Back into the Swing of Things

It has been quite a while since I have posted on here (before updating my newspaper articles from college). I want to start by saying thanks for reading again.. Mom. 

The last time I posted I was looking for my first job out of college. Despite being probably the last thing I ever thought I would do after obtaining a college degree, I became a car salesman. I worked at a Nissan dealership in Columbus for the last year and a half. I took the job because I was living on my own and needed to start making money. I had heard countless stories about car salesmen being the scum of the earth, so to say I was looking forward to doing this for a living would be a lie. 

I continued looking for other jobs for some time with no luck, which was frustrating to me. I know my generation often feels entitled to everything without putting in the work and earning things. I really did not think this way. But I also didn't feel like I should have such a hard time finding a job in my career field. I was as qualified as I could possibly have been leaving college. I finished school with a 3.7 GPA with a double major. I had internships every summer I was in school. I played and was captain on the basketball team. I was a leader on student government. I did work for the yearbook and the school newspaper. And I present well. So why I could not get a job in my field was beyond me. 

My first few months in the car business, I had some success and some disappointment. Then, a light bulb went on, and I started to figure out how to be successful. My increased dedication and work ethic combined with the fact that I started to learn more about the products and about sales in general led to a great year for me. I ended up selling 176 cars in 2014, which put me in second place in the dealership in sales despite having much less experience than many of the people I worked with and only a handful of cars behind the leader. I am very proud of the year I had and ended up really enjoying my time in the car business. I was consistent in both sales and customer satisfaction. 

Again, I know a lot of people have a negative connotation with car salesmen. The reason I was able to enjoy my time there so much was because Nissan North is not like most car dealerships. The people there are genuinely good. The managers are great and they do things the right way. I prided myself in my time there in being respectful of customers, being open and honest, and making sure I was doing what was in the customer's best interests. 

A little difficult to read, but I finished the year with 176 cars

This past August, I married my best friend. I met Micayla one day during college when I went to the post office to pick up a package. As soon as we met, I was very interested in her. Or I at least thought she was absolutely gorgeous and nice and intriguing. But I was still shy and didn't think I would ever have a shot. That shot came with a bit of luck and a lot of seemingly random events.

During the end of my junior year, someone asked me to apply for a student government position. I had no plans to do so previously and did not really think I would get it, but figured I might as well give it a try. I ended up getting the spot, only to find out later that this cute girl from the post office happened to be on student government as well. We talked a few times briefly that spring about campus events. I started to really like her despite the fact that I didn’t really know her. I tried to get her to play basketball with me one day right before summer, and she said yes. Then she blew me off. So during the summer I tried to forget about her so it wouldn’t be awkward when we worked together.

The student government group went on a retreat and had meetings planning events the week before school started up my senior year. We spent a good amount of time hanging out there and got to know each other a little better. At this point, I had no idea if we were just becoming friends or if she was at all interested in me. It turns out she was. A few months later, we were dating. The rest, as they say, is history. All I know is that I am the luckiest guy in the world to have Micayla as my wife. She is incredible in every way.

Our wedding was a fun day!

In January, Micayla and I moved to North Carolina, where she is attending Elon University’s Physician’s Assistant program. We are really enjoying living here, but being so far away from family and friends has been hard. Micayla has been working tirelessly on her studies and has been excelling. Meanwhile, I have been looking for a job again. And once again, I am having a very difficult time doing so, which is frustrating all over again. I have had numerous people I trust and respect help me to improve how I put myself out there. But I have not had any luck so far. I am keeping the faith that I will find something good very soon. It has not been easy, though. Recently, I have started to look into getting into coaching, as well. Although, I am uncertain if I would be able to do coaching and have time for a full time job to pay the bills while Micayla is in school. I have always loved basketball, and I miss being around the game and the teams. I loved when my dad was a coach, and I would go to practices with him and play against older guys. I am hoping I can at least get some experience on the side so that if I get into it full time, that I will have a little more experience. 

If anybody knows anybody in marketing/advertising/graphic design or in coaching in North Carolina, please let me know! Thanks.

 

We got to see Russell Westbrook during his ridiculous season at our first Hornets game!