First off, congratulations on making it this far! College is not for everyone, but you’ve definitely proved that it is for you. We are less than two weeks from graduation. Can you believe it? Right about now there’s probably a million and one thoughts that are running through your mind. Trust me—you’re not alone; a lot of us have very mixed emotions at this point. But no worries, I’m here to help put your mind at ease.
1. You don’t have a plan
Although we’ve spent the last four years working toward a certain career field, many of us still have no idea what we want to. Don’t worry—it’s completely normal. Even four years isn’t enough time to plan what you want to do for your entire life. It’s okay to want to do different things. You may have gotten a degree in one thing, but decide that you want to do something completely different. And that’s totally fine. Certain career fields only require a degree, not a specific degree. Or, if you want to do something so far left from what you got your bachelor’s degree in, you can always go to graduate school to make yourself more diverse and more marketable.
2. You have to move back home with your parents
For me, this is the worst part of it all. After you’ve gone so long living on your own and supporting yourself, it can be really difficult to sacrifice some of your freedom and your independence to go back home and live with your parent(s). I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. You can plan all you want, but in the end, whatever is meant to happen will happen. I saved up money for the past year so that if I were to be hired somewhere before I graduate, I would be able to immediately get my own place and live on my own, thus avoiding having to move back home. But even though I’ve prepared myself for it, I haven’t gotten a job yet, so it isn’t very logical to move into my own place without having an income. There comes a point where we have to give up the things we want to do the more logical, responsible thing. Besides, you can always look at the bright side—you can save even more money while living with your parents and maybe even avoid having to deal with the price it costs to be a real adult.
3. You haven’t found a job yet
Whether you’ve been applying for jobs since December, you just started a couple weeks ago, or you haven’t started looking at all, the thought of unemployment is always scary. Personally, I know it can be really discouraging to feel like you’ve been doing all the right things, applying for jobs months before graduation, but haven’t found anything yet. You can relax. This is very normal. Most people don’t tend to find jobs until two, three, or even four months after graduation. Another thing to keep in mind is that you’re obviously desperate for a job right now, but that doesn’t mean you have to take the first thing that is offered to you. I, myself, had to turn down my first job offer. It was a difficult choice to make but after working so hard for something for four years, you know the kind of job you deserve and the kind you don’t. So, it’s okay to turn a job down. The right one will come along for you.
With graduation being so close, the last thing we need to be doing is stressing out. Enjoy your final days you have to bond with your friends, have fun, and enjoy being a young adult before the real world really hits. We’ve worked very hard for this moment, and we all deserve to live it up our last days as undergraduates.
Until May 7th…
HCXO!