The Fashion Project

Today I am very pleased to say that I FINALLY GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

After many tears and much anguish, I am finally viably employed. I haven't started yet, but I have my official start date. I will be working for a Telemessaging Service exactly 1.8 miles from my house! I could even walk there! But I won't, since it's on a major street where the speed limit is 50mph. But anyway. The service gets contracts from companies that need someone to answer the phone and take messages for them. The companies usually want the service to answer calls when they aren't in the office, on vacation, closed for the holidays, have fired their secretary, or many other reasons. I will essentially be watching a computer screen, seeing what business the call is coming in for, answer the call, and take the message. Bam.

It isn't exactly a career job, but it is very flexible because they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I may have to work some holidays, but then I will get double time! Whoo! They already agreed to work around my schedule when I go back to school (more on that next post), and they give raises based on performance, so if I do a good job, I'll get more money!

I'm going to start next Monday, October 10th, which is also my husband's birthday. Happy birthday honey, I got a job!

Part 3: To Hijab or not to Hijab.......?

Many of you may remember my constant anxiety about whether or not to continue wearing hijab once I arrived in the United States. I had many concerns about it, only a few of which were the reaction of my family, the reaction of the community, and my ability to get a job.

I am sure this will disappoint some of you, but after talking extensively about it with my husband, and praying on it, and thinking about it every single day for two months, I ultimately chose not to wear it at first. Part of the reason I've been lax in blogging (aside from job hunting issues and computer issues, see Rants 1-2), is that I haven't taken any hijab pictures in the US because I haven't been wearing it.

The reason I first started wearing it was because my husband wanted me to. That is the real truth of it. But after I started wearing it everyday, wearing it to work, and immersing myself in an online hijab community, I began to value it for its own sake, and not just think of it as something I had to do. It didn't take long for this transition to take place. After a while, I felt more confident than ever, I felt more feminine and prettier. I know that isn't exactly what is in mind when we consider wearing it, but I think its important to be honest with ourselves about our motivations and reactions. I think wearing hijab makes women more beautiful, and some of the most beautiful women I've ever seen were in hijab.

I've struggled the last 5 years to "fit in" in a country where I stuck out because of my appearance. In the US before I went to Japan, I struggled to "fit in" in a changing society whose values I didn't share. So, you could say that I've struggled a lot about the issue of appearance. I was never pretty enough, thin enough, fit enough, etc etc etc. But when I wore the hijab in Japan, it really helped me to stop caring about all of that, and to define my own style, because I was doing something utterly different from everyone else around me. And I wasn't going to fit in anyway.

In the US now, it's a totally different story. I'm not in a situation where looks matter so much (like high school, gag), and now that I'm older and married, I don't consider looks to have the impact I used to think they did. I still maintain a modest dress, including long sleeves, high neck on shirts, long pants or long skirts, loose fit, etc. The only concession I made was to take off the hijab.

Now that I'm here and I'm experiencing life in a new way from what I remember, I'm struggling with whether or not to put the hijab back on. I know my family wouldn't like it, but now that I'm here I can explain it to them and let them get used to it without giving them a terrible shock. I can't seem to find a job anyway, so perhaps it won't make much of a difference. I've seen several women in hijab working at the mall, which at once made me feel proud and guilty. If they could do it, why couldn't I do it? My husband said to take my time and do it when I'm ready, even if that is years from now. So I have his support either way. But what does my heart really tell me to do?

I don't know. In some ways, my life in simpler without wearing it, and my appearance is so average that I don't harbor any attention when I go places, which is such a relief to me, that I hesitate to do something that will draw attention. In Japan I couldn't walk down the street without people staring, and in Bangladesh I often wore a mask to obscure my appearance. But here in good ol' Michigan, no one cares. I'm just another average Joe. And I really like that feeling.

In other ways, I miss it terribly. I miss the feeling of security and specialness, I miss making outfits with it, I miss being part of the community. I miss doing my blog pictures, and I miss all the creativity it inspired in me. Above all, I miss how it made me feel. But am I being nostalgic, or am I really missing something that made my life better?

I'm considering making a major life change and going back to school, something that will take me several years and totally change how I see myself and the rest of my life. Perhaps after I make that decision and begin that path, I will be ready to decide about this part. 

I am seriously on a role this week for writing. I think everything I wanted to say has been building up, and now I have the time (and computer) to get it all out. Here is something I got in my email a little while back, but didn't follow up on because I didn't have a chance to. It sounds interesting, and since many of my readers are also writers and bloggers, I thought I would share.



In their own words: 

Rant #2: Why am I useless to society?

