I have been living the post graduate life for almost a year now and it’s the perfect mix of sweet and sour. I am happy to no longer have to wake up at 8 a.m. and rush to my classes. No more walking through the campus and passing the same exact people, giving them a simple nod, all while making sure my earbuds are sturdy in my ears while blasting the most mainstream music possible. Goodbye cafeteria food, library sessions, dorm life, fraternities, office hours, discussion boards, freshman, and group projects. It’s been nice knowing ya! But, really it has. Because once you get that little slip of paper that says you got a degree in “Insert Degree Here”…life gets real! Real Fast!
I feel like no one really prepared us graduates for this game of life, I mean not really. Yes, my parents warned me that I shouldn’t rush college because “they’re the best years of my life.” I thought they were lying…they were not! With graduation comes great responsibility. So listen up my soon to be post graduates….
- Moving back home is the best and worst decision: You can save your money, which is great! But being under the same roof as your parents will be quite an adjustment. Especially since you’ve been living that dorm/campus apartment life which consisted of DOING ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO DO WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE! Yeah, that was great! But not paying for bills is great too. Just make sure you don’t get too complacent at home with all the free food and laundry service!
- Loans…loans…and loans: The average student earns about 30,000 in student loans. Yay! So… get ready for the pressure of finding a job as soon as possible in order to make those monthly payments.
- You will not have the job of your dreams when you graduate: I highly doubt that you will have a job related to your major the second you get out of college. You want to know why? Because employees want you to have EXPERIENCE and a lot of it. But, you don’t have that because you’ve been too busy passing your college classes like a good student…what a waste of time!
- It may seem like you are falling behind your friends: Your best friend may have a friend who was offered a high paying salary right after graduation. Well…that’s your friend’s friend, it’s not you! And that’s okay. People around the ages of 20-24 currently have a 10.4
percent unemployment. You are not alone. - These 20’s are lonely and fun at the same time: You may feel as if you don’t want to go out every weekend anymore. Don’t! You aren’t going to miss anything, I promise. College was fun but you won’t be doing the same thing you did in college and that’s okay. You probably won’t even see most of the people you went to college with ever again. Don’t be sad. You are moving on and making new memories.
- Email is the new texting: If you don’t know how to write a proper sentence, learn! Your mid 20’s will consist of sending constant emails. Jobs just love to email you and so does everyone else apparently.
- Don’t stop learning: Yes you are young and fresh out of college. You may feel as if you are hip and current to the times and technology. But, as you know, technology is constantly developing. Make sure you don’t fall behind…never stop learning!
- Do your best to not make any enemies: The only reason I say this is because life is already hard enough without having to avoid people because they hate you or you hate them. This is the time to grow up and not be so quick to judge or unfriend people. If you don’t like someone, play nice because you never know when they might come in handy later.
- Don’t make decisions based off of the money: This is the time that you can be a little picky about jobs. I understand that you need money, but money will come later. You don’t want to accept the first high paying job you’re offered because before you know it 30 years will go by and you will still be sitting behind the same desk. You can take risks right now because no one is dependent on you just yet.
- Plan…plan…and plan: Just because you’re making money, it doesn’t mean you have to spend it. Actually, the opposite. Hold on to those dollars and count those dimes. You’re gonna need them for your future plan to get a place of your own, maybe a dog, maybe a new car, maybe a family.
There are many other things that will be thrown your way the second you walk down and accept your diploma. Just know that you are going to make mistakes and you are going to feel as if you need to get your life together as soon as possible. But, you don’t! You are only in your 20’s and you will never be in your 20’s again. Honestly, listen to your parents and enjoy this time.
