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woman wearing green graduation cap
woman wearing green graduation cap
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Mentally Preparing for Graduation

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Portland chapter.

Getting ready to graduate can be stressful but don’t let that stop you from enjoying your last few weeks at UP.  Be kind to yourself because you’ve worked so hard!  You deserve all the success that is coming your way.  Everything will fall into place; it’s just a matter of time.

Although it’s sad to think of leaving University of Portland, choose instead to focus on all the good times you’ve had here as well as the great things still to come.  Rock the Bluff, weekends with friends, and graduation are just a few of them.  You still have plenty of time to make treasured memories here so don’t waste it thinking about how hard it will be to move on.  The fact is, you’re still here for two more months so enjoy it while you can.

Take moments every day to reflect on how you’ve grown.  You’re not the same person you were when you first arrived at college.  These last four years have molded your mind to look at the world in a different light.  Your friends, your professors and all the other people you’ve met along the way have helped you with that. Reflect, but don’t forget to live in the moment.  We have so much left to do!

The good times are still to come but we also have a lot of work standing in between us and graduation! Try not to get burnt out on doing homework.  I know it’s hard but you want to finish strong!  Soon, you won’t have to do homework ever again! (Unless you’re going to grad school, but don’t worry about that now.)  You owe it to yourself to keep working hard.  

With that in mind, take breaks and continue to practice self-care.  I know that after spring break it’s going to be even harder on that last stretch before graduation.  So, to keep yourself motivated on all your tests and projects leave some time every day to relax.  It’d be a shame to burn out this close to the finishing line!  Don’t allow the stress to take over your life!

It’s easy to worry about the future, but doing so distracts from the now.  You’ll want to remember this last part of college as a time when you bucked down and worked hard but also made the effort to appreciate your last few months at UP.  With your degree in hand, you’ll be prepared to take on the world. 

Just because you leave college does not mean that you’ll stop learning. You’ll still have teachers in the forms of supervisors and co-workers.  No one expects you to know exactly what to do when you start working, so let go of the fear that joining the workforce is an insurmountable challenge.  If you make mistakes, you’ll just pick yourself up and start again..  You are capable! You can adult! I believe in you!

The future’s bright but so is the present. Take advantage of the good times still to be had at UP and then you’ll have no regrets about missing out on opportunities. Continue to work hard but remember to enjoy the rest of your college career. You’ll be glad you did!

I love University of Portland!