Against the (main)stream

Circumstances are for the weak. With the current state of the economy - five million jobs lost and counting, according to the New York Times - it's easy for Americans to get caught in the undercurrent of the tidal wave of apathy washing over its once-glimmering shores. Gone are the days of job security and anxiety over potential promotions. In their place are countdowns to last days and the underlying fear of the dreaded "downsizing" company speech.

The reality is that, given these circumstances, most graduating college seniors will find themselves in an upstream struggle against a barrage of student loans, apartment hunting woes and most importantly, a crumbling job market. Four years of college have come and gone, and what's left in the wake of this whirlwind are the lackluster remnants of a viable economy.

It's not, in other words, a very rosy picture.

Still, the difference between those who manage to fight their way to the top of the stream and those who flounder in the flow of negativity is a matter of attitude, not circumstances. Jumping headfirst into the uncertainty of the job market is no easy task, but without that first initial dive, there is no chance of catching that rare drift of happenstance. There can be no opportunities gained or lessons learned while living in quiet fear on the edge of the water.

As such, many college seniors can no longer rest on their laurels if they hope to someday reach their dream jobs. Careers, these days, aren't earned. They are, in fact, made. Entrepreneurship classes have increased their enrollment numbers throughout the country, and leading universities such as the University of Southern California (the so-called "University of the 21st Century") have even begun to create courses to promote "entrepreneurial journalism" - teaching students to create blogs and use their journalistic writing skills in new, unmapped ways.

Because the economy is at the lowest point it has ever been in American history (here, the Great Depression humbly tips its fedora to this generation's financial crisis), it can be surmised that, on the bright side, there is nothing left to lose. Almost literally.

And because so much of the social situation is unprecedented, it is up to this imminent generation entering the workforce to redefine what it means to live for the moment and act without a safety net. It is up to them to become the next breed of up-and-coming tastemakers, creative thinkers and overall movers and shakers.

It's living in the now, living for that moment of weightlessness and uncertainty. It's the drive to succeed because there's no looking back (or down, in this safety net analogy).

There are too many reasons not to do something, but the one reason anyone should ever really take a risk and do it anyway trumps all those other reasons: Passionate people pursue their interests because they wholeheartedly want to, not because said passions will bring with them a certain level of status, fame, or riches.

They make career moves and gravitate toward their true passions because this is what it means to live free and feel the exhilaration of free falling into the unknown. This is the true taste of success.

If Hollywood and the media have taught society anything, it's that breaking free from a stilted norm or set of circumstances is how people find true happiness - Zach Braff did it in "Garden State." Will Smith did it in "The Pursuit of Happyness." Heck, even James McAvoy did it in the horrendous Matrix-meets-300-meets-Fight Club mash-up "Wanted."

The moral of the story being that, in all three instances, if you don't like your circumstances, then change them. Destiny will only wait around on the steps of the Royal Ball for so long before you have to run up and meet her.

For graduating college seniors, this means accepting that the economy is at a low point, and that any job openings probably won't be particularly lucrative for the time being. But this also means that there will be a distinct separation between those who surge forward and those who opt to ride out the economic wave, sitting docilely while they wait for good ideas to float by.

Because with the very potent combination of patience and purpose, circumstances can easily be vanquished, discarded and recycled into a new, more streamlined set of attitudes and sense of self.

At the end of the day, there's nothing more satisfying than standing on the strength of our own convictions, facing the waters boldly and awaiting the next big wave.