_*For most, Monday mornings usually begin a new work cycle. But for this unemployed recent college grad, Monday mornings usually signal the start of a fresh week of self-loathing. Log on each Monday for a witty (read self indulgent) and adventurous (read criminally boring) slice of life from University Chic’s Executive Editor, Stacy Hinojosa, an optimistic, job-hunting baccalaureate._

But I Really Do Love Brachiosaurs

I don’t set my alarm clock anymore. There’s no point. I’ll sleep through it. I’ve tried buzzer alarms, clock radios, those old fashion wind-ups with actual bells on them. Nothing works. My parents used to wake me up for school with a squirt gun. Sometimes adrenaline wakes me up though. It’s like subconsciously I know there’s something worth waking up for, like school picture day or Christmas morning. Nowadays, I sleep till 11. Even my body knows I have nothing to get up for. I’m not going to bother to put on makeup. There’s really no need to iron that shirt.

*You know the saying, _”Find something you love to do and you’ll never work another day in your life.”_* I heard that all the time when I was a kid. Back then I was obsessed with dinosaurs. Then one day my dad told me paleontologists don’t make much money. I was supposed to be a doctor or a lawyer. Well, I can’t look at blood without getting dizzy, so lawyer it was. My first year of college, I declared political science as my major, but I still signed up for a paleontology class…just in case. The course was tedious. I spent two months studying varying types of prehistoric fish. Do you have any idea how boring that is? _(If any of you are paleontology majors, I’m sorry…really, I am SO sorry)_ I knew paleontology and political science weren’t for me. I settled on journalism.

But sometimes I still watch TV and think to myself, _”who decorated the set of that sitcom?”_ I mean, someone has to do that job. Someone out there spends their whole day shopping for a lamp. *_Who are these people?_ The ones with the fun jobs. The ones that don’t _really_ work.* And why don’t I ever meet them? _”Hi, my name is Sarah, I’m a personal shopper.” “Hello, I’m Sam, I taste test candy bars.”_ I never meet these people. Where are they? And what did they major in? There was no miscellaneous degree at my university.

And now that I’ve graduated, it seems as if my entire job hunt revolves around good healthcare benefits. It’s like, _”Forget finding a job you love, find something that will pay for your teeth cleanings.”_ *But I think the progressive part of our generation is that we don’t necessarily view our careers as thirty year investments. We’re open to changing directions, starting from scratch, trading in security for substance.* And I for one am willing to forgo a teeth cleaning or two to find something I love doing. I want to want to wake up in the morning, because what I’m going to do excites me.

*stacy hinojosa graduated in August from Brigham Young University with a degree in journalism and is currently pursuing a career in magazine journalism and design. She’s watched _Jurassic Park_ 300 times and had 6 cavities filled last summer. She woke up today at 10:47. You can email her at lifeonmondays@gmail.com.