You know that little paper I used to work for? Link? You know. It was the free daily publication from The Virginian-Pilot that was filled with news, entertainment, and loads of snarkiness. Well, if you didn’t know (and have been living under a rock or outside of Hampton Roads), Link published its last issue on Dec. 19, and its staff—including me—was laid off.

The news didn’t come as a surprise to us. We’d been told of the possibility early November. And it that same week, before my future was completely known, I applied for a new job.

So, in my panic of figuring out what I was going to do with myself, I went on Craigslist and looked for new jobs. And on that first night, I found a listing for an English instructor at a local career college. Not knowing much about the school or the requirements, I put together a cover letter, got my grad school transcript, and faxed my stuff off to the unknown—never, I thought, to hear anything.

And I didn’t hear anything for a very long time.

“Forget them,” my best friend suggested after I hadn’t heard anything back from them and, at this point, knew my days at Link were numbered. And so, applying for a new job every day, I did forget them.

But as I was driving around with my mother, right before Christmas, I got a call from the college asking me to come in for an interview on Jan. 5.

So, I went in for the interview on Monday, and by Wednesday, I was offered and accepted the job.

And now, my new adventures begin this Monday. For the first time ever, I will be teaching two English composition classes  to college students. Plus, I get my own classroom! I am really excited. Stay tuned for updates on my first days on the job.