Intro, Recap, and a New Chapter

Greetings and salutations!

My name is Hope, and this is my very first blog post. Thanks for at least clicking on it! And if you decide to read the whole thing, an even BIGGER thank you!

Yup, that's me! Hello!

For those of you who don't know me, I am a recent graduate from the University of Sioux Falls. I received my Bachelor of Arts in English Writing & Rhetoric and Theatre Studies, a course of study I've coined my Degree in Storytelling. I chose my majors because in high school, I fell in love with the power of the spoken and written word, and I wanted to follow and grow my passion in college. And indeed, storytelling quickly became the name of the game for me when I set foot on USF's cozy campus in August of 2021. I got involved with the theatre program as soon as I could, and through a combination of hard work and people investing in me, I gained immense experience. During my four years of undergrad, I worked on over thirty theatre productions. Most were at USF, but a solid handful of them were in community theatre. I spent my summers at the Premiere Playhouse, working on their educational kids camps, and during the fall of my junior and senior year, I was able to stage manage mainstage shows for the Mighty Corson Art Players. Alongside completing classes and working on theatre productions, I kept myself even busier with USF's Coo Cinema Club, Improvidence Club, Concert Chorale, and on-campus jobs at Norman Mears Library, Cooper's Café, and the USF Events Team.

TLDR: I got no sleep in college.

But in all seriousness, my time at USF was as rewarding as it was busy. I've joked with a lot of people that I got my money's worth out of college. It's true, though! I made the most authentic friendships of my life, gained experience in potential career paths, and had the opportunity to mentor the next generation of storytellers, all thanks to my education at USF.

But now I'm done! I secured the bag, as it were. Walked across the stage, shook hands with the president, and took a crapload of pictures.

A picture of me sitting in front of the building I "lived" in during college: USF's Jeschke Fine Arts Center! Photo Credits to Tessa Haag.

Sooo now what?

Well, I'm gonna be honest. I was pretty scared about the post-college years. For my whole life up to this point, my plan for the next year was "go back to school." And then suddenly, I was in my last year of school. I didn't have a burning desire to get a master's degree yet (and Lord knows I didn't have the money for it), and my greatest fears about joining the work force were me hating it and me sucking at it. My idea was that by the time I graduated, I'd have a better idea of what I wanted to do with my life. I'd started college with my degree fields picked out in a "hope for the best" mentality, and now it was time for the best I'd hoped for to pay its dues. The question is, did it?

Kinda.

You see, I panic applied to around 20 jobs in November, as the stress of being without prospects after leaving USF started getting to me. Only one of those 20 jobs gave me an affirmative: substitute teaching for the Sioux Falls School District. Okay. Not exactly what I think of when I imagine where I am in May 2025, but it's a solid safety net with good pay. So I got my background check done and wahoo! I had a job.

But as my final spring semester crept up to me, the nerves returned. Was substitute teaching really the best I could do? So I applied to more jobs. Whereupon I found myself with two big problems:

1. SO MANY of the writing jobs I was remotely interested in involved me prompting a generative AI writing bot to do the writing for me, and

2. The writing jobs that didn't have anything to do with AI weren't hiring.

Welp.

Now as a theatre kid, I'm no stranger to rejection. But in the midst of my busiest semester ever, getting repeatedly denied for job after job and being told that places weren't hiring or were actually cutting people due to generative AI doing their job "better and cheaper" added to my stress in ways that weren't conducive. So I prayed. I asked God to either give me a job opportunity and make it clear that's the one for me, or give me peace about the job He gave me back in November.

And as April approached, I found myself developing a "whatever" attitude towards my job hunt. Not in an "I'm too lazy and I'm giving up" way, but in an "I've done all I can" way. So I took that as my answer from God, and prepared to make substitute teaching my full-time job after graduation.

So I got my degree on Star Wars Day, had friends over to play volleyball later that night (I love volleyball), and let myself take a break. I was unproductive for a crisp three days. Then I started substitute teaching for the last two weeks of the school year. And honestly? I didn't mind it! Sure, getting up at six in the morning is rough for me (this year I didn't have anywhere to be for college before 9 AM), but I start my day with a nice drive, I have a new set of tasks each day, and my day is done by three or four in the afternoon, leaving me plenty of time to write, read, and work on freelancing. Not bad for a job not in my degree field!

And for those of you concerned about my summer employment status, yes, there are some hours during summer school where substitute teachers are needed. And on the days where I'm not needed for subbing, my boss from my college job said I could come in for work whenever I need during the summer. So I'm doing alright, no worries.

Not only that, but I'm doing something I didn't think would be possible for at least another year: I'm moving into an apartment! A friend of mine is moving back to Sioux Falls, and she reached out about wanting to share a two-bedroom apartment with me starting in June of this year. I told her I'd love to, but I wouldn't have the money to pay rent until at least August, once some of my substitute teaching paychecks rolled in. You know what she said? "I can cover your rent until August." I was shocked, bamboozled, and absolutely elated. So in July I'll be flying the Dunkle nest, taking my 600 books with me, hopefully. 🤣

So, yeah! That's me, and that's what's been happening the last three months. College has been a wild ride, but now I'm ready for things to get a little simpler. Not less busy, but instead of forty-seven projects, maybe only three or four at a time. Maybe. We'll see. But one thing's for sure. I'm not done making the most of my life. I'm a big believer in the saying "You get out what you put in." I viewed college as an investment in myself, and I believe it paid off handsomely in my experiences, confidence boost, and a deeper love for my storytelling craft. And now I'm taking steps to make the most of post-college life. I can't wait to see what happens.

I can be professional and funny at the same time! :D

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you consider sticking around as I continue my storytelling journey. Have a good day!