Today officially marks one month of life as a post-grad! CRAZY! I thought I would commemorate this occasion by writing a “heart to heart” post sharing all my post-grad feels. Buckle up, this might be a messy one.
It feels weird. As heck.
The past 21 years, I’ve measured my life in semesters. It’s so weird that those aren’t relevant anymore! It also felt incredibly weird when all of my friends are driving back to college after the holidays, but I’m still here in Dallas. On one hand it almost feels like I’m being left behind, like when all your friends are going to a party you’re not invited to. On the other hand, it feels really good. Guess who’s done with school, suckers!!
Adulting is hard.
I started a full-time position after graduation, and it’s definitely taken some adjusting to work 40-ish hour weeks. In college, I was so used to having 3-hour class days then having the rest of the day to manage my time how I wanted- studying, working out, hanging out with friends, etc. What I didn’t realize, is that when you work an 8-hour work day, at the end of the day you really don’t want to do much. Half the time I don’t even want to eat out, and end up ordering food in and Netflix-ing the night away.
You also can’t just “skip” when you’re not feeling it. Work is work, and it’s an obligation to attend every single day. (Wait what? I can’t just skip work when I want to? Ew.)
The comparison game is real. Yet again.
After you hit the age where your friends begin graduating, it’s hard to “stay in your lane.” It’s sometimes hard to not compare yourself to what everyone else is doing. So-and-so may have a great job lined up in an awesome city, but I have to continually remind myself that I’m chasing my own dreams, which don’t look like everyone else’s. Your success isn’t determined by the failures of others.
In hindsight, everything is 20/20.
Is that how the saying goes? Honestly, graduating is a pretty hard thing. I see all of my friends in college posting pictures at parties, Snapchatting their roommate adventures.. all the things that I’m not able to partake in on a regular basis anymore. Looking back, it honestly seems like college was the most fun I’ve ever had. And it was! But it’s also easy to remember the struggles that came with it. Graduating almost felt like one of the happiest chapters in my life was closing, and it’s all downhill from here. When I find myself focusing too hard on everything I’m missing out on now, I don’t realize I’m not looking forward to all the exciting things that come with growing up. I have to remind myself, heck no- I’m just getting started!
You already have such a great outlook on post-college life, Summer! 🙂 I don’t mean to sound like your mom with what I’m going to say next (just take it from a fellow Aggie who also LOVED her time in college 😉 ) I wish I could say that all the adulting gets easier, but the rest of your life is every bit as much to look forward to. I couldn’t agree more that college was an absolute blast and there are many times throughout life where I wish I could go back to those days, but you’ll have many more moments that you’ll find you just appreciate more. Even at my age the comparison game is there. It starts with jobs, then it’s who is married and who isn’t, then it’s who has a baby and who doesn’t…it literally never ends. But I love how you said you’re chasing your own dreams, and as long as you believe that then you’ll do amazing things. I love reading your posts! I know it’s tough balancing the 9-5 with your blog and other passions. I fall victim to Netflix and my couch all the time. But keep doing the creative stuff! You’re too good at it not to. Ok, I think I’m done! LOL That’s all the life advice I have for now (not that you needed it). 😉