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- Year Of Graduation: 2021
- College/University: Bradley University
- Major: Creative Writing
Table of Contents
What do you do for a living, or how are you supporting yourself right now? Can you share what a typical day in your life/at work looks like?
The only real work I have right now is this seasonal thing with my dad. He’s a handyman, and I basically help him out with different jobs. I’ve done pretty much everything you can think of when it comes to fixing a house, hanging doors, putting down flooring, that sort of thing.
But the work kind of ebbs and flows. I don’t really have to pay for anything at home. My parents don’t ask me for random living expenses. It’s more like, just keep looking for a job, don’t lock yourself in the house, and don’t do anything unwise.
Can you tell me about your experience finding a job after graduation?
When I graduated, I took a job as a substitute teacher. Honestly, I was just tired. I wanted to take a longer break, but I knew I needed to start something. And being able to work at the high school right next to my house, in a department with teachers I looked up to, sounded pretty good. I didn’t really talk to anyone in advance. I saw they posted the job, and I figured I still know people there, so I’ll just reach out, talk to them, and make my case because it looked like an interesting opportunity.
After that, I got a sales job in the summer of 2022. I had basically been applying to just about anything during that time. This sales job was commission-only. There was no salary. I had to drive around for hours during the day, going door to door to businesses, and if I didn’t make a sale that day, I didn’t get paid. I had to cover my own gas, food, everything. It only lasted about four weeks, but it drained me in a way I had never experienced before.
I ended up getting in an accident and leaving that job when my boss tried to get me to immediately come back to work. I didn’t really work at all throughout 2023. I was trying to take things more seriously, going from “I’ll just take whatever I can get” to asking myself, “What do I actually want?” That’s what I spent most of 2023 figuring out.
At first, I thought UX writing might be that next step. I was taking a UX writing course online, and I wasn’t super interested in just being a traditional writer, so it felt like something worth exploring. But with tools like ChatGPT coming out at the end of 2022, the whole field shifted really quickly. I talked to people in the industry after doing an unpaid internship through the course, and they basically told me, no one’s hiring at your level right now. You can talk to us, but you really need to stand out for anyone to even look at your application.
So the rest of 2023 was pretty quiet. Toward the end of the year, I started learning how to actually look for a job, because no one really teaches you that in university. I didn’t have time to sit down with my career center, so I went through a workforce development program where they help with job searches. I spent a lot of time there learning the basics, like how to write a resume, what a cover letter is actually for, how to interview, and what jobs are even available in my area.
This was the first time anyone in my family had gone to college or tried to find work in this kind of space, so I treated it like another subject to study. I approached it the same way I would anything academic.
Going into 2024, I decided to be more intentional. I found a tutoring job that required a degree, and it was a simple application process. I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected. It didn’t pay much, but it was a good experience and more of a confidence builder than anything. I had been out of work for about a year, so it was just about proving to myself that I could still do something and that people still valued what I could offer.
I worked with students online, mostly through written feedback, but sometimes I got to talk to them directly. Those sessions really reminded me that I still had something to offer, especially in something I’ve loved since elementary school. It made me feel like I still had it.
I tutored for that semester, and it carried into the next. But even though I got promoted, I realized the structure wasn’t sustainable. I had to sit online unpaid for hours and only got paid if I worked. I was basically fighting for every hour, and I knew that wasn’t something I wanted long-term.
Since I didn’t have strong ties to the job, I decided to move on and look for something better. At that point, I felt more confident because I knew how to look for work and knew I wasn’t completely burned out anymore.
Around that time, I also started working more with my dad. He was transitioning from working as a handyman through an app to running his own business, so he needed help. I took that on just to stay busy, and that’s what I’ve mostly been doing through 2025.
At the same time, I’ve been applying for jobs, talking to people, and exploring new fields. And that’s kind of where I’m at now. I’m trying to figure out what I can realistically aim for and what actual steps I can take, not just talking or applying, but doing something concrete.
Why did you choose your undergrad major?
I graduated with a degree in creative writing, but I started with a game design major. I actually grew up being a pretty good student. School was easy for me, and honestly, it was a place I preferred to be most of the time. Coming out of high school with Gen Ed and college credits already in hand, I felt like I could pick whatever I wanted to do.
Since I’ve always loved video games and still consider it one of my biggest hobbies, something that’s really shaped me, I decided I could find somewhere close to home where I could learn how to make video games and actually study that process.
Well, I ended up failing a lot of classes. Not just freshman year, where it was kind of understandable, but then sophomore year, I was failing again.
