POST GRADUATION
Welp, here I am. Graduated, moved back home to Chicago, managing the family business. Can I say this is what I had in mind post-graduation? I’d be lying if I said yes. But that’s okay; I really shouldn’t have anything to be complaining about. I get to be with my family and furry babies, save money, help run our ice cream shop, not rush into a 9-5, etc. Has it been easy moving away from what my life has been the past 4 years? Absolutely not. I was in the sun almost 24/7, I had a busy routine that I seemed to thrive in, and was with people I loved being around. I am not saying that I don’t have any of that here in Chicago, but things, of course, are just inevitably different.
I am not here to dump all my current struggles on you all (not in this blog at least), but more so to talk about what life might look like post-graduation. There is no “right” route to take, we all will have very different experiences and there is nothing wrong with that. I could be wrong but I am going to go out on a limb and say a majority of what we have heard growing up goes a little something like this… “you need to go to college, get an internship, and get a good job right out of college that provides you with all the benefits and will allow you to make enough money to live comfortably enough”. How did I do? Or what about the negative view people have on moving back in with your parents? None of this makes you a failure or a loser, yet so many of us perceive it this way. I always told myself “ I am going to land a super great gig right out of college in the state I want to live in, and I sure as hell am not moving back home”. Yet here I am back in my childhood room not working a 9-5 job. And guess what??? That is more than okay. I might be somewhat of a loser but I don’t think my current situation is the reason for that haha!
If you are in a similar situation, join the club!! Go you, for not just accepting the first job offer you received because you knew it wasn’t the right fit for you. Go you, for saving money. Go you, for taking time to yourself to really figure out what you want to do next with your life. How does that saying go? The world is your oyster. I’m going to be honest, that one has never made sense to me but we are going to roll with it.
So how do you be self-ish post-graduation? Don’t allow yourself to just fade away into your new life. Don’t let work and making money consume you. Make sure you take time each day to stop, breathe, and put yourself first. Maybe that is a warm cup of coffee and a quick few chapters before your long drive to the office. Or maybe that is a bath and a glass of wine before falling asleep at 9pm because now you are “old” and need at least 10 hours of sleep to function the next day.
Even though we are done with college that doesn’t mean that we get a break. If anything we fly even faster into the next phase of our lives, and probably not as prepared as we would want to be. I don’t think anyone is ever really prepared, too many unknowns. And if you are reading this and saying “That’s not true, I was so ready and everything worked out exactly how I wanted it to”, you are most likely lying, but if not then congrats you are not in the majority, here is a cookie! No, but seriously if that is the case then that is amazing and I am sure you too will continue to thrive.
I wanted to keep this post semi-short and sweet because I would rather go more in-depth on certain topics rather than pour everything into one. That being said I am going to shut up now.
No matter your situation, you are going to be just fine. Just focus on the few step in front of you instead of looking so far into the future.
