader and writer suffered after majoring in English, I wonder if those chaotic life experiences may have been a blessing in disguise for me! For Carey, after majoring in English, obtaining a teaching certificate, an extra year of undergraduate credit, a paralegal certificate and 24 Master’s credits in English, she can’t seem to get a job! Not a very good one, anyway. You’d think with credentials like that she’d score something big. Instead, she’s a secretary, where she’s very much underutilized. Or a desk clerk for a motel. When she breaks into teaching, she’s barely scraping by with low-wages and non existent health care, not to mention the odd-ball coworkers who love to undermine Carey at seemingly every chance they get! With job prospects like this, who needs a career?
Things aren’t going well in Carey’s love life, either. Divorced, she’s come up with a scoring system of men she’s run into, based on their potential for loss of time and energy, self-esteem, etc. I was laughing at the similarities of some of the “winners” I’ve dated in the past, easily fitting my own experiences into each category Carey has conjured up. I love the humor and easy-does-it approach she uses when it comes to her love life. Really, what other choice does she have?
Carey is a very candid and funny storyteller. Just when I thought things were going to look up for her, something else would happen that would knock her back a step or two, but she keeps coming back, swinging and fighting even harder to achieve success in her life. There is a lot Carey identifies with from her past, parallels she drudges up and it’s obvious she doesn’t want to make the same mistakes she’s seen others in her life make. I know that scenario all too well, making it easy for me to relate with Carey.
Will I ever get back into the college game myself? I decided after having my own children that teaching wouldn’t be the best fit for me. I just don’t think I’d have the patience for it, not anymore. I’m still open to college, however. There are other passions in my life I can pursue, too, and where there is passion, there is hard work and a rollercoaster ride of achievements and failures. Office Girl is a true, honest, enjoyable testament to that!
Thanks to Carey RavenStar Robin for the book in exchange for an honest review.
Great review. I didn't have the choice of going to college. My family just didn't have the money. Plus I got in a lot of trouble when I was a teenager and ended up quitting high school when I was 16. I never even got a GED. At my age now,there isn't much luck for a career, so the thought about school and work doesn't even cross my mind. If I had to go back to work, it would probably be retail since that is what I did the most when I did work.
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