Before I graduated college, I spent a lot of time researching and reading anything that I could get my hands on regarding my transition to the “real world.” I read some horror stories, some too good to be true stories, and everything in between. Now that I’ve been working full-time for one month, I thought it might be fun to share some of the things that I’ve learned, things that I’ve struggled with, and things that I love about being a young professional.
1. I think the best part of no longer being in college is that once you leave work for the day or week, you are done. There is no homework to do, no meetings, no clubs, etc. You can use your time exactly as you want to without feeling guilty that you’re slacking on some other commitment. This isn’t quite the case for me yet as I have spent the past month studying for an upcoming test, but I imagine that it will be great.
2. Sometimes you will feel like you have no idea what you are doing and that’s okay. I struggle with this on a daily basis. Sometimes at work I feel like a 5th grader would be more helpful than I am. I ask as many questions as I can and try to educate myself when I have downtime, but I still feel like I am behind. I constantly have to remind myself that most of my colleagues have been working the same type of job for years and years – so obviously they are more knowledgeable than I am! It’s easy to start feeling flustered and get in your own head about this type of thing. I’m hoping this resolves itself in time.
3. I have already lost touch with 95% of my college friends. Not completely, but we don’t catch up nearly as much as we used to. It’s very easy to get caught up in your day-to-day work routine and let relationships fall to the side. This can make you feel extremely lonely (especially if you are living in a new area). I think in the long run this will be a good thing though. It helps you determine who you are willing to put in the work to maintain a friendship with, and who is willing to do the same for you. As I get older, I would much rather have a few very close friends than tons of just okay friends.
4. This life is exactly what you make of it. That seems really deep, but I find myself thinking about it more and more lately. There is nobody else to blame if I am unhappy with my job, myself, or my life in general. You have to put in the effort to create the type of lifestyle that you want. It’s very easy to get stuck into a routine of going through the motions – getting up early, working all day, coming home to have dinner, laying on the couch until bed. Of course, sometimes this type of day is exactly what you need, but for me at least, this doesn’t seem like living intentionally (one of my New Year Resolutions). I want to create healthy and fun lifestyle habits that I can carry over to my future family someday. I want to create a habit of doing at least one active thing each day and cooking dinner every night. These are two things that I have chosen to focus on for now, but I’m hoping to add more in the future once these things become the normal for me.
Overall this is probably the hardest adjustment I have ever gone through, and I would bet that is true for 99% of college graduates. It’s important to remember that everyone goes through it at some point and things will get better. I’m hoping to create a mini-series on this topic, so look out for more of my thoughts on the post-grad transition coming next month. 🙂
xo,
Jaclyn
1. Be more INTENTIONAL