I begin looking at my planner and counting down the days – one more month. In one more month, I will be a college graduate. I will have my undergrad in Business Administration and my minors in Economics and Finance. I will also be going to work full-time at the office.

With these thoughts, I slowly become anxious. I have spent my whole life dedicated to education and studying, but after graduation, I will have ample time. I wonder what I can do with this extra time. I have always been someone that liked to stay constantly busy, but with a major portion of my life now completed, it will definitely be different.

I have learned that college was the easy part – adulthood is the challenge. The reality of adulthood has finally set in – managing finances, developing work routines, and now going to bed at a decent time. As this time vastly approaches, I have three key steps that is vital to any graduate:

1. Budget
2. Goals
3. Adult Life

Even though I am a Finance Minor, it doesn’t mean I am prepared to embrace my new life as a college graduate. One thing that changes is the fact that I will now be making a decent salary, which could potentially lead to trouble. The key for this to not happen is to budget!!! Budget everything – food, transportation, bills, loans, the list goes on. This is will slowly get you moving towards being an adult as well as giving you some financial security.

Goals have always been a big thing for me. I am a big list maker, which can often get me overwhelmed. I have learned to make short-term as well as long-term goals. Choose five things to accomplish in one month and one thing to accomplish in a year. You will be surprised how much this will affect your life.

Being an adult is hard, but leaving behind your college life is the worst. When entering into the real workforce and moving on with life, you often have to leave behind the college friends – the ones that party too hard/are living off of their parent’s paycheck. These friends can definitely get you in trouble. In college, it was all fun, but as an adult going to work, a hangover is not the best idea.

Now as graduation approaches, I feel a little more prepared. I am beginning to embrace how life will be upon graduation and the fact that I might lose friends as we go our own ways. College was definitely hard, but it was only the beginning.