The first day of spring has officially sprung, and the dawn of April is upon us. This can only mean one thing: within the coming months, thousands of college seniors will be graduating from their respective schools and entering the next chapter of their lives. For some, this transition is long overdue and evokes feelings of excitement, maybe even relief. For others, this is a bittersweet time, on the precipice of the “real world”, leaving behind the comfort of friends regularity. And then there are others, such as myself, who will likely be dragged off of campus by school administrators, fighting the whole time not to leave.

There are lots of reasons that leaving college will be hard. Probably the biggest struggle will be the fact that I will no longer have access to my best friends at all hours of the day. I will genuinely miss going to classes, and the excitement I feel after a really good class debate. I’ll miss my mid-day naps. And to top it all off, I have nothing to actively look forward to. Unlike my more proactive peers, I do not have post-grad plans. I am the girl who goes to family parties and cringes when asked what I am doing after graduation. I do not have grand offers from grad schools or large companies. I have my beloved summer camp to return to, and then nothing. And that’s alright by me. I know that I am not alone. I know that among the thousands of college seniors who have graduation looming over their heads, there are plenty that are in my same position. No definite plans, unsure of what to expect after graduation, maybe feeling a little lost. I intend to ease the anxiety and pressure of not knowing what comes next because in the past 21 years, I have had plenty of experience with both anxiety and pressure. I realize that even those of us without prospects should have goals and things to look forward to in the coming months. Simple things that you can do even if you’re working at a restaurant, trying to figure out the next step. And with this in mind, I have compiled a set of realistic goals for the unemployed college senior.

1. Move out of your parent’s home sooner than later.

Mom and Dad: It’s been lit. I appreciate that every time Dad makes me coffee, he adds a little Bailey’s to it, and that my younger brothers are all more adept in the kitchen than I am. But I suppose deep down, we all know this arrangement can’t last forever, and perhaps we must rip the band-aid off sooner than later. I’m just one more mouth to feed, and you don’t want to know what I’ve gotten used to eating.

2. Be a regular at a bar or coffee shop.

Have all the employees know my name and order before I even say anything. In my head, they do this because I am so cool and confident in my post-grad life, and have spare change to spend on things like caffeine and cocktails. It’s totally not because I sit at the bar alone every night, desperate for conversation.

3. Own a full set of all seven Harry Potter books.

I have the feeling that my family won’t be giving up theirs anytime soon, and I don’t know what people do for fun if they aren’t reading "Harry Potter". I can just picture the sense of accomplishment that I will feel when I am able to buy all seven books for myself. In theory, you can substitute "Harry Potter" with any set of your favorite books, because owning your own set of books is important. But let’s be real, why would you pick anything besides "Harry Potter"?

4. Wear matching socks again.

I don’t know what goes on in dormitory washing machines, but whatever it is has left my sock collection severely diminished. I feel like it will be hard to get by in the real world if I can’t even wear matching socks. But why stop there? Try for a setting of matching dishware or towel sets. I am of the firm belief that owning matching things is a great way to prove your proficiency at being an adult, making this an excellent goal for the college student without a plan.

5. Get a pet.

Though my ultimate goal is to own up to three Bernese mountain dogs, I think I will have to wait until I have figured out my real life’s trajectory before I can make that a reality. However, I still think it is realistic for recent graduates to acquire a pet of some size to keep them company and provide entertainment. Plus having to care for a living animal can teach good life skills. My recommendation is to invest in a hermit crab.

6. Copy a recipe from one of those culinary time lapse videos.

The ones where a model spends thirty seconds cramming three different kinds of food into a pizza crust and the result looks amazing. I am quite confident that if I attempted to replicate any of these recipes, the result would be disastrous. However, this is what makes mastering such a recipe a good goal. It requires effort and patience and honestly, what else am I going to be doing with my nights?

7. Do your own taxes.

Maybe you've done this before but if not, it's a valuable experience. Not fun or glamorous, but still worthwhile. So adult. Plus, even though it is something that you have to do if you don't like the idea of prison, it still makes you feel so productive. AKA, a great excuse to reward yourself afterwards.

8. Cultivate a lifelong hobby.

Think about how much time we'll have on our hands now that we don't have exams, practice, chapter, meetings, or whatever else you used to fill your time in college. Hopefully a lot newly recovered free time will be spent catching up on sleep, but I'm willing to bet that there will still be extra time for rock climbing or basket weaving or whatever else it is that speaks to you. And no, binge-watching shows on Netflix doesn't technically count as a hobby.

9. Read the news on a regular basis.

Really, everyone should be doing this, regardless of what else they are doing. It is our duty as humans to be informed citizens of the world. There is big, wide world outside of the college bubble, and from what I can tell, it’s a world that needs some serious help. If you are in a position where you have a lot of time on your hands and could use some ideas for what you should do with your future, spend some time reading up on the news.

10. Make new friends (but keep the old).

You may have already met your lifelong best friends in college or even high school, but it would probably be nice to have people that you live near after graduation to hang out with from time to time. I honestly I have no advice for going about making new friends. I don't know how people become friends if they aren't forced to live together or work on group projects. When in doubt, ask someone about the weather and hope that it leads to a deep and meaningful relationship.

11. Maintain basic hygiene.

Shower regularly, brush your teeth, the whole nine yards. Again, this is something that should be a goal for everyone. I’m setting the bar real low here, but I want to underscore its importance. I think it is easy to panic about graduation when you don’t have plans for afterwards because you have nothing to picture yourself doing. I find myself with images of living in my parent’s basement, stringy haired, staring at my laptop and taking online quizzes everyday. Which now that I’ve put it into words, doesn’t sound all that bad. But just because you don’t have a plan right now doesn’t mean that you’re doomed. Take the time to take care of yourself before you panic.

I hope that this list has helped to ease the anxiety of graduating when you don't have definite plans. Remember that we are young and have plenty of time to figure things out. In the mean time, look at how many fun and realistic goals you can accomplish! Not having a clear path does not mean that we have hit a dead end, it means that our possibilities are endless. And I cannot wait to explore them, freshly showered and wearing matching socks.