1. Everything changes.
GiphyA lot of people tell you that everything will be so different after you graduate and I can tell you that they are 100% right. Not everything will change all at once, but you'll begin to notice little changes as time goes on. Friends become busier, bills become more important than going out and blowing $100 at the bars, but one thing really changes; priorities. You become caught up in adulthood and looking for a job becomes more important than anything else in your life. No, we don't get our dream job right away, but we take the first leap of faith into the grown up world and get a job that keeps us afloat so we can dream bigger and find what's out there for us.
2. Relationships still aren't easy.
GiphyI figured after I graduated, finding a solid relationship would be easier for me since I wasn't drowning in homework and papers and student teaching. I was oh so wrong when I thought that. Things actually for harder because now I didn't have classes to meet boys in, I didn't have a campus to walk around and find someone; it was just me, working three jobs and living with a dog and a cat. Don't get me wrong, I've had a few relationships since I graduated, but nothing too special. I always want someone to stick with it for the long term and I seem to still navigate towards the boys who only want to hook up and talk about going to get drunk every weekend. They aren't easy, they were never meant to be so why would growing up change that?
3. Life is hard.
GiphyIt's not always rainbows and sunshine. Sometimes it's working three jobs and barely making enough to pay you bills and you get behind, trust me. I have been there. I have answered many student loan calls and have had to explain to them that I need to pay my rent and get groceries before I am able to pay them and they don't always seem to understand that concept very well. It's hard, but I promise that things will get better. Maybe soon you'll only have that one dream job, maybe you'll meet the love of your life and get married and then have two incomes to take all of the pressure off, and who knows, maybe you'll get lucky using your last $5.00 on pull tabs. Things get tough, but we are tougher.
4. Sometimes there just isn't enough money.
GiphyI never imagined that even after graduating college and having a degree; I'd be working three jobs. Money is everything; rent, bills, internet, your food, all of it. I can't remember the last time I went to the grocery store and wasn't afraid to swipe my card and purchase things that I knew I needed. I am the person who will eat literally nothing for days because I am terrified of spending money and having nothing. Bills can suck the life out of you, you can feel like you're finally going to make it and be able to buy that new pair of shoes or the pair of pants you've been wanting and then something will happen and all of a sudden you see $4.98 in your available balance and you want to die.
5. Family is everything.
GiphyIf I have learned anything in my entire life, it's that family will always support you no matter what. They are there for you through your highest highs and lowest lows. They are everything.
