New to AC: What to Write?

OK, so Associated Content encourages us to write about things we know. So, when initially asking myself "what do I really know about?" I was surprised to find the answer to that seemingly simple and straightforward question was not obvious to me. I suppose I expected at twenty-nine, I should know myself well enough to at least be able to pinpoint one topic I'd like to write about in under a minute. But alas, no Simpsons-esque clouds parted to reveal the perfect answer. I do know what I like, but whether what I like includes topics that I feel I should be writing about is another story. If I'm to be brutally honest with myself, the things I like are admittedly embarrassing. A self proclaimed connoisseur of all things feminine, I enjoy the pop culture goldmines of USWeekly and Life & Style that lend themselves to my internal archive of useless celebrity bios, upcoming films, romantic flings and fashions. And speaking of fashion? Well that's something else I like. After all, what's a wannabe hipster without a pension for clothes? And fashion's certainly a topic with which I'm familiar.

Three years ago, I unexpectedly found myself working full time as a sales associate for a local retail clothing store, despite having a bachelor's degree in foreign language and several years of experience working in a corporate white collar environment, where I had even managed to climb the ladder to middle management. Fast forward to present day. Refusing to name the economy as an excuse, I still find myself working in that same position for that same store, and waiting on New York city's tiny dog carrying mink clad elite. By society's standards, this is far from impressive, and simply makes no sense on a professional resume, making it increasingly difficult, with each passing year, to justify my abrupt career change to potential employers. And understandably so. If I were an employer reviewing my resume for a non-retail related job, I would think "what the hell happened to the last three years? Did she have a mental breakdown?" For the record, I did not. I simply got bored with the endless string of desk jobs and didn't feel happy or fulfilled in what I was doing with my life. How to explain that delicately though to a potential employer? Would I love to indulge my cynical sense of humor by attributing my three year corporate hiatus to my interviewers to "a brief stint behind the bars of a Shanghai prison for crashing my sports car into some guy's fruit stand during a high speed chase"? Yes. But somehow I doubt that would be met with a bout of thunderous applause and a "Thanks for making us laugh Meg, you're hired." handshake. But I digress. Point is, in light of the unanticipated work situation in which I've landed after an unfortunate spin on the career wheel, I'm simply a gal trying to make some lemonade by supplementing her meager income through writing, and as I've subconsciously developed an eye for fashion trends as well as all things pop culture, why not write about them?

While I fear these subjects may be viewed as frivolous writing topics in light of all the important, meaningful things that are occurring in this world, like aiding Haiti in its time of crisis or the debate over health care reform in the U.S, truth is, I have never been very politically savvy, and I don't really know enough about the aforementioned topics to write about them. While I watch the news and read the paper, I just naturally know more about the antics of the Kardashian family and can list with uncomfortable ease what kinds of denim you can expect to see stores putting out in the upcoming spring season. However, what I want to make clear is, while I may not write articles on topics of a political or worldly nature, I still care about these things and try to consistently educate myself on what's happening. That being said, this is why I've chosen the topics I've chosen to write about. So there you have it. Oh, by the way, my name is Meg. Nice to meet you.