As the end of our college experience begins to creep up, we all slowly begin to have that panic about if we're ready to graduate or not. Do I have enough experience, jobs, references, interview prep? Am I ready to take on a real person job? Am I even going to get a real person job? Did I do enough? Am I enough? I am here to ensure you that you are more than fine, I promise.
Remember in high school when teachers tried to prepare you for college? "No one's there to hold your hand." "You will have 500 pages to read by the next class." "It's not a slice of cake like high school." "No one will help you, you're on your own." Was that true? No. Yes, college is quite the workload, and yes I'm positive you've had mental breakdowns weekly, or some weeks - daily. But they told you all those things to prepare you, and scare you, so that when college was actually happening, you could sit back and actually realize you're doing it. People were actually in fact there to help. You are not alone, and there are plenty of people to hold your hand. Now as we become closer and closer to graduating, people being to tell you these same myths about the real world. "Good luck, you're screwed." "Have fun, being an adult sucks." "The good life ends once you walk across that stage."
This weekend I was recently at a Career Intensive Bootcamp ran by Bloomsburg Alumni. I wanted to throw up before I went the first day because I assumed every student there would be on top of everything, have way more experience than me, and be way more prepared for the real world than me. I've never had a bigger knot in my stomach and I've never felt more lost and out of place. One of the first events was a panel of alumni, open to questions from us, the students. The very second the panel opened up to questions, a girl shot her hand up and said in a shaky voice, "what do you do if you have an empty skeletal resume with no job experience pertaining to your field? how do you know you're doing enough?" and I suddenly felt a sigh of relief. Other people were just as scared as me. Throughout the weekend and the various workshops, so many questions were asked about not knowing how to interview well, how to have the perfect resume, how to know if their internships have prepared them enough, and how to get the "entry level" jobs that require 1-3 years of experience when you've never had a real person job before. Everyone is scared.
Does that mean everyone will fail to get a job? No. Everyone will be fine. Everything will fall into place. I got countless pieces of advice this weekend, the most frequent one being that everything happens for a reason, and everything will be okay. The transition from high school to college was terrifying, and you were warned so often that you questioned whether you'd make it through, but you turned out okay, and you will soon be walking across that stage for your diploma. That's going to be you in the real world as well. You had the willpower and knowledge to make it through college, which shows you are capable, and you are strong. You will just as easily (and at times not so easily) be able to take on the real world, I promise.
