Dear Soon-To-Be College Graduate,
Congratulations – you made it through college! Graduation is no longer the end goal that is years away. It is now a very real, and quickly-approaching event. You’re leaving behind tedious classes and a college town you love but have outgrown in order to head off into the proverbial sunset that is called the “real world”. A new adventure is coming up and the rest of your life is finally getting started. You should be so excited, and you are, but…
The feelings that follow the “but” of that sentence feel like they might crush you, don’t they? In the middle of an exciting time, you feel crippled by fear, anxiety and an overall sense of cluelessness. After attending school for 17 years the decision about your next move is completely in your hands. No one is telling you “Next year, you’ll be going to high school” or “After high school, the next move is college” anymore. It is all up to you.
And you’re scared.
It can be hard to identify your fear or it may be screaming at you every single day. You’re scared of failing; failing to pick the right career, failing to excel at what you choose to do, failing to hit all those “post-grad life” milestones you see others hitting. You’re scared of taking the easy way out and not following your passion. You’re scared that you’re not going to find something you love and you’ll look back in 30 years and realize you’ve been living in a fog. You’re scared that you’ll end up in a new town, with a new job and no friends to speak up. You’re scared you didn’t learn enough in school and you’ll be wildly unqualified for everything you do. You’re scared you don’t know how to be a real adult and budget your money or hack it on your own. You’re just scared.
If no one has told you yet (or if the alarms going off in your head kept you from hearing it); it’s going to be okay.
It’s okay if you don’t know what you’re going to do for the next 30 years, or even for the next 30 days. It’s okay that you haven’t got a clue how to manage your finances or schedule an appointment at the doctor. It’s more than okay if you feel unqualified and unprepared. It’s okay if you have a huge fear of failure and you’ve realized you usually play it safe. All of these things are okay.
What isn’t okay is letting these fears run you down and keep you from acting at all. The opposite of fear isn’t inaction; it is looking fear square in the face and acting anyway. Do some real deep soul searching and figure out who you are and what your goals are. That goal may be to apply for your dream job, or it may be to simply send out 25 resumes before you walk across that stage. The “goal” we’re all chasing after is a moving target. Plan for the future but live to bed time. Take it one day at a time and realize that in a year you’re going to look back and see how far you’ve come from the clueless soon-to-be graduate.
Hold on tight to what makes you happy, friend. Don’t be afraid of failing; be afraid of not living. So walk across that stage with your head held high and know it’s all going to be just fine.
Sincerely,
A Soon-To-Be College Graduate Who Isn’t So Afraid Anymore
