I remember I was the one asking my friends the question, “So what are you going to do after graduation?” They all had plans whether it was landing a job, going to grad school, touring the world before beginning work, or some elaborate plan that seemed to have me in awe. But, now, I’m on the other side and I’m the one being asked the question -- and unlike my friends, I don’t have an answer. I don’t have a job lined up, or know if I want to go to grad school, or even know what state I will live in after I graduate. For the first time, I don’t have an answer to the golden question, and I don’t have a plan. My answer to the golden question is always, “I want to keep my head above water.” I’m starting to realize it’s OK to not have everything figured out.
Whenever I start to think about graduation or the idea that I don't have a job currently lined up, I feel like I’m reliving an episode in "Sex and the City" where Carrie Bradshaw tries on wedding dresses with Miranda for the first time, and she begins to feel claustrophobic and starts burning up. She gets so hot and red that Miranda had to rip open the dress to get it off of her. Here’s the clip.
I can’t help but feel exactly how Carrie feels whenever someone mentions graduation. It’s the fear of leaving everything that makes me happy. It means not coming home to my most favorite people, or seeing all my sisters at chapter on Sundays, and it also means fear of the unknown. But if it’s anything I learned leading up to graduation it’s that it’s OK to not have a plan.
In some way, that’s the beauty of it all, and I bet once we are 45 years old and have a career, we are going to wish we were still trying to figure things out, still having the beauty of the world at our fingertips. Yet, it’s an unsettling feeling to have everyone around you seem as though they have it all together except for you. But I’m here to tell you that it’s OK to not know what you want to do after graduation. You aren’t the only person experiencing these doubts or worries.
I have always believed that things fall in place and everything happens for a reason. I believe in it because I have been living proof of the overused phrase. I have bared witness to some amazing things that have fallen into place due to fate. You will find a career and you will find a job after college. Whether that takes more time than you imagined, it is all part of your journey. It is your ambition and determination, your guardian angels up above, God, and the skills you have learned to graduate in the first place that will get you a job and direct you to the place where you are supposed to be. Just because you don’t know what you want to do doesn’t mean you’re lost, it is all part of your journey to get you to your final destination. Enjoy the time off after graduation, work hard to explore different avenues toward a career, breathe and enjoy the ride.
So, the next time someone asks you what you’re going to do after graduation, don’t be afraid to say you don’t know yet. That’s the beauty of it all.
