I’ve been obsessed with personality tests lately. From Meyers-Brigg to BuzzFeed ‘What donut are you?,’ from Kibbe Body Types to Color Seasons - I can’t stop. I think I’m looking for some sort of answer to myself - a guide, a list, a chart. Something I can follow without thinking, because thinking seems to get me in trouble. I’m indecisive; I will stand in the freezer aisle for 10 minutes, trying to pick the perfect ice cream flavor for this moment in time. I want to try everything, taste everything; I’ve not been able to settle on a career, a city, a lifestyle. I can’t seem to dig down through all the layers of “should want” to figure out what I do want. I’ve felt lost for a very long time. For my entire adult life. Some things are starting to come into focus, like I know I love writing, but so much else still feels hazy. You can see how BuzzFeed quizzes would be helpful to a person in my situation. It all started innocently enough. A few years back, as part of the onboarding process a...
I was applying for a job with the Roads Department, they needed a writer for writerly things. I actually have experience working on a road crew (a very random summer job - I was in The Union!, such a Woman of the People). So I’m trying to mention it in the cover letter, An opportunity I had once upon a summer of my misty yesteryears to labor amongst the masses on a road crew most fair , is how I understood from my friend and cover letter reviewer, P, that I had written about the experience. I was both indignant and confused. “How else am I supposed to say it?” “Just say I spent a summer in college working on a road crew. It rocked ,” he said. “Can’t you just be cool?” “Not really, no.” Is how I wish I responded. You know, be a cool girl admitting she is not cool but showing that she actually is cool by admitting she isn’t cool. However. Looking back, I must confess my actual reply was more along the lines of me shrieking “Alas, for no! I cannot!” and flinging myself upon the cardboard...