This is me....

How can employers really tell anything about you from a single piece of paper? I read my resume, below, and think "wow, I'm so boring and ordinary." My work experience is woefully limited. This resume does NOTHING to prove that I'm ambitious, that I work well in a team or by myself. It does not really prove that I can supervise a team of workers (though I did do just that at The Vanguard).

This resume in no way proves that I am quirky and interesting. If anything, it shows me as another 9-to-5er, a person willing to simply blend into the corporate background while writing meaningless press releases about things that really don't matter in this world.

This resume shows me as only another boring college graduate looking for my first job. Who am I really?

I'm the person that gets quietly bothered by the apathy around me. I'm the person who remains logical and rational under pressure. Still, I am indefinable. I am not shy but I don't talk to many people. I want to create perfect work but still appreciate real criticism, because it helps me become better.

I despise corporate bureaucracy. Decisions should be made logically, not because the employee handbook says "this is how it is done and how it shall always be done." What nonsense. What is life but change? How can a business, a city, a nation, survive without change?

I am not simple. I am not definable by a single page of text. Today, I am intense and tired of waiting for life to happen.

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Stephanie A. Hudson

Oak Harbor Mobile, AL 36693 • (251) 753-2900 • StephanieAHudson@gmail.com

Objective To contribute to your organization using my strong writing and technical skills

Education

July 2008 University of South Alabama Mobile, Alabama

Bachelor’s of Communication Technology, cum laude

• Minor in Information Technology

Experience

June 2007 to present University of South Alabama Mobile, Alabama

Public Relations Assistant

• Created and distributed press releases to media
• Acted as interoffice liaison to create releases for various USA campus offices
• Generated media coverage via media releases
• Assisted with special writing projects as necessary
• Assisted with setup for press events that resulted in media coverage
• Aided with compilation of quarterly reports

Sept. 2007 to May 2008 The USA Vanguard Mobile, Alabama

Entertainment Editor

• Managed a team of 10 writers for weekly publication
• Created weekly two-page layout for publication
• Edited articles using Associated Press Style
• Wrote articles

Sept. 2005 to Oct. 2006 USA Library Mobile, Alabama

Interlibrary Loan Assistant

• Processed interlibrary loan mail-outs using postal and electronic means
• Facilitated visitors with research and collection of publications
• Assisted with special organizational projects as needed

Special Interests and Activities

• Technical skills: basic Web development with a focus on the Content Management System Joomla, HTML, CSS, graphic design and basic programming.
• Treasurer and member of Lambda Pi Eta, national Communication honor society

References available upon request.

Taxes

I never knew just how much a person pays in taxes. Let's take a look at the salary of a person I know. The person makes, on paper, $65,000 a year. That's darn good money, especially in the Gulf Coast region. Before taxes, a salary like that means the monthly income is a few cents more than $5416. That sounds amazing!

Then, taxes kick in and the income the person takes home is right at 3,600 a month. Ouch. That's about 1,800 in taxes a month! That equals about 21, 800 in TAXES a YEAR with a take home pay of 43,200.

The end result: The government ends up with a full third (and a teensy bit more) of this person's income every year. A THIRD!

I don't mind taxes, I really don't. They pay for all of those things we need like roads and emergency care and schools.

And, I'm the person that makes less than $10,000 a year...so the idea of taking home 43,000 a year is amazing...and WELL above the poverty line that I've lived at for so long. It's not like this person's yearly income in painfully small, not really.

It just seems...wrong somehow. Especially in light of rising gas prices and falling home values and hard-to-find employment.

What's my point? I am not so sure. I thought it was to complain about how much we pay in taxes...but looking at my own figures perhaps my point should be this: maybe we shouldn't live by our salaries, but by what we actually get paid.

That person earning $65,000 a year gets to claim that salary figure on every credit application, mortgage application, etc while he/she actually makes a third less than that. It's, simply put, stupid. I'm no finance expert and guilty of my own inappropriate expenditures, but it seems like too many of us are living above our means...even people like me.

What makes us want bigger houses and new cars and more stuff? Is it right? Is it materialistic? Why can't I live in a tiny house that is all mine rather than in a huge house that I have to pay notes on for thirty years? (or car, or clothes, etc...you get the point).

Do I want stuff? Sure. I want a clean, neat little place to call my own and a dependable car with a decent radio and killer A/C. I want nice clothes to wear to work, sans holes or too much wear.

But, I want to be satisfied with _less_. I don't need to fill every space with a knick knack or cram new clothes into my closet every weekend. It's wasteful.

I'm rambling on... I can't change the way humans are. I can barely change myself. I can't stop the wealthy from ordering $1,000 pizza (made with caviar and creme fresh, the idiots) or $10 million homes. I guess they buy those things just like I might go to a movie even though I've only got $20 in the bank. To pass the time in this life...

I'm the lucky one though. Who wants caviar pizza?