It’s April. How is it April already? What happened to senior year? What happened to the last four years? Seniors, I know you’re panicking. I am too. The next chapter in your life is approaching way too quickly, and I know you’re scared. What does life look like without the constant demand of schoolwork and the comforting consistency of next semester’s classes? What if I never get that dream job? What if I never get any job?
You will.
Eventually, you will figure it out. Eventually, you will build a life that you love. Even if it looks nothing like the life you imagined before you graduated.
Do you want to know how I know that?
Because you care. Your panic is a sign that figuring out this next step matters to you. You will work hard to get that job. And in the mean time, you will find something to pay the bills. Life after college looks different for everyone. There are no longer rules or expectations or requirements. This is life. You have the power and the agency to make of it what you will. If that means working endlessly to get that dream job while picking up extra shifts at your current job(s) to make ends meet, then so be it. If that means creating a completely different career than what you majored in, awesome! If it means simply working retail or waitressing until you find something more permanent, that will work just fine.
Photo by Diana Simumpande on Unsplash
What I’m trying to say here is that the world will not end if you don’t get that perfect job the second you graduate. Your worth is not determined by your after-college plans, or lack there of. With that diploma, the options are endless. This is no longer the world of our parents where you got married, found a steady job, and stayed there until you retired. You can change your mind. You can quit your job two years in. You can move to a different city at 29 years old. You can break up with him or her or them. You can say no to what doesn’t feel right and you can say yes to what feels like a risk.
Photo by Taylor Ann Wright on Unsplash
In the end, you will figure it out. You will be okay.