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I want to talk you, not tell you what to do.
Life right now may seem a little daunting, maybe even paralyzing, because the last four years have built up to this moment where you thought the doors of your dream job would open and welcome you with open arms and a big check. You thought that you and your friends would still be in touch since you are all on the same playing field, whether it be employed or unemployed, but still getting through together. You felt safe when your professors, bosses, and friends who graduated before you told you that rejections are a part of the first step into adulthood. To keep your spirits up, you scroll through countless articles and YouTube videos about post-grad life to reassure yourself that this shall pass. You are taking up hobbies and learning new skills to pass the time and to keep your mind off of your application updates from LinkedIn. Whatever the case, it can be hard to express to other people, friends, and family alike, what is bothering you and making you feel hopeless in your newfound adulthood to avoid being perceived as weak. Let me tell you, I am here with you.
I graduated from Roanoke College on May 29th, 2021, which is about over 2 months ago at the time of writing this article. I wish I could say that it was a blissful day, but I had this hard feeling in my chest throughout the whole day. Not only because I was dumped just hours before the ceremony (lookout for an article on that *wink, wink*) but that week leading up to the big day was unsettling. I am about to end nearly 20 years of education, structure, freedom, and have to create my identity again after discovering it while in college. At the time and to this moment, my final semester goal of having a job by the time I graduated is still on hold where I am contemplating whether I should have worked towards a different goal like traveling or applying for SummerSpringBoard. All in all, I am just in a state of feeling stuck, behind, like I am doing something wrong. It has to be in my routine to step out of my house and see outside to stay present or else I will mentally spiral which will not help my case by any means. Being asked about my job search is triggering, and being recommended a job by family represents their anxiety of me not working with a questionable degree (I studied communications). I have plans, aspirations, and ideas where I want to work for myself that I can’t share because the best way to ruin your plan is to tell others about it before it is secure.
Can I just tell you that I am with you? Can you know that we are going through the same challenge? Can I convince you that this battle will be won by us? My love, we are in a pandemic and some people graduated before that who have seen the same dim light in our presence. That fact alone is worth being excited for the future as this moment is not going to last forever despite how it feels. We have achieved so much already that instead of looking at this moment as a lull in our young lives, this is a well-deserved break. We both know that 12 years of grade school is nothing compared to four years of college, especially when the work in one semester is the equivalent of one year when you add the emotions and actions behind it. So those four years feel like eight, that break is well deserved indeed. Do you have something you always wanted to do but did not have the time, or avoided it out of guilt because you had an assignment?
I was watching a 50-year-old YouTuber who made a video about why people who just graduated with no job are the lucky ones (link below), and she said it is because as we are actively still waiting to be hired for jobs, we have all the free time in the world to discover something new about ourselves whereas others who got a job right out of college have no time. We might be jealous of them for landing a job in their field, but those same people might even be jealous of us because they wished they took some time after graduation to rest and reset instead of jumping immediately into work. After all, that transition out of college into the “real world” has left them unstable. My love, can you see that there is positivity in our current situation? Right now, I focus on just having a routine. I wake up early, meditate with affirmations, eat healthier, work out, write to release anything on my mind, and plan my next move that WILL benefit my future that I WILL enjoy. Could this be something you want to try? Is making your routine of activities you enjoy something that can help you look forward to the next day?
Are feeling relieved, at ease? Did our conversation make your day? Let me know in the comments. I would love to speak with you again soon.
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