The Reality of Post-Grad Life

Hey Guys! It’s been a minute.

After the initial excitement of “Yay, I graduated!” maybe two weeks later you begin to think “Now, what?” Unless of course you were one of those people who had their lives planned out since the beginning of college. There’s nothing wrong with that don’t get me wrong, but life doesn’t always go as planned. However, back to the procrastinators like me post-grad life can lead to depression real quick.

First stressor of my post-grad life was the fact that I had to find a job and ASAP! School is the easy part trust me; you basically have a whole plan (degree plan) set out for you with what you need to do. However, looking for a job, not so simple. Yes, they’re internet job boards as well as friends or family that may point you in the right direction, but when you get there it’s another story. For example: ‘Must be a U.S. Citizen’ (I’m not), 3-5 years experience (How? I just graduated), and all other requirements that I just don’t see how you can get while attending to school. (If you can’t tell this whole process freaks me out!)

If that wasn’t enough, depending on your field you may not find any jobs in your area, thus forced to search in other areas – “Don’t limit yourself”, “Come out of your comfort zone”. Where I agree with all of these ideas —> I JUST GRADUATED!! I don’t feel comfortable enough moving from around people I know to journey to somewhere new. Whereas my mom feels like I’ve been independent enough, I’m scared! Doesn’t anybody else understand this?!?

Second part of growing up and entering the adult world is managing your finances. Money and I are not friends at all; no matter how hard I try. I absolutely love eating out, and I shop when I’m “depressed”. How does that even work? This past semester however I’ve tried my utmost best at saving, then when I feel like i’m on track BOOM! UNEXPECTED EXPENSES. Bills that come out of nowhere, and GRADUATION. Well, I knew graduation was coming, but what I didn’t know was exactly how much it would cost me.

Another part that has to do with finances are TAXES. I for one never did this before, because I never had a job. Last semester however I had my first job on campus, and I guess I can now file for taxes. I’ve seen people talking about getting their W2’s and I have no idea what those are, but I suppose they’re important to filing you taxes. I’m clueless when it comes to this stuff, I’m a science student, and I never had to do any of this before. But I guess that’s no excuse to my naivety?

My point of all this rambling is POST-GRAD LIFE IS NOT EASY. Especially when you’re fresh out with no idea of the real world. Yes, you can learn a few things in college outside of the classroom but it’s still a whole different ball game. Life comes at you fast.