Many colleges celebrated their commencement ceremonies this weekend, or will do so in the next few weeks. So if you recently graduated, this one's for you.
ConGRADulations, you did it! You now have an Associates/Bachelors/Masters/Doctorate. Your hard work has paid off. That is definitely something to celebrate.
Now that I've been out of school for two years, I thought I would share some of what I have learned with you, a recent graduate.
Enjoy this. You just worked very hard, lost a lot of sleep, ate a lot of cheap food because you couldn't afford anything else, and spent a lot of money to earn this piece of paper, aka: your diploma. Regardless of how you got to this point, you are now in a position of privilege because you have such an education. Revel in this moment and enjoy the great accomplishment you achieved.
For the "traditional" college students (meaning you went to college between the ages of 18-22, give or take a year or two), welcome to your next phase of young adulthood. It's weird. It can be hard to find your place. As a person of faith, I can find it hard to find a place even in church because many "young adult" ministries are actually geared toward 30-somethings who are married and have a child or two. This is another major transition in life and it is not always a smooth one. Keep looking and get plugged in to groups with common interests—like a yoga group or a rec league sport you enjoy.
If you are now looking to start a career, this is the perfect time to perfect your interviewing skills. Luckily for me, I have a good friend from my church who helped reframe interviews for me to start thinking about what the employer is looking for and how to taylor my responses to that. I highly recommend finding someone to help coach you through that. It is helpful to know how to talk about benefits and money, too. While you may be able to stay on your parent's health insurance until you are 26, it is good to know what your new job offers in benefits—health insurance, paid time off, retirement, etc.
Start investing. At my place of employment, they offer a percentage match for an IRA account, so I began saving toward retirement. It is still such an abstract idea to think about retirement, but I have come to understand it will pay off ten-fold.
If you move back home, there is nothing to be ashamed of. You could possibly save so much money by not having to pay rent & utilities. It seems more and more common for college grads to move back home anyway, so no shame in our game!
Ultimately, you have something to be extremely proud of (your degree) and have a bright future ahead of you. Enjoy this time and new life transition and take all the wisdom you can get! So again, conGRADulations!
