Graduation and the future. It’s a typical association. One that ignites panic, fear and excitement; a terrifying rollercoaster of prospective ‘adulting’ and figuring out life in a very limited amount of time.
This topic has no doubt been written on time and time again, with new angles and various points of views being taken up by author after author after author. However, in this article, whether your life is on track to that money jackpot and mansion at the end of the line or if you’re still flopping about on land, trying to join the other successful fish in the sea of adulthood, don’t worry. I’m here to help. No matter your situation, here’s why you shouldn’t be afraid of what the future holds…
The average life expectancy for a healthy human being in the UK is about 81 years. The majority of British graduates are between the ages of 21 and 25, so you still have three quarters of your life left before you ‘kick the bucket’. The point being, and I hate to sound like your grandparents here: you’re still young. You have your whole life ahead of you, and if you don’t have a job lined up for summer or a full-time permanent placement at Ernest & Young or the BBC, and instead find yourself doing a year of smiling at customers buying courgettes and TV dinners, it’s fine.
You’re young so you’re still figuring your life out. You don’t have to know what you’re doing or when. You can become a fortune teller while busking and owning a pug on the side, or you can run around fetching important people coffee, or take a masters in broadcasting journalism and pile up more debt. It may not be great immediately, but it will be, and always will be, great eventually.
The point is that just being optimistic about now, the present, and about who’s in your life, is all you need to know right now. You don’t need to know when you’re getting married, or where you’re living for the next 5 years or the company or even career you’ll be following. Those things will come when you’re happy with yourself.
Think about it like a relationship – no one else is going to be interested in you until you’re interested in you. The same can be said for job prospects. Optimism and self-assurance are going to win you jobs. Also, why are you panicking now? For the past five to ten years, you’ve been worried about other things. You were worried when you went to senior school or went for your apprenticeship or sixth form, about how difficult it would be to keep in touch with friends or where it was going to take you. When you left for uni you were homesick and worried if you were even capable of seeming intelligent or washing clothes without your mum’s guidance. Now you’re finishing the next chapter of your life and you’re still worried? You’ve accomplished so much every time you’ve reached an important stage of your life. You’re still here. You’re still breathing. You’re still not a failure. And that’s the important part.
You are not a failure.
The foggy blank cloud ahead of you that makes you feel like your lack of planning makes you a failure, is all in your head. You’re not a failure, you’re just unsure. And each of us is always unsure about something. Prospects, romantic relationships, whether to buy Sainsbury’s basics mature cheddar or the fancy Cathedral cheese. Life is full of uncertainties but that doesn’t mean that you should be scared of that.
The future is daunting, but you have the passion and you have the drive and you have the time. You just need to figure yourself out before you start panicking and I guarantee whatever you have lined up is going to benefit you in some way. If it’s a summer of rejected graduate jobs and unemployment, or an internship with an engineering firm, or a masters to give you that professional qualification to work in the public sector, it’ll help. Everything helps.
You don’t have to adult yet, you just have to you.
Edited by Sarah Holmes
Image sources:
http://circusmash.co.uk/blog/a-picture-of-circusmash-for-the-future/
http://mashable.com/2013/06/18/panic-gifs/#lfu0JdKyU5qI
http://www.sharingselfimprovement.com/your-inner-self-and-happiness/