Blending Personal and Professional

            As a graduating senior, I have spent a decent amount of time this semester considering where I want to work next year. Unfortunately, I have not narrowed down the options for my job, but I have at least narrowed the location. I started the year with a short preference list of Nashville, Chicago, and Indianapolis (in no particular order) and an open mind to any opportunity that comes my way. While my top three cities have plenty of job options and would be fun to live in, I was not yet willing to limit my job search to specific locations. I wanted to keep my career as my top priority, rather than distance, city size, or any other personal factors. However, after thinking about this issue over the last couple of months, I’ve realized that my personal life and professional life cannot remain separate.

            The realization happened one weekend this semester when I made the journey back home to visit my family and help them with some tasks. As I pulled into the familiar South Bend, Indiana, city limits, I immediately began to smile and feel at home. As I drove through the familiar streets of my hometown, it hit me: I can’t move to Nashville next year because I love my home way too much. As I gave this feeling more thought, it made me think about all the other ways my career would shape my personal life. If I went to Nashville, it would be much more difficult to make a trip home in only a day or two. If I moved to Chicago, I would have to deal with commuter traffic every time I wanted to see my brother’s football games. If I moved to Nashville, I would only know one other person and could get lonely. If I moved to Chicago, I wouldn’t be able to drive from Point A to Point B in the winter when the wind chill is freezing. While these factors seem irrelevant to my career, they are extremely important to my happiness. I began to think of times at college when walking on campus was too cold, or I couldn’t go home to visit my family, or I missed various family events, or when I just felt lonely. These are things that make me unhappy, which can hold me back in all areas of life, especially professionally.

           By looking at all the aspects of these two towns (and many others like them) that would make me unhappy next year, I began to think of all the ways Indianapolis would be a good fit. I’d only be an hour away from my brother and sister, only an hour from family and friends at Purdue, no more than three hours from good old South Bend, and in the same city as a number of close friends. There are plenty of jobs that I have already found that would be a great starting point for my career, and there is a lot to do in all areas of the city. If I ever felt homesick or overwhelmed, good company (and comfort) wouldn’t be hard to find. If I’ve learned anything about myself over the last four years, I’ve learned that these are crucial aspects of my life that keep me going.

           With my Communications degree, there are a lot of jobs that I could do next year. However, there are not a lot of places I could go and be happy doing it. The more I thought about my personal happiness, the more I realized that I couldn’t separate my personal life and professional life. They affect each other equally, and I need to set myself up for success in both to be truly happy and start my career.