Three Things: My New Job

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I have a new job. I have not told you about it because it only became official last week. Are you ready to hear my new job? Yes? Are you sure you want to know? Ok...Here it is:

I am the new Graphic Illustrator for my college's newspaper The Wheaton Record. 

I know. "How perfect for Lucy Rose?!" Yeah. I am stoked. Wanna hear how this all came about? I will devote my Three Things piece for this week to telling you in three parts. My images for this week are three graphic pieces that I have created for the paper over the past few weeks. 

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1. Part One: The Job Offer
So about six weeks ago I had some cool ideas for newspaper articles. I did some sketches of my ideas and eventually ran into the editor, Kirk*. I asked him to sit down and talk with me about my ideas. He  flipped through my sketches and seemed really interested. Finally he said, "Lucy Rose, the artwork you are making is really good. Would you like to be our Graphic Illustrator? We have never had one before but I would like to create a position at The Record specifically for you." I was so excited. I almost said yes on the spot, because it seemed like a job so specific to my talents. It combined illustration and innovation and it would look great on a resume. But I had to say no. 

2. Part Two: The Complications
"I am so sorry, Kirk. I cannot accept this offer, because I already have a five-days-a-week babysitting position. That would stop me from being able to come to the mandatory weekly meetings." Remember how I had that babysitting job, Readers? I wrote a lot about it over the past few weeks here, here, here and here. Kirk was like, "We could try to make it work some other way." We agreed to keep the dialogue open, but also pretty much agreed that it would be impossible. 

3. Part Three: The Acceptance
As soon as my babysitting was over I picked up my phone and called Kirk. I said, "Hey Kirk, guess what! My job situation has changed and I would love to work with you at The Record." So I accepted the job. I have been working with The Record for the past week. I am in love with my new job. I get to draw pictures to accompany articles and are then published in a campus wide paper. I love the process of brainstorming at our weekly meetings. I also love that the skills I developed in art school are becoming useful. I spent hours learning to use Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign and I finally see those gifts being useful and appreciated. I am actually one of the people on staff who knows the most about those programs. I have been helping teach other people how to do some things. As you know if you read this post I LOVE being an "expert". Honestly, though, who doesn't?

In conclusion: My losing my old job and gaining this new one speaks to me of God's provision. He allowed me to lose my job, but provided a new opportunity in the very same week. I would never have quit my old job, which means I never would have been able to accept a job at the paper. By getting fired it made room for me to be able to do something which a) plays to my artistic and creative strengths and b) will look great on a resume. 

Thanks for reading and celebrating this new chapter with me. Thanks also for being patient with my not posting for an entire week. I hate doing that, but things have been crazy with trying to figure out the balance of my new job. 

*Kirk is the son of my mother's college friend Elise. So I met Kirk Freshman year and my mom later told me who he was. His mom was actually in the Christian A Capella group my parents were apart of in college. So we have a strangely close connection.