"That's preposterous. Most people in my dorm haven't even started looking for a summer job yet."

"Yeah, well, all my friends have positions lined up."

"Such as?"

"One of my roommates is going to be doing research in a lab. She's discovering a new element."

"Interesting."

A girl in my entryway got a grant to found a city in Antarctica. She's also got corporate sponsorship from L.L.Bean."

"Nice way to spend the warmest months of the year."

"One of the guys next door is going to be running a summer camp for underprivileged orphans, teaching them how to read, write, and save the Brazilian rainforests."

"Wow. That's pretty dedicated."

"Another friend of mine is research-writing, editing, typesetting, and binding by hand the first edition of `Let's Go: Compton.' I hear the maps are made out of real blood this year."

"You know, Amanda, all those jobs sound amazing beyond belief. But would you really be happy doing any of them?"

"Of coerce not. It's not about being happy with what your job is; it's about gaining contracts and security so that you can find a better one when graduate."

"Dude, look at all your graduating friends. I'd bet dollars-to-donuts that they're stuck in the same mentality--going for the most difficult, most challenging, and occasionally the highest-paying position possible, so that it will enable them to do `what they really want to later."

"Possibly."

"For how long are people going to take that attitude? For two years? For ten years? Until they retire? If that's what they want to do, fine. Saving for the future is extremely important. But there's also something to be said for not putting such an incredible amount of pressure on yourself to try and compete in such a bloodthirsty market, when in reality, it probably doesn't matter nearly as much as everyone fears it does."