I’ve been having a lot of nightmares lately.

Some of them are just straight-up weird, if you consider the one where I went on an all-night joyride with Henry VIII. But the most recent, and the one that’s been recurring more and more, is where I’m slumped over in a wrinkled polyester suit and wringing my hands in a waiting room with 30 other people. In the unemployment office.

With the first week of classes behind us after a long winter holiday, students are tired and stressed, so a few goofy dreams isn’t out of the ordinary. But with the end of my designated four years rapidly approaching, I find myself asking — and being asked — a lot of questions.

“So, Laura, what are you going to do after college?” “What about your degree — don’t you need to be applying to grad schools right now?” “Oh, well, I really think you should be taking the LSAT.” Those are just a few I have to fight off during every adult-oriented conversation.

My head is spinning, though, with questions of my own. Surely I can’t be the only one questioning my choice of major or cringing at the idea of jumping straight into two, three, four more years of papers, exams and late-night panic attacks. The little girl in me who grew up telling everyone she wanted to be a lawyer is jumping up and down, screaming at the free spirit who wants to globe trot as a travel writer. The logical mediator of the bunch insists I stick with the plan and hand in a carefully thought-out grad school application for Audiology. So where do I fit in with all of them?

In a somewhat twisted way, the college graduates of ’09 are entering the world with a privileged perspective. Being handed a degree in one of the worst job market climates to date, we have to put on a brave face and hide our pathetically shaking knees. Things probably won’t turn out as planned — we very likely will not get that dream job, move to that dream city or even get a job at all. But this, this is why we are privileged.

Don’t let me be misunderstood — there are still plenty of opportunities, and many of us will get the jobs we go out for. A lucky few may fare even better, such as a friend of mine who was offered a job at the American Embassy — in London. But what for those of us who feel lost, who haven’t applied for much beyond a summer job, and don’t even know where we’ll be living in September?

I find the term “blessing in disguise” somewhat irritating, so I won’t use it here, but opportunity hides in the most unlikely of places, and in this case, times. The Brits call it a “gap year,” where students take a year off to travel the world and work or volunteer. Although taking a year away from school is not looked upon so fondly in the U.S., we can consider a recession-induced lack of employment a gap year on our own terms.

If you have decided to apply to grad school, luck best be on your side as you bump elbows with the droves of other potential students, either newly unemployed or otherwise. So if a few rejection letters land in your mailbox, don’t despair — this is where opportunity chimes in. Take that goofy, illogical dream you’ve had floating around in your head and reconsider it as logical. Join the Peace Corps, move to Buenos Aires to freelance in photography or apply for a waitressing job in Australia. Volunteer. Travel. Do what you’ve always wanted to do but never thought you’d have the time or lapse in sanity.

Don’t like any of those ideas? You’re in luck. This is one of the few times in our lives where a six or 12-month gap in employment isn’t a death sentence. If your potential employer asks you what you were doing all year, simply tell him that you were out there job-hunting with the rest of the guys — the 10 percent of his firm that he laid off in ’08.

The job hunt is daunting enough without the dismal statistics amid the floundering economy. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans in an age group of 20- to 29-years-old have the highest unemployment rate. The unemployment rate of 20- to 24 year-olds old rose from 7.7 percent in November 2007 to 10.4 percent in November 2008. And worse yet, if the economy does bounce back, companies are more likely to re-hire recently cut employees instead of inexperienced newbies. In other words, it’s not looking good.

I won’t deny that I’m still freaking out, and my parents are certainly still on my back to find a “real job.” And you know what? I’m sure I’ll eventually settle down, but that’s not really an option at the moment. So even though the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us we should be cowering in our rooms clutching a teddy bear, upcoming and new graduates just need to change their definition of opportunity a little.

The skills and life experience to be gained in another city, culture or continent could give you a leg up over any Plain Jane that took your dream job a few years back. And best of all, taking your free time to volunteer for organizations that promote education and service will provide opportunities for many others beyond yourself. So as crazy and illogical as it may seem, give yourself a chance and go out on a limb — the real world, and all it has to offer, will be right here waiting when you get back.

Laura Brennan ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in communicative disorders.