Spring semester/quarter has either just started or is going to start soon and that's great. Oh, you non-graduates. I remember those days. *pats your head both indulgently and condescendingly* I’m totally kidding, of course. I’ve mentioned this before, but I was part of the minority which finished college in December. In fact, I just had my commencement ceremony this past weekend. And I’m going to be really honest: it’s a little weird to be sitting here, job-hunting instead of getting ready for another semester of the education system which I’ve been part of my entire life.
I can’t be the only one feeling like this, but it sometimes feel like it. In an effort to band together the few of us newly grads and to inform last-semester seniors of what’s coming (or what they missed by graduating in the spring, like the typical college student), I have compiled a list. Surprise!
You know you graduated in winter when...
Everyone keeps asking you when you’re going back to school.
You suddenly feel really out of the loop because people are all back in school now and you’re... not.
Your senior friends are all complaining about their last semester and you’re like, “Been there, done that.”
You have to be an adulty-adult.
You move back home to find out that you don’t really belong there anymore.
You've changed, but people don't really understand. They expect you to fit into the same hole you left behind when you first went to college. You can't, no matter how hard you try.
You go back to campus and realize you also don’t belong there.
Grad school applications are a thing.
You JUST GRADUATED and you're already thinking about grad school for a couple of reasons: 1) A Bachelor's degree is like what a high school diploma used to be. It's good, but not good enough anymore. 2) You've been in the education system your entire life. It's safe and familiar.
Not being able to say you’re a student anymore so now you’re just “unemployed.”
Ouch, doesn't that sound sad?
Unless, of course, you were smart and secured a job before you graduated.
Fielding ALL the questions about your plans for the future.
All of your friends are still in school (or working).
“So...did you graduate early or take an extra semester?”
Does it really matter?
Still needing to come back to school for spring graduation so you can see all of the friends from your class graduate.
All the jobs available right now are for retail, food, or require 5+ years of experience.
When was I supposed to get that experience when this job also requires a bachelor's degree?
But hey, at least you can finally sleep.
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And if you want more relatable stuff about being almost done with college, I wrote an article about things people should stop saying to college seniors.
