*The usage of 'you' phrases is not to scare, but to provide honest perspective*
It has been a month since I graduated from Castleton University, and I must be honest and say that this is definitely the weirdest time of my life at the moment. It's almost like that awkward growth phase of puberty. You know, when you're 13 years old, blossoming into the years where you're trying to figure out who you are, but you are also being treated like a child? Tack 10 years onto that. That's kind of what being a college graduate is like at times.
On one side of the coin is the fact that you're a 22-, 23-year-old person; a person who is legally about 5 years into adulthood. However, because you have spent 15 years of your life in the academic system, you now have to grasp onto this new phase of your life where you have to figure out so many things at once, due to the incredible amount of pressure that was put upon you to do so for the past few years. Jobs, where to live, personal relations, maybe even graduate school. But above all else, you're once again trying to figure out who you are. First you thought you were done doing that in high school, until you got to college. Then about halfway through senior year, you found that you were a different person, and you think to yourself, Okay, cool. I got this shit figured out. This is who I am.
But once your schedule doesn't include classes and meetings with professors, hours of studying, homework, and campus events, suddenly the days feel emptier. Your social life is different now because you are no longer around the same people as much as you were in school. You have now reached a new level of independence, and when that happens, you face the challenge of finding yourself for the third time.
A significant contributor to having to figure out who you are, yet again, is the other side of the coin. Remember how I said that during puberty, people would still treat you like a small child? Well, same principle; except now you've upgraded to being treated like a teenager. And really, you already have experience in this from the countless family gatherings when you'd be questioned about what you're studying and just how you plan on using that degree. But the questions become a little more brooding: "So what's next?" or "Do you have a job yet?" or even "How's that degree?" These are the questions you've prepared for.
What they don't tell you about being fresh out of college and becoming a full-fledged adult is that you will be questioned and challenged based on your age. In the adult world, a 20-something is almost comparable to a baby. You'll have your personal convictions and beliefs challenged by people who believe that their age, education and their many years over you automatically discount any amount of education or experience that you have. This will definitely make you question yourself; but make no mistake, this is actually a good thing. It'll make you into a more self-aware person in the long run.
My advice to all prospective college graduates is this: It will suck (I'm not here to lie to you). But it won't suck forever. Yes, identity crises are scary. Trust me, I've had plenty of them. But you have to let it happen. We can only get through the rough times by facing them. So question yourself. Think critically of all sides of a story, politics and social issues. Think critically about the world around you, because you are now an even bigger part of it.
It won't happen overnight. This will take time, just like puberty. But in the end, you'll be your best self and living your best life because of it.
