In these past few months leading up to graduating this spring, I’ve felt a switch flip. I used to be the girl who loved exchanging socials, texting different friends, and getting excited when someone new reached out. Now… I’ve climbed a different kind of Mount Everest.
It’s LinkedIn and Outlook that have slowly consumed me. LinkedIn has become the first “social” I check in the morning, and receiving a LinkedIn DM now feels like getting a text from a special someone. And when I go out? I’ve noticed I’m no longer trying to connect with the funniest person in the room; I’m scanning for the most successful, influential one and mentally preparing to add them on LinkedIn later. Frightening.
It all hit me at once, like my frontal lobe fully clocked in and decided we’re accelerating. Suddenly, the ambitious only daughter’s energy kicked in, and my drive shifted into full lock in mode. I didn’t plan on becoming this person. And yet here I am, getting a small dopamine rush from a well-written introduction email.
There’s something empowering about walking into a room knowing you’re there to build something. Not just a friendship, not just a crush, but a future. Networking feels like ambition dressed up as connection. It’s aspirational. It’s polished. It’s grown-up.
A lesson I can give to the women younger than me is this: don’t be afraid to network. Seriously. Start early. There is something in us, especially as women, that makes us naturally gifted at connecting with others. We listen. We remember details. We follow up. We build relationships in ways that feel intentional and thoughtful. Even though there are still systemic barriers that make the corporate world challenging, that doesn’t mean we shrink ourselves inside it. If anything, it means we step into it earlier, louder, and more prepared.
Be charismatic. Be ambitious. Send the email. Go to the event. Add the person on LinkedIn.
And yes, it will feel cringe at first.
The first time I sent a “Just following up!” email, I stared at my screen for ten minutes like I had just confessed my love. The first networking event I went to, I rehearsed my major like it was a pickup line. I’ve practiced saying “I’d love to connect” in the mirror more times than I’d like to admit.
Somewhere along the way, networking stopped feeling transactional and started feeling… strategic. And, maybe a little thrilling.
If I’m being honest, there is something slightly unhinged about feeling butterflies over a strong LinkedIn profile. About romanticizing a well-formatted resume. About opening Outlook with the same energy I once opened Snapchat.
And if networking really has become my love language, at least this one builds a future instead of just a situationship.