Walking out of the stadium at graduation is simultaneously
exhilarating and terrifying. It’s the ultimate manifestation of your
accomplishments thus far and the real life equivalent of being pushed off a cliff with your survival contingent on your ability to pay rent and having the self-discipline not to use a fork for cereal when all the spoons are dirty. All of those #adulting moments you had in
college are small feats to the daily do’s and dont's of actual adulthood that
you can only learn through experience or a marathon of
Breaking Amish. Post-grad living is everything you were told it would be and nothing you could have ever imagined; so we brought in our girl, Mindy Kaling, to paint a picture of what it's like for a twenty-something college grad figuring out how to be a functional member of society.
In the days following the "g-word", you break out into the real world with a “New Chapter, New Me” attitude. You promise yourself that you'll do your laundry more than once a month, start taking a multivitamin, and cut down midnight pizza to only three times a week.
But you quickly realize the real world is harsh and unforgiving.
You find that your college wardrobe isn't quite appropriate for the professional world.
As well as the unfortunate reality that you can't just skip class when you go a little too hard on a Thursday night and must attempt to conceal the hangover for a full 8 to 10 hours.
But you're not one for quitting, so you say "challenge accepted" and take on the trials and tribulations of adult life head on. Like feeding yourself, for example.
Or finding innovative ways to get yourself out of sticky situations.
And most importantly, embracing your newfound self-awareness.
Because having a full-time day job means less homework, more me-time.
Maybe a little too much me-time.
Mainly because you're no longer surrounded by 50 of your closest friends at any waking moment to accompany you whenever you make a late night CVS run, attempt to make a cake for your coworker's birthday, or stream a foreign chick flick when the Seamless delivery guy has the same exact Jordan's as your ex.
Eventually, all of the recently acquired time with your thoughts allows that little nagging voice in the back of your head asking you what the hell you're going to do with your life to turn into a full-blown identity crisis.
But finding yourself is all a part of the journey, right?
It comes with learning to manage your money.
Because college did little to teach you about basic finance lifehacks. Like credit.
And taxes.
So to avoid having $12.37 in your bank account come Monday after a weekend of bottomless brunches, you learn to use your resources to get creative and make sure you don't starve before your next paycheck.
Doing whatever it takes, really.
Over time, all of these experiences and plethora of self-help articles you've read in your free time have made you a life-advice guru
That still makes mistakes from time to time.
But at the end of the day, you know that the only way to get to where you want to be is by learning to trust yourself. And Oprah. And sometimes Dr. Oz.
Even if it means giving yourself a much needed peptalk every morning and before you attempt to cook without a panini press.
Because a little confidence and a bi-daily dance party go a long way in the real world.
