ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
Now to your letters.
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
And we received a quite a few in response to our profile of Morgan Oliver. She's the recent college graduate who's been struggling to find work.
SIEGEL: Her story nauseated Danny Treeve(ph) of Virginia Beach. Mr. Treeve had this to say to Morgan: An air of entitlement and privilege reeks from your commentary. The days when a college degree equals a good job are long over. Times are tough and we must all improvise, adapt and overcome - not whine, make pizza and scan our inboxes for a job offer that may never come.
NORRIS: And Mr. Treeve was certainly not alone in his criticism. But not all our listeners told Ms. Oliver to get real. John Catalge sent her this simple message: You go girl. He adds, start with charity work, build a rep, make contacts, hone skills, get better every show, please the crowd and the world will be in the palm of your hand.
SIEGEL: And Marcia Rose Ritchie of Douglas Wyoming heard echoes of her own post graduate struggles in Morgan story. She writes: I had a degree in religion and psychology and my husband in anthropology. We were the esoteric twosome. And we filled the gap with my husband as a Pinkerton's guard at a saw mill working the graveyard shift and I worked as a Kelly girl for phone company.
NORRIS: Well, Ms. Rose Ritchie and her husband eventually did find jobs with the forest service. And she writes: 23 years later we're still with the forest service. My husband as an archaeologist and I am a recreation manager now in eastern Wyoming. Yes, it was scary but it was also a grand adventure. And we are both so grateful for those early years when we had nothing because now we value what we have. It's okay to struggle and who knows, Morgan find a life for herself that she never could have had anticipated if everything had gone according to her plan. Forget the plan, Morgan. Embrace the adventure of the struggle.
CONAN: And keep sending us your thoughts at npr.org. Click on contact us at the top of the page. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.