It’s been three months since you moved your tassel and tossed your graduation cap up in the air.
Oh, and sleeping. Eight semester’s worth of sleep.
Now you look out the window and notice that the sun is just a little lower at 5:00 p.m. than it used to be. You wake up to a slight chill in the air, the leaves turning brown and yellow, and school supplies taking up the aisles of Walmart.
It’s time for school, and you’re not going back.
Pretty strange feeling.
It finally hits you that you’re no longer a teenager; you’re officially an adult, and one in need of a job.
I know firsthand how easy it is to lose your cool. I constantly see high school classmates landing jobs every week. Seeing your former classmates and even your friends get a job can definitely make you feel discouraged, even if you are truly happy for them.
Job application after job application—I think I’ve filled out at least 40 by now (or it seems).
Filling out applications can definitely make you feel stressed out, but don’t let that ruin your postgraduate life.
Here are some tips to help you push through the postgraduate slump:
- Mental, emotional, and physical health:
- Go on an adventure:
- Try something new:
- Don’t sleep in too much:
- Don’t give up and don’t let anyone bring you down:
How you eat can definitely effect how you feel. Drinking cans of soda, bags of chips and too much carnival food only makes you feel happy for 10 minutes. Then you feel like a slug. It is difficult to eat healthy during the summer; between graduation parties, the Fourth of July, and vacation, our bikini bodies are definitely difficult to maintain. Keep your favorite fruits close by and keep yourself active.
Your emotional/mental health is also important. Keep a good balance of being around people and having your alone time. Go out with friends, but enjoy a good book once you get home. Write poetry, go for a walk, and talk to someone if you feel frustrated.
Better out than in.
Staying inside all day will not do you any good. Take trips with your friends, even if it’s just going to the shore. Go camping, take a road trip, or create an adventure within your own area. See if there are any wacky places within two hours from where you live and go visit it! Make memories before you begin working.
Life is going to be full of random, unexpected moments. I’m someone who loves having a consistent schedule/routine. However, changing things up in life actually feels extremely refreshing. Bake something in the middle of the day, take a class, try a new place for lunch, redecorate your room, or take up a new hobby. It’s amazing what you can find when you try to look!
Yes, it sounds weird, the thought of not sleeping in too late during the summer. But think about what will happen if you land a job and need to start waking up at 5:00 a.m. the next week. There is no way to suddenly change your sleep cycle quickly. I’m not saying you need to wake up at 5:00 a.m., but rather than sleeping until 11 a.m., try 8:00 a.m. or even 9:00 a.m. is fine.
It can be tiring filling out so many applications, but giving up is not the answer. Make connections, take a part-time job for a year if you really need to and then start searching again. It’s important to be consistent but you cannot drive yourself up a wall; that will do no good. Also, people around you may encourage you to go back to school, go the route they are going. Unless you truly want to, you don’t have to let people persuade you to do what they do. Other people sometimes think they know what is best for you and sometimes they do—
but not always.
