Gleaming the Golden Child

If I have heard it once, I have heard it almost daily, "That will look great on your resume." These sage words of wisdom are offered as if it is the only thing that will help me survive the crazy abyss of life that awaits me. I have all of these images running through my head of me graduating from college and being handed a gold-plated resume, or running a marathon with my number being my resume. I see girls walking around and no longer compare their miniscule figures to that of my own- but imagine, "What is on their resume?" Jobs arise and I think, "Would that look good on my resume?" or I accomplish a certain task and complete the check-mark within my head of, "Cha-ching. Upload to resume now."

The trouble I have had recently is with the fact that the standard rule of thumb is that all resumes should be one page. You should presumably have your name in a superbly catchy, eye-grabbing font, contact info, objective, and then of course your amazing qualifications. References are always available upon request and you hope beyond hope that all of your detailed efforts throughout the years will result in a callback, interview, JOB, and paycheck. I have various different tips on making the resume golden, and end up closing my computer confused and frustrated that I don't have the "Golden Child". I have had unbelievable opportunities presented to me throughout my college years ranging from honors programs (these were in the beginning stages of my college career), writing opportunities, articles published, and the ability to meet many fabulous people. *They were really better than the word fabulous conveys but it was the only adjective that sounded deserving of the fact that they were grand*.
I have attempted recently to condense these wonderful opportunities to fit on one page and found my efforts unsuccessful. In order to cohesively portray the best of my talents and abilities I have had to weed out various experiences in order to mold the golden child. This is a hard task. It is like weeding out my favorite candies from my Halloween pile to share with my parents, or weeding out the clothes from my closet to donate to the thrift store. The shirt I bought on a whim from Gap's clearance section might be worn once a year but it is still worth keeping right?
Weeding out is difficult and something that should not have to happen when you compose all of life's experiences. I mean after all, you did experience all of those events that should project a well-rounded individual for a future employer, right?

I weeded out some of my high school accomplishments because, well, it was high school. I barely even remember who I was in high school, much less the efforts I made to change the world. I think some of the goals I had at that time were to travel the world like a wild vagabond and never have to worry about employment, or find an Australian guy with an accent and have him buy me a house in the Outback so I could live in what I deemed, "Paradise." I am now far from my high school days and have yet to meet anyone from Australia or travel anywhere that might transform me into a vagabond. Plus, the thought of being a vagabond now stresses me out because do they ever shower? Or do they have anyone to be a vagabond with?

I have also carefully selected my references to be available if ever "requested"...not that I am 100% sure employers actually follow through with this process, I have heard that in some cases they do ask for them and better to be fully equipped with people who will pat you on the back or signal a thumbs up then individuals who say, "Oh yeah, I knew her five years ago."
My references are people that I have worked for recently, friends who I like, individuals of high standing in my eyes, and genuine people who will represent me and the fruits of my labor well.

So, I'm not sure if my resume has reached "Golden" status quite yet. We shall see once December hits and the tassel from my hat has been shifted to the desired place of accomplishment. Then I guess I can revert back to comparing other girls miniscule figures over their resumes because in the long run, I doubt half of them, if any, even have a resume...much less a golden one.

- My future career?