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Dealing With Senior Shock

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at ODU chapter.

Fall 2017. The start of my senior year of college. Holy s@!%!!! How did I even get here?! I was a freshman yesterday and now I’m applying for graduation and I’m supposed to have my life figured out…

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Take a deep breath!

I personally have been dealing with this the past few weeks and have just been super out of it. I feel like I’m doing good and on the right track but at the same time I don’t feel like I’m doing enough.

After having a breakdown and needing a pep talk I’ve realized, it’s all good! Life is not within a set time frame and there’s no handbook that tells you all the steps you need to take to get where you want to be. Some things work for some people and not for others, and that’s okay.

While it may feel like our youth is ending and life is essentially over, this is only the beginning. We are so young and we’re about to be free to do whatever we want with our lives! Being scared or stressed is the last thing we should feel. Although assignments may be piling up and teachers may already be cracking down, we’ve been dealing with that the past few years and we’ve made it this far so we’re obviously pros by now! That stress is almost over so just get your work done and start planning for your life after classes.

Once you graduate you won’t have classes taking up your week and after paying all this money you shouldn’t let your degree go to waste. I’ve compiled a few tips to help everyone do some planning so you can worry less about life after graduation!

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  1. Don’t be afraid to explore the country or world!

If you ventured away from home for college you already know that moving can present you new opportunities you never would’ve had at home so keep that going! For those who went to college close to home, it’s time to branch out! Not only does moving open new doors it helps you learn more about yourself and what you want in life.

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  1. Explore your career field!

While you may have had your heart set on doing one job, it doesn’t always work like that. So, try something else! You never know what you like or how good you could be at something if you don’t give it a shot. What you want to do may not be openly available when you’re entering the field but getting your foot in the door doing something that’s related is better than waiting tables or making coffee while you wait for the position you want to open. Many companies hire from within so once the position does open, you’d be first in line to get it!

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  1. Post your resume & sign up for job boards!

Putting yourself out there is a guaranteed way to get noticed! Start up’s and established companies are almost always looking for new talent and you could be exactly what they need but they’ll never know if you don’t put yourself out there. One of my favorite job boards is WayUp, they specialize in getting college students jobs in their career field and send you emails as soon as a new job in your field is posted.

The world after graduation is huge and yours to take! So, don’t be afraid to take some risk and make your dreams come true!

If you’re an underclassman or just need some more help getting everything sorted, check out our article 6 Tips For The Girl Who Feels Like She Doesn’t Have Her Life Together.

Hi everyone, I'm Petra (PEE-truh) and I'm an ODU alumna who has branched out to sunny Southern California. Following graduation, I didn't have too much of a plan for where I was going in life but I knew to stay in Virginia was not an option. I wanted more than what was offered there so I started applying to almost every job in all my dream cities and life led me to San Diego. I now do sales, marketing and social media management for a great startup company, Voterfied. I love everything about San Diego and the work I'm doing here. So my advice to everyone, get out of your comfort zone! Take that leap of faith and let life guide you to exactly where you're meant to be. HCXO, Petra!