I remember talking with my department head and also just reflecting on it myself. I was super burned out. It felt like nobody really wanted me there. That was just the impression I got. It wasn’t the culture or the kind of work I was expecting.
And the more I talked to people, the more I kept hearing, like, “hey, you’re actually more mature than most for being able to say, I’m not good at this. I don’t want to do this anymore.” Figured I’d rather switch than stay in it and just barely tread water.
So that’s what brought me back to English and creative writing, because that’s what I’ve always been good at, even in high school. And at that point, I didn’t want to ask my parents to support me for another four years. I could basically finish the degree; I just needed to complete the graduation requirements.
Do you feel your time spent in college was valuable?
This is a tricky question because a lot has changed since I graduated. I got to see it firsthand. I worked as a substitute right after college, and I was teaching freshmen who had just come off distance learning, like fully online schooling.
Seeing that group, who are basically the college students now, really shapes how I think about this. Because I still believe college is super valuable. A university education is super valuable.
And then I read stories about people finishing degrees in three months, or saying they’d rather ask ChatGPT than do their assignments, or being confused about how anyone could read 200 pages in a week.
That was my life. That was what I did. And it really shaped my work ethic, my perspective, and what I want to be. So I don’t really understand why anyone would want to throw that away.
What does purpose mean to you? Do you think you’re living a purpose-driven life?
I’ll answer the second part of the question first and basically say, in so many words, that yeah, I am kind of living a purposeful life. But I don’t think purpose is something you can always be fully aware of.
People talk about purpose like, “I want to write, I want to build things, I want to travel the world.” Like, simple mantras like that. But most people don’t actually live life that cleanly, right? There’s so much in between those statements. There’s survival, there’s just basic desire. Some days you feel like doing things, some days you don’t.
So I don’t think purpose is something you can really capture in just a few words. It’s more like you string together a bunch of similar wants, similar patterns in your life, and that becomes your purpose.
That’s something I’ve been trying to chase, but it feels like every time I try to be super intentional about it, like really narrow and focused, it just doesn’t work.
But when I let things happen, when I actually accept the experiences I’m having and go into them without trying to extract maximum value from everything, just trying to be present, that’s when it feels the most purposeful in the moment.
What’s your biggest struggle right now? What led to it, and how are you moving forward?
I can’t really convince someone with just my skills alone, like, “Hey, take me.” That’s one of the biggest struggles with the kind of isolated spot I’m in. My value has always been being in front of people, being able to capture attention, connect with them, and motivate them to do things. I’ve been a coach, a teacher, a tutor, I’m an older brother. That’s just who I am.
But outside of that, it’s hard to translate that onto paper in a way that a screening system actually understands. And I’d really like to be in front of more people again, I’m just not sure how to make that intentional instead of it being these sort of drive-by conversations I’ve had in the past.
Like, how do I actually work toward that goal of figuring out my career, my next opportunity, and what I can learn to improve where I’m at right now?
How do you define being a successful person?
I think this kind of ties back to what I said about purpose. People boil success down to simple things like happiness or having enough money so you’re not stressed, having a roof over your head, being able to eat three meals a day.
But I think success is more of a catch-all for all of that. It’s this feeling of fulfillment where you’re in a kind of balance. There’s still tension in your life, but it’s the kind that lets you keep moving forward. You know how to look for your next opportunity, your next step.
It’s not that everything is perfect, but the discomfort isn’t so overwhelming that it stops you. It doesn’t make you shut down or avoid improving your life.
That’s the version of success I’ve come to believe in. Because you always hear that some of the richest people in the world are the most unhappy. When I look at people I admire, the ones I see as most successful are the ones who just keep going, even through setbacks.
If we traveled three years into the future of your life, what do you want to achieve? What would you hope has changed?
I’ll be 27 this summer, and I’d hope that by 30 I’ve got something in hand. Like, multiple things in hand. Not just being in that desperation mode of just being happy to have a job, but more like, I can work and not just work for the sake of working, but actually work toward goals that help fill out my life.
I also hope to not look back on my 20s and think I wasted it, but more like, I learned so much that now I’m not going to feel as insecure or out of place wherever I end up.
What’s the biggest lesson or piece of advice you wish you’d known earlier?
I feel like this comes down to being comfortable with not being “there” yet.
Like, if you’re still kind of rolling through life, rolling down the hill, but you can still get back up, that’s not something you should be upset about. It’s not something to look at and think, “Life isn’t going well because I’m still falling forward.”Like, at least you’re falling forward. That’s still momentum. That still means you’re doing something, that you’re moving, that you’re living. And I think that’s a big thing I wish I understood a lot sooner.
Connect With Hassan
- LinkedIn: @HassanSopha
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