Cindy Agoncillo Blog

Living a Life of Passion

“…the only life worth living is one that you’re really passionate about.” – Glee

I’ve been thinking about this quote for quite some time as I contemplated career paths and debated between job offers. And through this thinking I have focused on one main question: what is my passion? Though I pursued a degree in graphic design, which is enjoyable work for me, I am hesitant to say that is my passion. Those who are passionate about art spend their free time making art, something I am not known to do. I think my passion is people. When relationships are integral parts of my responsibilities, I take great joy in my work. I would like to find myself back in Residence Life somewhere, where the job is about people.

One of the job offers I was considering was at an organization passionate about relieving poverty in Central PA. I would have loved to take that job and develop a personal passion for poverty relief. The people I met at the office were great, and it would have been a wonderful experience doing my year of service there. The second job offer is at a company where I would do more commercial work. However, the position granted the flexibility to return to Boston in the summer to do Residence Life. In the end, I accepted the second job. The decision wasn’t about which job I was more passionate about, but what job would allow me to do what I was truly passionate about, which is Residence Life.

A few days ago, I drew up a flow chart to figure out my options for the future (I’m a visually oriented fan of organization and planning). Right now I am preparing to start my 6-month to 1-year job/internship on October 19th. At the end of the internship, I have to decide if I like the company enough to stay there permanently, if the position is offered. Yes, I stay. No, I go to grad school for counseling/higher education/student affairs and work toward becoming a Residence Director. As you can see on the chart (click to enlarge the picture), I am now at Job A. One path will lead me to a career in graphic design. All the other paths lead me to grad school. Time will tell where I end up. I just have to focus on the immediate future and living a life that I am passionate about.

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Cindy Agoncillo Blog

NINE

So yesterday was 9/9/09 – a supposedly lucky day because of the triple 9’s. And it was the 252nd day of the year, and 2 + 5 + 2 = 9. It was a pretty good day, I must say. In honor of the special occasion, here are 9 good things that happened during the day.

1. I got my hair cut. I’ve been contemplating bangs for about a week now, and finally did it! AND I didn’t hate it. I have to start wearing my contacts more often, because my glasses look silly with bangs now.
2. I discovered MyLifeIsAverage.com and have spent many happy hours since then. It’s kind of like FML, but positive. And it makes me laugh, which makes me feel good. There are a lot of nods to ninjas, Batman, and Harry Potter. Now I want a vintage Batman t-shirt. Here are some good MLIAs:

  • Today, I drank Kool-Aid. A giant pitcher of juice did not break into my home. MLIA.
  • Today, I filled a Windex bottle with blue Gatorade. I then sprayed it into my mouth infront of my mother. She began to panic and scream and get hysterical. I thought it was funny. She didn’t. MLIA
  • Today, I was thinking about the expression ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’. Then I considered that ‘revenge is sweet’. I’ve come to the conclusion that revenge is ice cream. MLIA
  • Today I had rice. I’m Asian. MLIA

3. I had macaroni and cheese for dinner. I’ve been craving it for a while and finally went to the store and bought two boxes.
4. Outside of the grocery store, two guys from a karate school offered me a free week of cardio kick-boxing. I turned them down, but secretly wished they had offered me karate lessons or had mentioned ninjas.
5. I got a call from my alma mater, where I applied to be a receptionist at College Press. They wanted to set up a phone interview, which I had today. I found out that the job goes from Mid-August to May, and pays over $10 an hour, which sounds perfect for me.
6. I got to watch the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance – Season 6! The season is off to a great start, and I’m glad they are showing more spectacular dancers than duds. Ryan Kasprzak auditioned last season with his brother Evan, but was cut from the Top 20 while Evan made the Top 4. Hopefully after his audition last night, it’ll be his turn to be one of America’s favorite dancers.
http://www.youtube.com/v/qVD9_XH3jJ0&hl=en&fs=1&
7. GLEE. I have been waiting for this day all summer long, since they first aired the Pilot episode. I enjoy swooning over singing boys too much. Thankfully Cory Monteith is not really in high school, but rather a 27-year-old, so it’s okay to swoon. “This dance ain’t for errbody. Only the sexy people.”
8. I found a voice mail on my cell phone after Glee was over, from my friend/old boss. She had just finished watching Glee and was trying to tell me in between laughing spurts the lines she thought was funniest. I saved it to my phone, because it was that great.
9. I slept in a bed. Each week in church, we share things we are grateful for, and when no one has anything to share, my pastor reminds us we have a bed. We can be thankful for that.

Cindy Agoncillo Blog

Welcome to the Real World

Tomorrow morning I have my first “real world” job interview. Until now, I’ve only had phone interviews or rejection emails (for post-grad jobs, that is). Now I have a full-day interview, beginning at 8:30 am with a loan committee meeting. I read through the 54 pages of loan information that we’ll be going over at the meeting, though I’m not sure I understand all of it. But I’ve still been told I should go over the document and be able to point out the pros and cons of each loan. I never expected anything like this when I started applying for graphic design jobs. Who knew I would have to know about loans AND typography? I’m not sure what to expect at all out of tomorrow. After 7 meetings throughout the day, including one with the President/CEO, I have to do a presentation of a project that they are giving me 45 minutes to work on. And I’ll be wearing heels all day. Now what will Friday’s interview have in store, considering it’s only an hour long?

Cindy Agoncillo Blog

Boston, Here I Come!

I got the call today – I have been accepted to work for the Boston Ballet this summer! I will be working as a Residential Counselor for their summer youth program at their Boston campus, where the 15- to 19-year-old students stay. They have another campus for their 10- to 14-year-old students. Needless to say, I am excited about this opportunity!

Though I have a job for the summer, I will continue searching for something more long-term (with benefits!). Recently, I have been focusing my search on positions in student affairs/residence life (i.e. RD jobs). It’s an area of great interest for me, and as a bonus, RDs don’t have to worry about finding housing. However, I get the feeling that my parents expect me to get a job in graphic design to put my degree (and education/tuition) to use. I see that. It makes sense. Why buy a car just to let it sit in a garage (though people do that too…)? So I’m hoping that this experience in Boston will give me some insight. Perhaps doing some res life work, outside the context of Messiah College, will help me discern if this is really what I want to pursue. Who knows – maybe I’ll end up going to grad school?