How Scott Pilgrim and "Spaced" keeping me Going :)

How Scott Pilgrim and “Spaced” Keep Me Going

An Essay: By Brian Cotnoir

     It’s been one-year since I graduated college; hands down the best and greatest times of my life.  In the four years that I spent at Lasell College I got to try things I never thought I’d get to do, do things I never thought I’d have to do, and did things that I’m not sure why I did them, but I’m glad I did.  I met the Best People in the whole world in college and got a top notch education that prepared me for success in the world...however looking back perhaps they should have prepared me for failure instead of success.            
    That’s the side of college people don’t often see.  No matter what school you go to they will always prepare you for a world of success and prosperity, but when you don’t start off with that success and prosperity right away, you can have a difficult time adjusting to life post-college.                    
    I’ll be honest with you; the past year has been very challenging and very difficult for me.  It took me forever to find a job after college.  In fact I didn’t find a teaching job until 2 weeks into this school year and still it was only a Day to Day Substitute position.  I’m in student loan debt above my eye balls, and there were days this past year where I felt absolutely hopeless and depressed.  I had spent four years being built up, being told that I can do anything I set my mind to, being told I would be a success, and when I didn’t experience success right away after graduating college, I honestly felt like I had failed miserably.  Also I had feelings of isolation.  After I graduated high school I cut ties with pretty much everyone I knew, and made a bunch of new friends in college, but the problem now that I’m graduated is that all my friends in college live an hour or more away and I rarely see them or get to hang out with them in person.  I was feeling pretty low.           
    There were two things that made me extra excited to graduate from College: “Scott Pilgrim” graphic novels and the British Television show “Spaced”.  Both Scott Pilgrim and “Spaced” were about cool twenty-something-year-old friends living together in an apartment, and all the wild fun and shenanigans they got into.  Every time I’d read Scott Pilgrim or watch an episode of “Spaced”, I would picture myself and my friends after college living together, going on adventures, being self-reliant, and having the best times of our lives.  When my life didn’t turn out like Scott Pilgrim or “Spaced”, I became depressed, and felt like a hopeless failure.              
     Now, I look at things a little differently.  I got another job a Day to Day Substitute in a school district closer to my home and I really do like my job.  I like the students, I like the faculty, and the staff, and the only thing that could make me happier in the district I’m in now is if I were to be offered a Full-Time History Teaching Position for the Next School Year.  If not, I can always look for that Full Time History Teacher Job in another district, but until then I’m happy where I am.      
    Another reason why I’m feeling more optimistic is because I have a goal to make my life like Scott Pilgrim or “Spaced” and every time I read a comic or watch an episode that just motivates me more and more to keep trying in the hopes that eventually my life will be something like either or both.  Even if it doesn’t happen until I’m 40 (which I’m really hoping is not the case), I will someday live life like they do in Scott Pilgrim or “Spaced”.  I don’t care if the stories are about “Fictional People”, I want to make it my reality, and as long as I have my dreams, a steady paycheck, and overzealous Fan-Boy optimism, I will make my dreams come true!

I Look Forward to the Day I can walk down the Street and Do This