I am trying to refrain from doing one of those melo-dramatic Full House-esque divaish things where I punch all the keys at once and leave you reading gibberish. I’m that anxious about graduating. I know. I know. All this time I’ve been saying how prepared I was for graduating, how well I manage my time, how on top of things I am. But, I can’t do it all. I think I’ve come to realize that these last few months. It’s really impossible for someone just getting out of college to feel like they have it all together. I might not get into graduate school. I might not be able to quit my day job. I might have to move back in with my parents and start paying back student loans. I just don’t know at this point. Everything is up in the air, and I’m going to show you some research and statistics to hopefully help everyone de-stress!
Ok, so I’m done with class. I’m not as busy. How will I feel good about myself, and smart, and be around friends with like interests? School has been my source for so long for friendships, building my writing sample, having intellectuals to read my work. I’m afraid I will just come to a screeching halt post-graduation.
Some things to do:
- Keep a checklist of all the things you want to do and why you’re doing them. Stay attached to your dream.
- Get out of bed on time. Don’t spend your free time on the couch or sleeping. Keep a routine and fight the urge to be lazy.
- Don’t check email or social media more than three times a day, get outside and don’t feel like you need constant work.
- Start exercising. This is your opportunity to pay more attention to your body than when you were late night studying.
- Get a pet. Having responsibilities outside of finding a job now now now helps free you from needless expectations.
- Try to get an internship if you haven’t already. Send your resume out to several different places every Friday.
- Send out some writing to publications if you write. Send out poems to all of the places you’ve never had time to.
Remember: set reasonable goals. Don’t get into a deep depression every time you get a rejection letter. You can’t help that. Some people just wont like you in life and you have to be ok with that. Don’t send yourself into a binge eating/binge drinking/ closed off spiral. Join some community groups like a hiking club or a poetry reading series and you’ll see that there are many people in your same boat. Not getting a job out of college isn’t a negation of all your hard work, and it’s definitely not an indication of your self worth. So relax, do what you think is best, and don’t put too much expectation on yourself. You’re only human.
