The college experience is typically portrayed as a carefree carousel of fun times with friends. Frat parties, bar-hopping, glamorous dorm rooms, and a romantic fling or two. Sometimes the stereotypes are true, to an extent, but college is also hard work, commitment, dreaming about your future, and planning for your dream job. As my time at A&M inches closer to its end, I can’t help but let some fear and doubt creep in. What if I didn’t do enough? What if my GPA is too low? Should I be pursuing a masters degree instead of a job? Is $50,000 enough to live on in any major city these days?
Entering a new phase of life brings with it waves of excitement and nervousness. The possibilities are endless, hopefully. Today there is a lot of discourse surrounding the inflated cost of living and the low likelihood for graduating college students to find jobs in their fields right out of college. It can be terrifying to actually be stepping into the life that you’ve been waiting and working for.
If you had asked me a few years ago what I plan to do after college, it would have sent me into an internal anxious spiral. The uncertainty of the future was a daunting thought. The truth was, I was torn about every little facet of life after graduation. Do I stay in Texas, or even move back to my hometown? Do I move away and experience a new place? What kind of job do I actually want? However, I began to turn the gray cloud of the unknown into a light at the end of the tunnel.
College has been full of great memories, and a lot of work, but it was all in an effort to achieve my dream. Instead of allowing the negative thoughts to creep in, I began to trust in my work and continue to build on it for the rest of my time as an Aggie. I stopped trying so hard to control my life and decided to cast a wide net and see where life takes me. As cliché as it is, I began to trust that whatever is meant for me will find me. I won’t let fear hold me back anymore and I’ll reach for even my wildest goals. It can be easy to get stuck in the mindset that fresh college grads start at the very bottom and have to claw their way up the corporate ladder, which may end up being your situation, but either way it should not stop you from trying. Confidence will get you far and believing in yourself is the first step to reaching your goals. I will be applying for any job that interests me, even if I am wildly underqualified. It is better to try and fail than to not try at all and miss out on your dream job. After all, the worst they can say is “no,” right?