The Better Qualified Candidate

It's amazing the range of moods that I experience on a day-to-day basis. My week began productively: Sunday I got around to the six weeks worth of laundry that I've been avoiding for two weeks; I cleaned my room and I prepped for a phone interview for the next day that I was ecstatic about. Monday I was confident, I aced the interview and landed an in person meeting for Wednesday; I managed to put together an awesome outfit last minute paired with enviable hair, and I finished my three month volunteer commitment on a good note. Tuesday rolled around and I was feeling inspired! I felt like writing in my journal which I haven't done in a month, it was my first day as (yet another) a media intern within the public affairs department where I volunteered and I was convinced this new job opportunity was mine. I was sure Wednesday would be outdone, I had the interview attire to prove it. But I faltered, I sabotaged myself and froze up during the interview. I fumbled and mumbled my way through, muttered incomplete thoughts, and at times I believed I repeated myself. By noon I felt deflated and I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sulk the day away. Today, I sent the customary thank-you letter and two hours later I was hit with a rejection response. They decided to go with "a better qualified candidate." Really?

I've never handled rejection well but I'm also tired of hearing everyone's sudden sage advice when an opportunity doesn't pan out. "Everything happens for a reason," "God has something better in store," or "Your time will come." Really? I've heard this too, "You aren't the only one that can't find a job." And this means what exactly? That I'm supposed to be satisfied in knowing that there's six million unemployed Americans over saturating the job market and vying for the same piece of pie in the sky as me?

I really need the advice to stop, the questions about what's new in my life to cease and desist, and I need folks (especially the ones with jobs) to quit pretending like they understand how I feel. There's an ever-widening gap between the have and have-nots.