It’s that time of the year when everyone is looking into internships, and the stress of post-graduation plans are starting to loom over our heads. Being at a campus where there are so many talented and intelligent students, it can be difficult trying not to compare yourself to others. Often, I hear the people around me talking about the various job opportunities they’ve been offered, or students securing a job before actually walking across the stage for their diploma. Are you wondering where I’m at with all this? Yeah, me too, but what I do have for a fact is faith that it will all work out.
Growing up, I remember as I was entering a new era, my older peers would confide in me about how it gets better as time went on. Have you ever been told something along the lines of “Middle school holds my favorite memories” or maybe “High school wasn’t the best, but college will be way better, it always is”? I have, and that mentality really started to tear me apart. This was especially noticeable on my first day of college in NYC. Before classes or anything on campus even started, I had so many expectations for what my experience was “supposed to be like.” Shortly after, I dropped out of that school and was extremely depressed, convincing myself that I had failed in every aspect of life.
What I learned from dropping out of college three months into my freshman year, is that we are all on a different path. While I was too busy comparing myself to strangers on the internet, streets and in my classes, I did not recognize that it is okay to not be ready for a life that other people are ready for. That mentality has helped me as I have been constructing my own post-graduate plans. This period in life has helped me recognize that what I want for my life after college is not the same dream that my classmates or even my best friends have, and that is truly special. Some people want to travel the world and not jump into a 9 to 5, while others are ready to get their lives started professionally.
There is no right or wrong way to go about post-graduate plans, all that matters is that you’re doing what is feeding your soul. It is a hard pill to swallow, realizing that after college comes to an end we all start living our own separate lives. No longer having the same needs as before, we are able to start personalizing how to reach our own success. With that, there is not much room for comparison because what we are all aiming for is completely different.
For a lot of students, this will be our first time really putting ourselves out there professionally. If you don’t know what you want to do yet — take a deep breath, and know that everything is going to be okay. Know that it is vulnerable to put yourself out on the line artistically, intellectually and personally. So, as you’re finetuning your resumes and applying or hearing back from any jobs/internships, I ask you to remind yourself one thing. How are you supposed to be good at something that you have never even done before? I wish all of us the best of luck and I know we got this in the bag. Even ten “nos” will not affect us as much as that one “yes,” and yes, we will all get at least one.