If you read my first article ,"Life Before Graduation," you can kind of get a hint at what this article is about. Life after graduation is no longer that "Real World" reality TV lifestyle; it becomes more like the reality show, "Naked and Afraid," where you doing whatever it takes to survive and jump start your adult life. In life after graduation, you do not have that safety net of no responsibilities: everything falls on you and you alone, so prepare yourself for the best roller coaster ride you will ever go on.
Life after graduation is not at as scary as your parents, or your friends who have already graduated, make it seem. You get at least two to three weeks before you start to panic about not having a job, or a clue what you want to do even though you have a four-year degree that points you in all directions. This is the time when you get to cherish and live in the moment of you graduating with your degree that you have worked so hard on. It also provides a little distraction to your grandparents who are pressuring you to make them grand babies, and those relatives always bringing up your relationship status at every family function.
Do not panic about not having that job; good things come to those who wait, but at the same time, sometimes you've got to go and take what you want. I guess its a toss; it's your life, I'm just an old alum, now, who's clueless. Nevertheless, cherish your accomplishment, have a few drinks and reminisce on the good times 'cause the rides just beginning.
You have about two to three weeks; that is when realization sets in that you are no longer college sinks in, when you can not just drink and go out every night with your friends like you used to. That's when it is time to buckle down and find that job and to make a name for yourself, and get ready to branch out from mother and father's nest.
As I sit here typing this, I know you have what it takes to make it because I am just about to hit that two-week realization period when it is time for me to buckle down and branch out from the nest. Although it seems too much to bear at that moment -- trust me, you can handle it. You prepared for the struggle when going through the life before graduation. I've got faith in you. As one recent college graduate to another, we got this.
