5 Things You’ll Feel After Graduating

Life after graduation is a whole new ball game. College graduation is an exciting time but one of the many things I’ve learned after graduating is that graduation also comes with so many mixed emotions.  Here are five things you’ll feel after graduating.

Excitement

The feeling of excitement is a given. After four years of tests, anxiety and sleepless nights it feels amazing for all the work to finally pay off, for all the testing to be over and to finally look ahead to four months of summer and weeks of graduation parties.

Doubt

Even after you’ve worked hard to make it this far ( perfect GPA or not), self-doubt is a feeling that’ll creep up on you.  Graduating is an accomplishment, It’s not always easy financially or mentally, but even putting in all the effort and coming this far comes with a thread of doubt. Personally, I had so many questions on whether the experience was worth all the money, if  I’d chosen the right program, or if would I be able to get a job in my field.

Peter Pan Syndrome

Not being ready to grow up is a real struggle.  I was also someone who had an amazing university experience, I did well in school, joined various extracurriculars and started a successful website. This made me so afraid of moving on from university life because I believed that university might be the peak of my life and I wouldn’t be able to have all these great experiences outside of it.

In university, I had a measure of responsibility, but I also enjoyed a flexible schedule at school and my places of employment, student discounts etc. Nothing prepared me for the first phone call from the student loan agency asking for the first installment of my student loans when my amazon prime switched from 40 to 90 dollars and my Spotify premium became full price again. All this made me miss the controlled environment, the predictability of college life and the student discounts.

Confusion

Confusion as to what’s coming next is normal. For the past four years, everything you’ve done has been on a schedule. School starts every year in September, spring break/reading week happened the same time every year, finals came around every semester and summer breaks always last four months. Once you graduate, this schedule all goes out the window and it can be such a difficult time trying to figure out what your new normal should be.  Just take it one step at a time, create a list of what you’d like to do and figure out the little steps you’d have to take to get there.

Feeling Left Behind

When I moved to my university town 4 years ago, I knew no one. However, I realized everyone I met was in the same boat as me. We all came from varying parts of the country and we were all excited to live the university lifestyle. In the years to come, we cried together, laughed together,  shared memories and made a life together. Once we all graduated, I got a job in the same town as my university,  but all my friends moved to varying parts of the country for grad school, jobs, travel etc and It became a really lonely time for me. At the same time, I was watching people from high school on social media (which is never a good idea!) traveling the world, getting better jobs and living what seemed to be their best lives and I felt like I wasn’t going anywhere. However, I have since realized that everyone has their own journey and they are feeling the same confusion, loneliness, and uncertainty as well. 

It’s a new phase for everybody. It might take a bit of time but keep moving and keep an open mind for what’s to come. It’s a new type of normal filled with so much possibility.

 

Comment: What are some things you felt once you graduated?