If there was ever an unorthodox success story, it would be that of Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso. The Netflix show based on her life "Girlboss" tells the inspirational tale of how an originally uninspiring, flat-out lazy girl found her passion and left her own unique mark on the world. I don't know about you, but having just graduated college and successfully landed zero, zilch, nada, no job at all, I've been feeling pretty close to the original Sophia throughout the first few months of my anticlimactic summer.

However, I recently got some thoughtful advice, had some time to myself to process things (well... okay, a LOT of time to myself considering the fact that I have nowhere to be all day), and honestly, was inspired by Sophia's story. Thinking things over, my feelings on where I'm at in my life have become a lot more positive. So, to anyone else who didn't get a job right out of college, I hope that any negative feelings you might have toward where you're at take a turn for the better as well.

And if they do, I bet you all the money (very little money) I have right now that your journey to a more positive outlook plays out almost exactly like this:

1. Refusing to leave your college years behind.

2. Finally accepting that those years are gone and deciding on how to proceed.

3. Feeling excited about adulthood, a new chapter.

4. Thinking you've devised a fool-proof plan for your future.

5. Realizing you don't know what you're in for, as you scramble to and through your first "big girl/big boy" interview.

6. Getting denied from that first job.

7. Feeling very much the opposite of excited about adulthood.

8. Reactivating your "college years" self or turning into a couch potato because why not, what the hell at this point.

9. Insisting you're an adult but still asking your parents for money so you can enjoy the perks of not having a full-time job.

10. Getting asked, "So, what now?" every time you run into someone since graduating then having to listen to everyone and their mother's uninvited advice...aka opinions.

11. Defensively announcing you know what you're doing even though you now know you'll pretty much be winging things.

12. Watching all your friends get full-time jobs and being half happy for them but also half annoyed.

13. Listening to those friends complain about not having a life anymore and feeling a whole lot better about your current situation.

14. Starting to use the freedom you have to do more of the things you love and less of the stressing over jobs. You're young and free to do whatever you want.

15. Realizing that, as long as you're happy, you're actually doing just fine without a full-time job. Winging it is okay and the right job will come when you're ready for it.

There's no right or wrong way to leave college, no set age when "adulthood" begins, and no chronologically ordered stepping stones to a perfect life. So stay determined, with your eyes set on your dreams and goals, but don't spend the meantime feeling down on or sorry for yourself. As Sophia would say...

“While I truly believe that you must have intentions to fulfill your dreams, I also think you have to leave room for the universe to have its way and play around a bit. Don’t get so focused on one particular opportunity that you’re blind to other ones that come up. If you think about one thing, and talk about it all the time, you’re being too obsessive. You might ruin it. If you let yourself meander a bit, then the right things and the right people fall into place. Some things are worth fighting for—don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely a fighter—but I really think that what is right should be easy."