On coffee, change and cover letters

I recently went to Colombia. Believe the hype - it is great! It is a country full of magnificent trees, beautiful birds and wonderful people. And the food! They want to serve you so many delicious things but my favorite is a soup called Sancocho with three different types of meat in it. My second favorite soup? Breakfast beef rib soup called Caldo de Costilla. This place is a dream!

And though I had been told the coffee was good, I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed it.

Coffee and I have not always been the best of buds. And a few years ago, I decided to stop drinking this substance that made me feel crazy and hurt my stomach. I have been basically a tea drinker ever since (though there always was an Italy clause). 

In Colombia, though, I was drinking coffee black. This was both delicious and made me feel quite badass. Now back in this country, I have been slowly incorporating cappuccinos back into my life and it has been delightful. 

In an effort to lean into my newfound (yet old) coffee joy, I put a stovetop espresso maker on my Christmas list. Because really, all I want is cappuccinos made from Colombian coffee.

Change of course is inevitable, but it still surprises me. And sometimes it is okay to go back to things, while other times we must move forward.

There have been a helluva lot of changes this year. And in this new reality we find ourselves in, ICE has most of the resources.

So, while we are reckoning with these changes, it is probably time for me to experiment with finding a real day job (sigh). 

Which means in the short term, I have to go back to doing something that is significantly less fun than drinking coffee:

Writing cover letters…

Cover letters and I have a bit of a history. And looking back, I know now that there was a period of time after graduate school that I spent entirely too much time writing them. Some of these cover letters were beautifully written and others more hastily done. Most of them, though, were much too long.

(I sometimes wonder if some of my best writing may be in cover letters that no one has ever read).

Cover letters that did not make it in time, did not contain enough buzzwords to make the cut or were uploaded to the application in the wrong format. These and the many other endless reasons why job applications go nowhere and you never hear anything back.

Each cover letter represented a different path and a different life. Because in order to write something decent, I had to imagine myself in each position.  

As I stare at these present-day cover letters, they bring up old fears and new hopes. 

I wonder how to fit myself into the box and bullets of a job description and how my diverse experiences may look to new hiring managers. I hope that even through the formalities, people will be able to see my humanity and the value I could bring to their organization and work.

What has been really cool is that during the past few years, I have been able to meet so many people and organizations professionally as myself. Because when I made up my own job, I was perfectly qualified.

Strangely, even though this year has brought so much change and loss, it has also brought an upswing of new interest in my work. But interest is not always enough.

So, even though my cover letters are eloquent, I need some help.

I am asking: if you know of any interesting opportunities or people I should speak to, please send them my way.

I appreciate your support, your enthusiasm and for sticking with me through all the changes.

This does not mean that this is over. It is just changing. Like everything must. 

Luckily, I get to move through this change with cappuccinos.