Time is ticking and before you know it you will be crossing that brightly lit stage, cloaked in a robe to receive a little piece of paper tied with ribbon.
Are you ready for that? Because I sure am not.
However, I've had a few months to think about it and here are five reasons I have learned why there is no need to freak out about graduation.
1. Having a plan is good, but nothing needs to be set in stone.
Are you graduating from the last chance of education in your life? No. There is always grad school, possibly a PhD program and other avenues of education possible to pursue.
The job you start out with is probably not the job you’ll have forever or even for the next 10 years. Statistics say the average American changes jobs five or six times in his or her life. Keep your options open and your nerves in check.
Graduating without a job is not the worst thing that could happen to you. It is hard enough to keep the job applications flowing while simultaneously managing your life as a student. After graduation you will have all the time you need to really focus in on landing a job.
2. Though you will have more time to zero in on the job hunt once you finish, starting early never hurts.
Even if you are not sure where to apply, doing research will give you an idea of where your degree will get you and where it will not. It will also give you an idea of what places you would like to work and where you definitely would not.
If you feel you should be sending out resumes and applying for jobs, then set aside a time each week to do so. Whenever I put in the headphones and lock my dorm room door, I complete more job applications than ever.
3. Have a little faith in your creator who knows exactly where you will be once you finish.
If He asks you to trust him then he must have something in store for you that is just what school has prepared you for and what he has designed you for.
Picture this, a job awaits out there with your name on it. Now it is just a matter of weeding through the unlikely ones and discovering what you were made to do in this season of life.
4. Many have gone before you and they make the best mentors during the last few months of college.
Think about the most secure and stable person you know. They too, probably once freaked out about graduating from college and wondering, like you, what they would be doing after school. And look where they are now. That too, can be you. So, pursue professionals in your field and talk to them.
Ask for informational interviews to gain a better idea of what you need to do to get where they are and maybe, buy them a cup of coffee while you are at it. Their time is valuable.
5. Finally, enjoy the time you have left. Imagine if all you remembered of senior year was how stressed you were about getting a job.
Don’t you want to remember the good times too? This is your final semester with close friends and a surrounding student body. Make the most of it and finish that bucket list you made freshman year, the one hundred things to do before graduation.
Make good memories and invest in the underclassmen around you. The impact you will have on those who look up to you will go both ways. So, don’t freak out and enjoy the moments you have left.
