What to do...

This morning I woke up at eight something, so much for sleeping in late. I laid there in my pink plaid pajama bottoms and pink TCU hoodie, wrapped in a sea of green sheets. I rested my hand on my chest and felt my heartbeat through both layers of clothing. It beat fast, as usual. And I continued laying there, relishing the fact that I didn't have to be anywhere.

My obnoxiously squeaky bed screeched in protest as I got up and opened my blinds. This was going to be a day of errands, artwork and reading my media law book.

But no matter what exactly I'm doing the realization that I'm nearly half-done with my last year of college is never far from my thoughts. There are so many possible directions for my life to take post-college that it's mind boggling.

Haha, that reminds me of last night when I got caught up on an episode of Community I had missed. Ahbed and Troy had a housewarming party and Jeff created six parallel timelines by rolling a die to see who had to go answer the door for the pizza guy. "Don't you realize, you're creating six possible timelines?" Ahbed asked with complete seriousness. "Sure, I am," Jeff said while rolling his eyes and tossing the die up in the air. The episode cycled through all six different possibilities, all six parallel timelines.

If parallel timelines do exist...I think I'm creating a shiz ton of them.

Question 1: Which state?
Texas is...hot, and southern. However, it contains all of my friends, and is where my parents live-they are very very important to me. If I do choose TX, I'm still torn between three cities.
Pennsylvania is home to my heart and contains Steeler's fans (hopefully which my future husband will be), many of my family members reside here and blunt, sarcastic and witty Northerners are present! YAY
Colorado is the state of my birth, home to snowboarding, gorgeous scenery, many ad agencies and I can definitely picture myself living there (I look great in winter attire).

Question 2: What to do?
I'm not delusional, I know that a person can't just "get by" by being an artist/cartoonist/caricature-artist/painter. I need a stable job to support my addiction to caffeine, chocolate and expensive purses. So then I ask myself which direction to go...

Question 3: Which direction to go in?
Advertising: It's what I love. Creating a campaign out of thin air, writing oodles of copy that'll get used, building websites, designing various things, talking to a bunch of people and watching as your ideas get put into action. I love it!
Public Relations: It's fascinating, it's people-driven, I have an internship in it! However, it doesn't exactly utilize my creative/artistic skills and it deals with crises.
Creative Director: is what I ultimately want to be. The person who navigates the creative waters and spawns the "look" and "feel" of the campaign. Do I have a graphic design degree? No, I wasn't a fan of TCU's program and I've met other people who have assumed this position without degrees in GD. All I know is that I'm driven and capable of doing it.
Deferred Dreams: I also want to be a novelist....and still use my artistic skills...I have been a private art teacher in the past and loved it, I love kids and there's nothing better than watching them grow their skills right in front of your eyes because of what you taught them. So I would love to continue being a private art tutor.

Question 4: Grad School?
Okay, so I found this EPIC grad school program that would be a dream come true. I could get my MA in Ad/PR and an MBA with an emphasis in Ad/PR simultaneously. It's an incredible program and in perhaps my favorite state. However, this would require that I move, be away from my parents (Dad with cancer...remember) and I would have to take out loans to pay for it. Also, I was told by a prof that it's better to get out and work before getting said grad degree....and I mean, I get that. You need experience so that you'll know what you're talking about. But what about working while getting it? I mean...I don't know. I think it'd be hard to get back into the whole "college thing" after being out and it'd be smart to do so before having a family. Clearly I'm conflicted.

My job searches thus far have spanned three states, six cities and I have no idea where to end up. What a conundrum...man, I like that word...conundrum.

Anyway....all of this is just one more stressor. I mean, on top of an internship, a "job," four (not too easy) classes, being in a sorority and needing to constantly eat, shower and sleep, when exactly am I supposed to find these jobs?!?! Where exactly should I move?!?! What exactly should I do?!?! What brand of cereal should I try next!?!? Tune in next week to find out...