There exists no greater pain than scrolling through Facebook and Instagram the first fall after graduating from college. Your newsfeed is littered with posts from your younger friends reunited after spending months apart, celebrating homecoming and still getting to enjoy the wonderful place you called home for four years. As easy as it is to feel overwhelmed by nostalgia for your undergrad days, being a graduette isn’t all that bad. Here are six major reasons to be glad you aren’t going back to school this semester.
1. You will never have homework again
The biggest benefit to being done with school forever? “No more exams!” says Alicia Thomas, a 2015 Pennsylvania State University grad. Getting your degree means that you can kiss late night cram sessions and term papers goodbye. This doesn’t mean that you have to stop learning, of course, but you are now free to do it on your own terms without worrying about your GPA. Curling up on the couch with a glass of wine to watch CNN’s The Seventies sounds a lot more appealing than passing out in your U.S. History 101 textbook in the library at 2 a.m., doesn’t it?
2. You have the opportunity to make money
The biggest opportunity you had to make money as a collegiette was a minimum wage work-study job… so chances are you were pretty strapped for cash (most of which probably went to textbooks, anyway). If you are now employed, congrats! You can splurge a little here and there, but more importantly, you can now begin to provide for yourself and save for your future. This gives you a real sense of independence and, occasionally, a really nice pair of shoes.
3. Your free time is actually free
Sunday nights in college were filled with remorse as you kicked yourself for not starting your reading assignment sooner. College students are often kept so busy that downtime can’t always be spent actually relaxing. Lucky for you, graduating now means that your nights and weekends are really yours to do with as you please.
“Fall is my favorite time of year, and there are so many fun activities like apple picking. While we could still do those things while we were in college, there was always the thought of homework lingering over our heads,” says Karina Reddy, a 2014 Boston University graduette. “Now we can do these things without cutting them short or sacrificing a better paper. The end of August and into September is also some of the best parts of summer with warm days and cool nights. In the real world, summer doesn’t have to end abruptly when school’s back in session. We can milk those last precious weeks of good weather at the end of summer and into fall!”
Essentially, your time outside of work can be spent as you please—guilt free. This allows you the freedom to pursue your own interests and hobbies, whether it’s crafting your own apartment dĂ©cor or reading a book that wasn’t assigned to you by an English professor.
4. You never have to see your college nemeses again
Learning to live apart from your best friends is arguably the hardest transition you’ll make after college, but the flip side to this is that you don’t have to put up with those people you don’t care for anymore. No more pretending to be nice to annoying Jill from Bio out of fear that you’ll be paired as lab partners, no more strategically avoiding your ex in the dining hall, no more grumbling to your friends that your roommate sexiled you again. You’ll keep in touch with the people who matter to you, and everyone else will eventually fade from memory.
5. You can focus on your health
It’s pretty hard to stick to a diet of anything but Chipotle and beer when it’s the diet everybody around you follows. Out of the college setting, it’s easier to cut out excessive alcohol consumption and late-night junk food, and instead find healthier alternatives that probably taste better than the usual dining hall grub (an added bonus). Though you no longer have a free campus gym, a lot of companies offer discounts to health clubs and fitness classes that can help keep you active.
6. You have so much more to explore
If you live or work in a big city, chances are your options for entertainment and socialization extend beyond frat parties and “that one bar.” Take advantage of your new surroundings by checking out as many restaurants, museums, bars, theaters, parks, galleries, historical sites and other attractions as you can. Living outside of your college bubble allows you to expand your horizons in ways you couldn’t before. You’ll meet new people and learn a lot about yourself and your own interests, now that you have options.
You might be counting down the days until your college reunion, but graduating really isn’t the end of the world. There are plenty of reasons to be happy you aren’t returning to school and to celebrate your new adult life. Embrace it!