After 16 years of school, the new pressure of finding a job is the most significant source of my stress and anxiety. All I have known was school, studying, writing essays and presenting projects. Although very important, the courses I’ve taken for my major often have a disconnect between predicting what might happen in the real work world and what happens at work. There’s no class to teach you the learning curve of expectations and that each assignment and project worked on isn’t a grade; it’s a matter of whether you have prepared enough for it and look like a decent professional or if you slacked off and aren’t putting your all into the job.
Everyone expects you to have a job lined up after graduating because that’s why you went to school. It can be daunting when every job application leads to rejection because you don’t have your bachelor’s degree yet. Gap years are given the stigma of giving up, but I’ve been in school for so many years. I’m so close to burning out. If I’m not making money and working for myself, I feel like a failure amongst my peers. School is just one part of the narrative we call life and not getting a break in between to find a job has gone to my mental health.
At 22 years old, I still have no idea who I am or what I’m doing. This is normal, but always having to hustle and work or be in school can make someone feel like they aren’t following the status quo. I feel like a seasoned pro at school and can’t imagine how the real world could measure up without tests and grades. It’s more about living and learning professionalism than the experience gained from studying, writing essays and researching different subjects.
There needs to be more leniency with graduating college and going straight to the workforce. I’ve never felt so unprepared and ashamed that I’m completely lost. College is a great experience to figure out what you want to do but also what you don’t want to do. I have figured out more of the latter option and it’s made me even more confused. We need to normalize not knowing what the future holds after graduation and not having such high expectations for the first job after college to be the dream job.