It has been a little over a year since I officially ended my college career, and looking back on what has happened back then, I am surprised by how much has changed since then. Ten years ago, I did not think I was going to make it this far. Five years ago. I did not think much will change after graduation. Both of those were proven wrong and I could not be any more proud of where I am in my life right now.

My first semester of college was one of the most nerve wrecking times of my life. I did not think I was going to transition properly and even thinking about my future was nothing more than a big ball of anxiety waiting to happen. It absolutely was, and I did not think I was going to pass the semester with a decent GPA. I did end up passing the semester with a decent GPA, but I never had more anxiety attacks or pulled more all nighters than I have during those four months of school.

After I was done with taking classes, a part of me felt a little bit... empty. Not only I was done with a big chapter of my life, but I would have to establish my own routine throughout the day. I no longer had to wake up for classes, go to rehearsals at night, or squeeze in some time to meet up with my friends for lunch on campus. I was on my own from that point on. I did not have a job secured for me, so I still had to take a lot of time out of my day to send my resume to as many job recruiters as I could without burning myself out. It was stressful at first.

Once I was able to get an internship for the spring semester before my convocation ceremony, I was starting to get used to giving myself a routine during the work day and spreading my work out in manageable chunks where I can get my stuff done before the end of the day. Organizational skills was a massive skill I taught myself when I was in college, so I got the chance to put those skills to the test when I was at my internship.

Not that long after my internship was over, I secured a job near the beginning of the school year, and I got to put the skills I learned throughout college to the test even more, since I was in a more stressful environment and lots of unexpected things could happen in the course of one day. I had to be on my feet every single day I was there, which was another skill I had to learn in college. Not everything will go as planned and you should always be prepared when an unexpected situation occurs.

Being one year out of college may not seem like much, but so much can happen in only one year. A new job, a new relationship, reading more books, and many mental health improvements are just of few of mine. I can only imagine how much more will change in the next several years.