So, this thing called, adulting...what is that? Well, I could tell you one thing: it was something that was mentioned a few times in school, but let's be honest: We all tuned out the world when topics, such as the "real world", came up in conversation. Or, my two "favorite" questions: "Any plans after graduation? Do you have a job lined up yet?" It was always the white elephant in the room: something that we often ignored and wanted to forget about. Now, it is about three months after graduation and most people are heading back to school while we are either a) starting new jobs or b) sitting on the couch and ignoring the fact that we need a job, which is a very strong possibility for most of us and we are okay with that...at least until our parents kick us out. Yet, the feelings of nostalgia are hitting us harder than ever and some of us don't know how to cope with it, including myself.
Here are 11 thoughts running through the minds of post grads while college kids are heading back to the best four years of their lives:
1. Being In Close Proximity to Your Roommates and Friends
How could we not miss waking up each morning to see our best friends getting ready for the day or staying up late to talk about life with them and not realize what time it was or care that we had an important exam the next day? How could we not miss walking down the hall of our dorms and hanging out with some friends for a few hours?
2. Having No Major Responsibilities
Okay, so we had some responsibilities, like handing in papers before 11:59pm or preparing for a presentation, but nothing that compares to the real world, like paying bills or dealing with taxes just yet.
3. Can’t Say You’re a Broke College Student Anymore
While we were college students, we used to say, "I can't afford this textbook because I'm a broke college student." Yet again, we could now say, "I can't afford to pay for this couch because I am a broke post grad student, but maybe I can put it on my credit card and worry about it later when I am still looking for a job." Thanks America.
4. Only Major Worry: Where are the parties tonight?
Let’s be honest. The only thing that was on your mind on Thursday’s and Friday’s were parties and not that 20 page paper you needed to hand in that day or the test that was coming up in 12 minutes and had 13 chapters on it.
5. Seeing People on Campus
Whether you went to a small or big university, it was always nice to see people you haven't seen or talked to in a while and to see new faces and meet new people.
6. No Job
Maybe I should have looked for jobs during my last two semesters of college instead of... (you can fill in the rest of the sentence).
7. Professors
Sure, you gave us a lot of anxiety and caused us stress, but we appreciate your tough love and being there for us even after you gave us those bad marks.
8. Having Long Winter and Summer Breaks
Probably something that we will miss the most about our college careers. Who doesn't like having almost two months off for winter break and about three months off of summer where we didn't have any worries in the world since we had no school work to drown in.
9. How Everything Was At The Palms of Your Hand
We had it all right there and I don't think we appreciated it until we left it all.
10. The Feeling of Being Lost
Some of us are feeling lost because we aren't going back to school this month and keep wishing it was a year ago or maybe even four so we could start the best years of our lives all over again instead of joining the real world.
11. What Do We Do Now?
After attending school for a majority of our lives, it's hard to know what we do next because it had become so routine to us, but we can't forget that we prepared for this moment, whether we are ready or not.
Even though some of these thoughts may be running through our post grad minds, we cannot forget that we will never have to worry about writing 30 page papers again that took us forever to write only to see that our professors quickly skimmed them or have to study for midterms or finals again, unless, of course, we go back to school, am I right? So let's go take advantage of what the world has to offer because right now, you're in your 20s and we need to take advantage of the most selfish years of our lives!
