The sand is about to run out in the hourglass of my educational career. I can’t believe graduation (my 3rd one!) is right around the corner. So I can’t help being nostalgic and looking back on my last five years at Carnegie Mellon. I’ve had my fair share of rough patches, but mostly cherished memories, whether it was nights spent in Hunt Library or laughs shared with my orientation counselor buddies. But now that it’s time to jump into the real world I begin to wonder about all the know-how I’ve collected over my collegiate career.
Recently Glamour’s 1997 article “30 Things Every Woman Should Have/and Should Know by the Time She’s 30” was passed along to me. This got me thinking about compiling a list of all the things a girl should have and know by the time she graduates. With a little help from some friends I’ve come up with this pretty interesting list.
A Graduating Collegiate Woman Should Know:
- Basic life skills like how to pay your rent, change a light bulb, etc.
- How to be comfortable without makeup- Joy Nelson ‘11
- Your alcohol tolerance
- How to wear heels
- What you’re looking for in a relationship- Crystal Wray ‘12
- How to be happy single
- Hook-ups happen left and right, get over it- Lauren Hirata ‘12
- When dressed for the night, consider how you’re going to look walking home the next morning – Anonymous
- What “business” and “business casual” mean
- How to survive on little sleep
- How to write a cover letter and give an elevator speech- Elyssa Goodman ‘10
- How to respect yourself and your body
- Your love life isn’t everything
- How to cook dinner- Ashtyn Hemendinger ‘12
- How to manage your money
- How to pick yourself up after a break-up
- How to flirt
- What helps you de-stress- Andrea Irwin ‘09
- Who you can lean on in times of trouble
- How you’ve changed in good and bad ways after college- Molly Walter ‘12
A Graduating Collegiate Woman Should Have:
- A little black dress & a pair comfortable heels
- A friend who listens & a friend to go out with
- A good skin care regimen & workout routine
- A Netflix account- Emily Anderson ‘11
- Willingness to start at the bottom again and work your way up
- A handful of college-only experiences you can grow from
- The perfect interview outfit
- Your own bank account
- A signature go-to drink at the bar
- An awesome resume
- Social media awareness
- A feel-good song
- Wonderful self-confidence
- A LinkedIn profile
- A handy pair of back-up flats- Emily Raffensperger ‘11
- A desire to keep learning
- A pair of perfectly fitting jeans
- Your own credit card
- A go-to date night outfit
- A group of friends to last past college
Looking back on all these things I’m sure there are tons of others that we all could’ve added but our list just reminds me of how far I’ve come in the last five years. I’ll never forget these “best years of my life.”