Hopeful faces

I know I'm in trouble when I'm excited about applying to graduate school. As Isser Gallogly said tonight, it probably means that I'm looking for more fulfillment than what my current job provides.

Perhaps "trouble" isn't quite the word I'm looking for. But the last two years were rough and I am very excited about finally taking positive steps for my career and my life.

Two years ago I made a gamble with my career by accepting a job in a completely unfamiliar field. After all, what could go wrong? I was young (age 32), looking for a new challenge in a new city, and was becoming less than charmed about my daily grind on Capitol Hill. Off I went to Los Angeles to join the IW Group, a boutique public relations firm based in West Hollywood.

With girlfriend and two dogs in tow, I failed spectacularly! I arrived in LA right after Labor Day, and handed in my resignation on December 23, 2005.

There were a number of reasons for my failure to transfer from politics to PR. I was overconfident, I intensely disliked my Hill job and took the first job that looked good, and I fell for the sweet song of a higher monthly paycheck. I could go on about how unfair my old boss was. But at the end of the day it was he who was still standing. Two years, a few temp jobs, and some soul-searching later, I broke my engagement to JH, Jack passed away, and I'm back in school to finish my undergrad degree.

What next? The road ahead is unclear. But when I looked around an auditorium full of hopeful faces steadying themselves for B school, I was very excited about the prospect of going to Stern (did I not mentioned that before?).