Being a senior in college is exciting. I get first dibs on football tickets (supposedly), I get to sign up for second-semester classes first (supposedly), all my friends are 21 and I have my class/work/social life schedule balanced. But being a senior in college means post-graduate life is coming.
While it is an exciting time in my life, I am scared out of my mind to fly the nest and be on my own. Some of the frantic thoughts going through my head on a daily basis include, I need to find a job, I need to find a place to live, and I need to have a plan.
As the school year continues, more of my friends are getting job offers right after graduation. More of my friends are talking about higher education. They are applying to graduate school or law school and taking the GRE and the LSAT. They are creating a plan for post-graduate life.
As for me? I have no career plans. And that is okay.
Hearing all of my friend’s plans for after graduation makes me feel like I am the only one without a plan for after graduation, I am not motivated enough, and that I have wasted my time during undergrad. But that’s not the case. Everyone has a different life plan and goal. For some people graduate school is the path for them; for me, it is not required for my career path. For other people, getting a job out of college is the goal; for me, I can do that in a few years. And the reality is, that most of my friends don’t know what they’re doing either, they just haven’t said that out loud.
Anyone who knows me knows that I have always talked about moving to New York for a short period of time and working in a restaurant just to get out of Raleigh, where I have lived my entire life. Whether that plan comes to fruition or not, I know I want to take a break from school and work at my restaurant job and hopefully find a job in my field along the way. I have my whole life to have a 9-5 job, I am in no rush to have that right out of college.
There is no right or wrong way to handle post-graduate life. If you have a job lined up, that’s great. If you are going to further your education, amazing. But if you’re like me and don’t have a clue what to do, that’s okay too and you’re not alone.