There is one thing I really want to know. Why is it that I can't find a job? Please indulge me; let me list my qualifications:

-Bachelors of Arts degree in Creative Writing, Philosophy, and Medieval Studies
-100-hour TESOL teaching certificate in ESL
-3 years as an Office Assistant at my university's publication
-1 year as Editor for 2 editions of a newspaper
-5 years teaching ESL in Japan
-5 years doing countless administrative tasks in the schools, including (but not limited to) filing, data entry, customer service, sales, peer demonstrations, leading meetings, observations and reports, curriculum development, material preparation, proofreading... in Japanese and English!!!!

Okay, so I get back to America and do you think I could get a job? Not just teaching, but any job, even in a supermarket? Even answering phones in an office? Even doing data entry at an auto parts store? Even selling shoes in an upscale downtown store? Even cashiering at a craft store? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No no no no no. Nothing. Apparently I am either massively overqualified so much that I scare them too much to hire me, or I am lacking some quintessential but necessary skill to do the job. Five years doing customer service in two languages, and apparently I don't have the right experience to serve coffee at Starbucks.

I really wish I was just complaining and exaggerating, but believe me beloved Blog audience, this is all true. I have really and truly applied for all of these jobs, and more. Through Michigan Talent Bank, the database offered by the Michigan Unemployment Agency, I have applied for an average of 4 jobs a day for the last 6 weeks. That includes on Sundays. I am registered, tested, and approved for work by not one, not two, but FOUR recruitment agencies for office admin work.

I actually had one lady tell me to my face, "Well, the problem with your resume is that you are overqualified for these positions. People take one look at it and think, She won't stay in this position." You think that sounds mean? Check out what another recruiter said to me at a job fair- "Well, you have all the right skills, but unfortunately your experience isn't really what employers are looking for. Good luck to you." And she handed my resume back to me! At a job fair! I can't even get a job selling insurance policies.

But what about teaching? I can hear you all asking yourselves. Well, of course, that is where I started in this mess. The first month, all I did was try to get teaching work. But the problem is, I'm not certified in the state of Michigan. That didn't used to matter. In the "Old Days" (defined as: before GW Bush instituted No Child Left Behind and screwed us all), all you needed was a degree in your subject area and maybe some tutoring experience, and the school district would be happy to apply for a temporary certificate for you. I know this, because my mother's friend did it twice before she actually took the exam to get hers. Nowadays, it is a different beast all together. I called the Michigan Department of Career Services to find out what I was doing wrong, and how to get on the Straight Path to Employment. Here is what I learned.

In Michigan, you may not take the exam to become certified as a teacher unless you have passed a state-approved teaching course. This does not include the test for your subject area. If you have completed a teaching course online (as I have), it is considered out-of-state, and therefore you may not count it. If you have years and years of teaching experience that was not in the state of Michigan, then it does not prepare you for taking the exam, does not count toward the teaching course, and you may not take the exam without the approved teaching course.

So why don't I just take the state-approved teaching course? These courses are through any Michigan university and include 2 semesters of teaching courses and one semester of student teaching, all of which is mandatory. So if I want to just get in a classroom, I have to go back to school for a year and a half.

As you can all imagine, I am frustrated. All of my experience and all of my training in Japan, which I spent years acquiring, is now all meaningless. I am less qualified to teach here than a recent graduate who just finished a BA. I could have skipped the last 5 years and ended up in the same situation. And the really cruel part is, I never really wanted to be a teacher in the first place!

Life is cruel sometimes. My job hunt continues.

I'm pleased to share about the launch of a new modest clothing line, Haute Hijab. Those of you who participated in HFW probably remember this designer because she did a couple of giveaways. Well, they are finally ready to launch their new line, and in celebration, I want to share some exclusive photos and product information with you all!

A couple of things I love about the Haute Hijab line:


 This outfit is all fun- the bubblegum pink jacket is traditionally cut but the color makes it youthful. The blouse is high-necked, but the ruffles are subtle, which keeps it from looking too Victorian. And of course, we all love a little bling- but what I particularly like, is that it's a little bling. It stands out without being gaudy.

I found this new blog when I was trolling Google Images for pictures. It seems very interesting, so I thought I would share it with everyone. It is called Girls Just Wanna Have Funds. It is a blog dedicated to women's financial interests in the changing times. Whether or not you agree with the blog in principal, it contains a lot of links and advice for various financial issues pertaining to women in the modern world- couples and money, motherhood, real estate, marriage, and personal financial just for example. Every post contains quotes and links to relevant news articles, so you know she isn't just making things up. Check it out!