Harry Styles released his fourth studio album, Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally, on March 6th, 2026.
Four years ago, he released his third studio album, Harry’s House, on May 20th, 2022. I listened to the album in full, getting ready for my last day of high school. I drove up to the school as the album concluded with “Love of My Life,” playing through my car speakers. Rain pelted down from the storm clouds overhead, but I was as bright as the sun. Four years later, I listened to KATTDO in New York City in my boyfriend’s apartment, “Aperture” ringing in this new season of my life as I did my makeup in front of the mirror, sitting cross-legged on the hardwood floor. In May of 2022, I graduated from high school, and in May of 2026, I graduated from college. Time feels so surreal, and to mark such pivotal moments in my life with an album from the one and only Harry Styles is more significant to me than you can imagine.
In 2022, I had a set plan, a security blanket for the next four years. I still had the comfort of adolescence trailing behind me. And while college felt like the great unknown to 18-year-old Grace then, it was nothing compared to the daunting expanse of the world in front of me now. Like Sylvia Plath in The Bell Jar, I now find myself at the bottom of my fig tree, all of the fruit ripe for my taking. Yet, I am paralyzed and cannot choose which fig to eat. I fear that I will watch them all fall and spoil before I get the chance to pick them, raining down upon me and reminding me of everything I let slip through my fingers. To be in such a predicament with so many figs at my disposal is a privileged position, I understand. Yet, there is a true fear and paralysis in finding which step to take next, and the pressure to have it all figured out before I walk the stage and receive my diploma lingers like bad perfume.
I originally sat down to write this article on information overwhelm and its relationship to journalistic writing. For months, and what truly feels more like years, I have been wanting to write about everything. But the extreme speed of the information cycle is nauseating. Actually digesting and reflecting upon information is practically unheard of unless you are paid to do so. Many people can’t devote that much time to the practice. To add to that challenge, our democracy continues to erode day by day in the sheer hell of Tr*mp’s second presidency, and having the energy to focus on and write about non-life-altering news like Harry Styles’ new album feels pointless when the US has its grimy hands in multiple voraciously deadly wars.
I’ve gotten to the point where the pent-up emotion about the current state of the world and my position in it has finally catalyzed some creative output, with a little nudge from my lovely best friend Rachel, who inspired this delve into my psyche. I don’t know if there will ever be enough time to fully devote myself to everything I want to do or write about, but I do know that life is long, and I have to remember that. I also have to remember that I control what I consume and how it affects me. I now know that sitting on my hands in frustration at the pace of the information cycle is the antithesis of my moral commitment to honest and heartfelt reporting and analysis of current events and their implications for the fabric and well-being of our society. While I won’t publish on this website for much longer, my work will continue on my Substack.
Writing is one of my figs. It often falls to the bottom of my list of creative to-dos, my art, reading, watching films, or photography taking precedent. However, I want to taste this fig for life, work continuously on my skills, and eventually prove useful to myself or someone who reads my writing. This article serves as part catharsis and part exploration of my future and how to move forward without the academic calendar controlling my life and a budding career that feels ever so out of reach.
In theory, I am ecstatic about the new chapter of my life in New York City. In practice, I am terrified. Mostly at the sticker shock of the price of it all, but also, I still don’t have a job yet. I am not sure if I will have a job once I move out there. All the unknowns are really hard for me to sit with. I have such imposter syndrome that I am not capable or qualified to move, let alone live in one of the craziest cities in the world. But if there’s one thing that getting my diploma has taught me, it is that I can do hard things. I am making a mid-2026 goal to stop downplaying my abilities and my work. I am proud of all that I have accomplished and done hard shit that deserves celebration and recognition from MYSELF. Recently, I have been daydreaming more often about working on film sets in the city, whether after seeing an Instagram post or adding to my “film” Pinterest board. This shifts my focus back to my desire, my drive, the simple fact that I do want this, despite all of its challenges, and that I can handle it.
For now, I am grateful for the summer I have planned at home. I am so excited to attend all my family functions, spend time in my backyard, throw the ball for my dogs, play with my niece and nephews, and go on evening walks. I want to make the most of the time I have with them, as it will be limited in the future. But also, I cannot wait for them to visit me in the city. And in just a few months, I will be with my boyfriend. No more long-distance, no more spotty FaceTime calls, or tear-filled goodbyes, but instead, lots of kisses in the kitchen, Sunday walks in the neighborhood, and evenings out on the dancefloor.
I want to thank myself for trying and flourishing in college. I truly found myself and became confident in what I want and what I don’t. I met amazing people who have all left an individual impact on my heart and inspired me in new and refreshing ways. I made fun films, wrote engaging essays, and read thought-provoking work that has changed my worldview in ways I didn’t know existed. BGSU was my home for four years and will be forever. I feel so content with who I am as I move into this next season of my life, and I think that’s the best position I could be in. Writing for Her Campus and leading our chapter here have been the greatest privileges and have taught me so much. I am so grateful the universe aligned the way it did, and this organization fell into my lap. I will miss it dearly.
In the end, I come back to the refrain of “It’s all waiting there for you” in “Carla’s Song,” the ultimate track on KATTDO. It was the final puzzle piece falling into place, the previous chapter closing, and the next beginning. While all of my figs hang ripe on the branch above me, they’re not going anywhere, not falling, and simply waiting for me. My future is waiting for me, unfolding only as fast as I want it to. I just have to take the first step, choose the first fig. The rest of the figs will still be there. Their only expiration date is mine when I leave this Earth. Until then, I can always pick another.
The life cycle of some varieties of fig includes a fig wasp that pollinates the fruit by laying eggs and dying inside of it, the flesh absorbing the creature and producing the beautifully sweet fruit. Like the wasp, I see this point in my life as a rebirth. I’ve nestled into the fig that was my college life and the girl I was, and I am now created new, fresh, ready for what’s ahead, and oh so sweet. I am who I am today thanks to the girl I was yesterday and before. I keep a baby photo of myself on my desk to remind myself of that, and I recommend you do too. That little girl is still inside of me and deserving of all of the goodness the world has to offer, even if the noise is so loud you sometimes can’t hear yourself think. So if you are struggling with the entry into post-grad life or just another season of life, remember, there will always be a fig that needs pollination, and a fig wasp to pollinate it.
It’s all waiting there for you, for me. We’ll be alright.
With love,
G