I know that most people in my position would be happy. No more waking up early in the morning, no more long papers or hard exams, no more annoying professors that make the sound of nails on a chalkboard sound better than their lectures. A lot of people would be happy for that all to end, but not me. Yes, I can’t wait for all the academic part of my life to end but at the same time I’m not ready for the next step: working in today’s world.
I’m only a few months away from graduating and there is a part of me that is excited about graduating. I mean, it’s like I’m about to reach the finish line. I can see it, I can feel it, but, there’s a part of me that wants to stop. I guess you can argue that “oh, she’s just nervous and all. She’ll be fine.” Granted that might be true but with the looming realization that I am graduating in only 6 months, I can’t help but feel that I might not be all ready.
Academically yes, I have been on top of all my classes since the first week of freshmen year. Always making sure that I was taking the right classes when I was supposed to as well as fit them into an orderly and functional schedule. But still I ask myself, am I really ready to go to leave school and start working in the real world? I have all the knowledge that I would need for my profession. I have the tools that my professors have given me over the past four years that I need to succeed, but again I wonder, am I really ready to leave my academic life and start adulting?
I mean as much as we complain about school, there are some perks. You meet all different people studying that you can learn from, studying different topics than you. When we all get out of college and start working at jobs that are in our ideal career, then we will most likely be surrounded by people that went to college and studied the same thing we did. For instance, nursing majors will obviously be around people that studied some form of nursing or health care. They won’t necessarily be meeting someone who studied computer science or dancing unless they are treating them in the hospital or doctor office. An artist wouldn’t necessarily meet a biology major. Which yes, in theory you may want to be around people that share your common interest. With my current friends now, I have friends that are biology, environmental studies, computer science, accounting and business management. All different forms of studies but we all get along and get to learn different things about computers, money management, and sciences. When you work with people you major with you’ll have similar conversations, how the market is going, new technology for saving lives, best movie cinematography etc. It will get very similar. And for me that might get a bit boring.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that it’s okay to feel that your not ready. Not everyone is at first. A friend of mine who graduated last year wasn’t ready until the week before graduation. She told me that it’ll hit you when you least expect it, and when it does it will feel like your mind is at peace. You’ll be ready for the next step if it’s grad school or start working at your desirable career. You won’t feel nervous anymore but a sense of strength and courage that your able to take your next big step in the story of your life.