Short Story Club


  1. Dreams Do Come True
  2. Endless Game
  3. Ready To Die
  4. The Risk


In My View


  1. Living A Value Based Life
  2. Self-Care In A Crisis
  3. Baby Girl Expectations
  4. My Feminist Journey
  5. The Experiential Diary


Fragments


  1. The Importance Of Basquiat
  2. Get To Know Steve McCurry
  3. The Passage That Changed Me
  4. Let’s Talk 1984
  5. Literature So Black
  6. Dave The Storyteller
  7. 10vs10 A Lockdown Tale of Enjoyment
  8. Views
  9. An Ode To Insecure
  10. Michaela Coel Is The Goal
  11. The Elite Desperate Housewives
  12. Ugly Betty: Was It Really Love?
  13. 90s Black Cinema


Poet’s Corner


  1. Breakdown
  2. Delusions Of Grandeur
  3. Helen Of Troy
  4. Crush
  5. Truest Self
  6. What Do I Want?
  7. Rise
  8. Best In The Multiverse
  9. A Complex Affair with Misery
  10. I Did The Love Game Wrong

Not Living Up to Expectations Your Younger Self Set



No one really talks about life after university. No one really discusses in much depth what life is like living as an unemployed graduate. All the work you put in has translated into a valuable piece of paper, but it’s not valuable in all the places. You’re exposed to the pressures of life with less support resources and safety nets. Reality hits differently as you’re more than likely forced to move back home or move to a new city to begin working, like another cog in the machine. More than likely your friends are dispersed around the nation or globe and adjustment is difficult in many ways. That is why I’d like to take you on a journey where I attempted to plan what followed to a T, but instead the universe laughed.

The reality for me was having to come back home after university after failing to secure a fulltime job. I had difficulties in getting responses for applications for the most part, the silent rejections hurt a lot. Then the outright rejections weren’t great either. And overall, the tiring process of applying really got to me.

In the application process, I realised that it’s more difficult for black women to find employment in our respective fields, when we’re fully qualified. I remember being told by a fellow writer that I should remove any traces from my CV and cover letter that suggested I was black and a woman, so that I would not be discriminated against. In order to gain gainful employment, I’d have to erase myself which just didn’t seem fair.

As the year following graduation continued, a global pandemic came to wreak havoc on us all, and not being able to do my in person part-time gig meant I was back to searching for jobs, but this time with increased difficulty and anxiety. This then led me to accepting the first offer I got, which happened to be a poorly paid internship. As grateful as I am for the opportunity, I won’t sugar-coat how much the pay sucked. Truth be told, accepting the role gave me something to do and allowed some structure, even though my heart wasn’t in it.

Eventually, the internship would transition into part-time employment, and that would heighten my feelings of unfulfillment and after 18 months I decided to quit my job and disrupt the semblance of stability. I had the notion of going travelling and having a reset. Although I was confident in my decision, I could sense it confused my parents initially. Even though they express their pride, in me being independent and fearless, I’m sometimes met with comments about careers and jobs that sound a subtle disappointment in having a degree with no career. Being 25 and still living with them whilst my agemates are renting or owning homes, getting married and having kids etc.

However, the value of travel was worth this huge leap and as someone who’s freshly returned, I have great motivation and want to succeed. I’m back to my dream chasing ways, and this time around I am finding more success with the content that I’m offering. I hope that the commissions keep on coming in, but I also know I’ll face hardships, have doubts and regrets. The goal now is to establish a writing career that I can be happy and successful in. I don’t know what the journey ahead looks like, but it’s nothing like I planned three years ago when I graduated. I try not to dwell on the hopes of 22-year-old me, she had no idea what was coming. 25-year-old can only do what’s best for me.

If you feel disheartened about where you are presently, I hope you can find comfort in this story. I’ve been disappointed in myself, but I bounce back and treat myself with compassion because I know that I’m trying. I may not be where I want to be just yet, but I’m working towards it.