When we started college, no one expected the time to pass by as fast as it did. In the blink of an eye, I went from a wide-eyed freshman to a junior without even realizing it. With my senior year of college just around the corner, a lot has been running through my mind about what is next for me after college. I have spoken to a few other students about their thoughts on what they envision for life after college. One thing we all seem to have in common is that we are all scared about what is to come because we have no idea what the future entails.
All I have ever known about post-college life is that I will need to get a job in my career. However, I’m not sure how long that will take with all the competition. Trying to make your resume stand out is more difficult than I imagined. The pressures from society and family make college students feel as though once they step off the stage at graduation, they should have something ready and waiting for them.
Two junior students at San Jose State, Jeevan Mahal and Alondra Diaz spoke to me about this topic. Jeevan discussed how society and social media have a huge impact on how we feel like we have to have our whole lives planned out, or we may not be as successful as others. This can be extremely detrimental to our mental health because of the focus our generation has placed on social media platforms.
Alondra brought up the point that many college graduates can feel a loss of identity. Alondra stated, “Being a student for so many years makes you accustomed to this particular lifestyle and routine with the same pattern around the same people.”
Many of us may feel a certain culture shock by going from a college student to a working individual. These are all adjustments college students have to become accustomed to overtime after graduation.
I hope this article allows other students who may have these same fears to understand that they are not alone. It is completely natural to fear the unknown and the future. It is not a requirement to have the next five years planned out. While we all may seem as though we have it all planned, a majority of us have the same feelings when it comes to post-college life. Tell us how you are feeling about post-college life by tagging us @HerCampusSJSU!