May 4, 2018, is Star Wars Day, and I'm definitely going to need the force to be with me because it's also my graduation day. The day I've worked four long years towards will be here in two and a half months, and it's already as scary as it is exhilarating. I've noticed a few things have changed in my life after the reality of graduating finally hit, so here are the five things I find myself doing as graduation approaches.
1. Reading everything I can about being a "real" adult.
So I know I do a pretty good job of being a college adult, but there's a difference between being a college adult and a "real" adult. Like knowing how to do my own taxes and what a 401k is in a vastly different league than working and doing my own grocery shopping. On the bright side, I've found some great articles online that explain how everything works.
I would also highly recommend Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry. She does a great job of breaking down every adult problem into easy to understand solutions and explanations.
2. Taking better care of myself.
This came mostly from the realization that it takes a bit more effort to be healthy as you get older than it does in college. While pizza for dinner every day felt easy to do when college started, and it seemed like an adulthood perk to be able to eat whatever I wanted, now it just packs on the pounds and leaves me feeling blah. And who wants to enter the real world feeling blah from the start?
3. Obsessively saving money.
This one has a simple explanation. I have student loan debt like most of my classmates, and the idea of defaulting on the loans when repayment time starts scares the hell out of me. So this has led to what feels like squirreling away every penny I come in contact with.
4. Continuously checking job listings.
There aren't a lot of job openings in the field I want to make a career in, so I've been checking job sites religiously for the past couple of months. Realistically, I know that getting the job I want may take some time after graduation, but it hasn't stopped the constant Googling!
5. Continually telling myself this is a temporary state.
Whether it's pulling all-nighters, writing paper after endless paper, chugging that 7th cup of coffee, or never getting to visit my family, I just keep telling myself that all of this is temporary and in a few months it'll all be worth it!
