So you’re a senior . . . now what?
You’ve finally made it to senior year and the only thing you can think about now is, ‘Holy crap! I’m graduating soon. It’s only three weeks into classes and you’re freaking out like there’s no tomorrow. A year has never seemed so short.
What are you going to do? There’s so much to be taken care of before you walk across that stage. So many decision you have to make.
Are you going to grad school? Which one? Do you have the grades for that? The money? What if you don’t get it?
Then you’ll have to get a job. It’s only six months out before Sally Mae starts knocking at your door. But job hunting is so hard.You’re not even sure if your resume’s up to par. And your parents! Forget them being understanding, they’re the most unhelpful people.
They tell you to just ‘get out there’. You’ve got the degree. That’s all you need! Wrong. Don’t they know that all of your friends that have already graduated are still looking for employment?
Don’t they know that you can’t go back home to live with the while you job search? Oh sure, they’ve missed you and wish you were back, but do they really?
It’ll all too much and it’s only September. You’ve still got another seven months to go. That is if you’re graduating in May. Let’s not think about graduating in December! What you need to do it sit down, relax, drink some wine maybe, and just write it all down.
Maybe next week you’ll go speak with your advisor. Ask them about some internship for the summer. Maybe you’ll call up that cool aunt in the city and see where she stands on you boarding up with her for a while. Maybe you’ll get a teacher’s assistance job at the grad school you want and you won’t have to worry too much about paying your way through.
That’s a lot of maybe’s, but it’s a start. So instead of asking, ‘now what?’, think about all the steps you can make. Schedule a weekend where you can just plan and make phone calls. You don’t really have to hit up every party you hear about.
Get a planner. Whether you’re planning on taking the GRE, MCAT, LSAT, exit exams, internships, jobs or whatever it helps to see your schedule in front of you. It probably wouldn’t hurt to get a desk calendar either.
Exercise! Depression and anxiety are very common among seniors an hour of exercise can outlast any Prozac. Meditation is also helpful sometimes we need to just sit breathe and clear our minds.
Speak to someone. It doesn’t hurt to speak to a counselor it helps a lot to have an unbiased opinion on your life.
TIME MANAGEMENT! Don’t try to take on too much at once. Prioritize. Remember what your main goal is: graduation, so put school first.
Take a break. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Go watch a new show after all Fall does have all the great television shows. Good luck!