Once you graduate college, you are expected to automatically find some sort of job. If you’re a senior like me and have been haunted by your student loans for years, there has definitely been constant pressure to move on to something spectacular come this May. However, if you are also like me, then you have changed your mind about what you want to do with your life about a gazillion times. But now it’s finally about that time to make the big decision and convince yourself you haven’t completely wasted a chunk of your life and hope that you have actually learned some stuff, you then must be confident enough to apply somewhere. So again, if you are anything like me, this is how it might be going:
You search jobs in your area of study. Close to home, because that might be the safest option. Wait. When have you ever wanted to stay in Ohio? Okay, next job.
You find a job you might be interested in. Click on it. Read the job description. Needs prior experience. Do I even have experience? Do I even know how to do what I have studied?
Next job. This might be the one. Oh cool, this one is in New York. That could be fun. Wait. Can I even afford to move to New York? Do I even want to live there? I don’t even like the cold weather.
Next job. This one is in California. That could be good. Warm weather and an exciting new change of scenery. Wait. Do I even want to have this kind of job? Is this what I even want to do? How do you even move across the country?
Next job. Accidentally searches a flight to Rome instead. Maybe that will solve all my problems.
Oh wait. No job, no money, can’t pay off student loans. I can’t even afford this flight. I am basically already unemployed, in debt, and forever living in my childhood bedroom. Searches for jobs again with now zero confidence while questioning my whole life. Just pick something. Anything. Ten job applications are now started but not yet submitted. Why can’t I just submit them? Computer closes and I avoid adulting once again.
This next step is a big one. If you are struggling a little more than you thought you would, that’s okay. Maybe you have your life a little more together than mine. That’s great as well. Send some of that energy my way. But I know that, above all, this process can feel very scary and lonely at times. Just remember, wherever you may stand, we are all going through this together.
If you have to, ask for help. Take that break. Go on that vacation. Travel the world. Go gain that experience. Live your life. Maybe your end career goal doesn’t have to be what you dive right into. Maybe, it’s okay to take your own, unique path. Maybe your mind will even change again. Maybe, it’s okay to not knowing exactly what you want to do yet. At the end of the day, our freshly educated, minds are meant to be somewhere in this world, and it is our sole job to find where that might be. It should be a fun and fulfilling journey full of ups and downs, and lefts and rights, and leaps of faith. So come May, let’s all just be excited for our next big step. Whatever it may be. Because there is no right or wrong way to begin.