Taylor Swift might’ve been onto something when she wrote, “How could a person know everything at 18 and nothing at 22?” Luckily, I think the latter might actually be preferable. When you’re 18, you’re completely clueless and yet, you think you know everything. By the time you’re 22, you’re pretty well aware that you know nothing and you’ve made peace with it. Well, kind of.
“How can a person know everything at 18 and nothing at 22?”
Taylor Swift
There’s no doubt that college teaches you a lot. Whether you are a biology major, a political science major or an art history major, you’ve taken enough courses by the time you graduate to be well versed in the subject of your choosing. But the most important thing college has taught me is not what an epidemiological transition is or how the visual system works. College has instilled in me the importance of being open to learning and changing my opinion as I gain new information. Regardless of whether you plan to graduate and start a full-time job, begin graduate school or are still figuring it out, there will surely be a learning curve after college ends. Lean into it and take it as an opportunity to grow as a person. Coming into college, I think a lot of people mistakenly assume they are well-adjusted and that everything from making friends to acing their classes will be a breeze. Your hatred for your freshman year roommate and that test you get a 30% on will humble you very quickly. Go into your next phase ~humbled~ so you don’t need to be humbled. You might bomb your first exam of graduate school or eat lunch alone at work for the first few weeks, but you’ll know it’s simply a part of the transition.
“Every year, many, many stupid people graduate from college. And if they can do it, so can you.”
John Green
It can be tempting to adopt a bit of an ego after graduating from a higher educational institution. I mean, after all, you have put in the work for the past four years to study hard and earn the best grades possible that will help you graduate and succeed in your future career. As accomplished as you may feel, try your hardest to avoid becoming a know-it-all. At the same time, though, don’t let people downplay your abilities simply because you’re young. While you might be low on the totem pole in your first role post-grad, that doesn’t warrant being treated like you’re a child. Don’t be afraid to negotiate that starting salary or tell your boss “no”.
In a way, we are all about to start our freshman year of life after college. By the time you started high school, you had probably seen enough movies with kids shoved in lockers to be weary of what was to come. When it was time to start college, you might’ve feared gaining the “freshman 15,” but you were probably too naïve to envision the struggles you would face beyond that. The scary part about post-grad is that many people don’t talk about how difficult the transition is. It’s common to struggle to find a sense of community for the first couple of years after college. Unfortunately, too many people feel embarrassed by not having their life completely put together and aren’t open about the challenges they face. If you were lucky enough to make great friends during college, keep in touch with them as you enter the next phase of your life and lean on one another as you navigate the “real world” as adults like to call it. Graduating from university and facing the difficulties that come afterwards can be hard, but you’ve been there and done that. As the wise philosopher Lil Wayne so profoundly stated, “It’s a cold world, so homie, bundle up.” Grab your degree and your parka and get after it!