As I stare at my very rough draft of a cover letter and ponder on how I can better fawn over myself and egotistically describe my greatness to my potential employer, I can’t help but smirk at the irony of this task during such an ambiguous time in my life. In this ironic state of mind, I’d like to write a cover letter that read more like the following. . .

“Upon graduating college, I have gained knowledge and experience in more areas than I would have preferred. I have become an expert in self-questioning, lesson-learning, reality-accepting, time-killing, mistake-making and emotional ups-and-downs. I have a firm grasp on the significance of all of those adages my mother quoted when I was a young girl preoccupied only by how many charms my necklace had.

I have learned that virtue is ambiguous. Are we strong because we refuse to let weakness show or are we strong because we are unafraid to let ourselves feel everything? Am I a better leader because I am tough and stoic? Or do I serve others better by showing every ounce of my humanity, thereby allowing others to feel close to me? Am I patient because I have no problem waiting in lines (thanks to developing countries) or because I am unwearied by the prospect of waiting until 40 years old to meet my future husband (eek)?

From the women in my family and my best friend, I have learned to say exactly what is on my mind; from my father and brother, I have learned that keeping quiet is often a better policy. From textbooks, I learned that great people were successful because they were hard workers; from life I have learned that mere chance is a good chunk of all that fortune, fame and success. From my culture, I learned that material wealth is a predecessor to joy; from other cultures, I have learned that the relationship is usually inversed. Though I prefer black and white, I live most days in the gray. I get older every day, yet I know less and less about life. Finally, if I were to paint a picture right now, it might end up looking a lot like one of Picasso’s: woman or man, circle or square, sitting or standing, going or staying? Who says genius is born of stability?

I admit that most of my experience in the past three years has taught me what I don’t want or what I don’t know; however, there are some areas in which I am absolutely solid. My mother and father’s relationship taught me that some people love you even when you go crazy, love can also be spelled as C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-I-O-N, and it’s never too late to be in love. I was raised with a phenomenal example of love. When the timing is right, I will make a difference in this world, even if it is just a drop in the ocean. Even when I am lonely, I am never alone. Lastly, on a lighter note, tonight I discovered that if you don’t drain every iota of grease from cooked ground beef, it tastes really bad in spaghetti sauce.

In conclusion, because I have no concrete skills, pretense about my greatness, or solid understanding of life, I will humbly serve you for little pay. I assure that you will not have any ego issues if you hire me. On the other hand, you will find that despite all of the aforementioned woes, I find humor in the twists of life and am able to laugh at myself. To my utter bemusement, life keeps getting better as it gets harder.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope to hear from you soon."

. . . Ok, back to this cover letter. If only it were as fun and came to me as easily as this blog entry!