one year post grad: where i'm at now
on may 18, 2019 i graduated from the university of new hampshire with a BS in business administration - concentration in marketing and minor in communications. and honestly, college graduation was one of the best days of my life. was i sad about graduating? of course, i cried for about 3 days straight - just ask my roommates. but finally making it to graduation day was the most rewarding feeling in the world. and one year later, i still can’t believe it.
i started working 2 weeks after graduation. this was a decision i struggled with to be honest. everyone’s post grad experience is different - some graduate on saturday and start work on monday while some take months off before even looking for a job. i mean - we just worked hard for 16 + years to get a degree, that deserves some time off right? but my experience was a bit different because i was an intern in college. for 3 years, i was working part time for this company while i was in school and worked full time in the summers. once senior year came, i wasn’t sure if i was going to be offered a job. obviously i hoped i would be offered a full time position so i’m not going to lie - i was late to the job search because i thought i had it all figured out. eventually, i realized that until i got that offer letter, nothing was final. so in april, i started the job search. i was stressed - i was late to the game and didn’t think i would find the right job. i interviewed at a few places but before i accepted any, i was offered a full time position at the company i was an intern for. one year later, i’m still there as a public relations specialist. and to be honest, i don’t regret not taking time off after graduation before i started working. like i said before, every one is different but i feel as though i was in a good place and felt confident in starting a full time job that soon after i graduated.
i’ve grown a lot in the past year - as a professional and as an adult. and of course i miss college but i feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. in college there is so much pressure - pressure to get good grades, to make friends, to line up the perfect job. and of course i still feel pressure - don’t get me wrong, work can be very stressful. but it’s different now because i can separate my life and my career. in college, that was your life. most days, i can go to work, do what i have to do and that’s that. i don’t have papers to write or exams to study for and that’s the best feeling.
work life balance aside - college is also a lot of bullshit sometimes. once i graduated, i started to learn about who i really was and who i wanted to be. and i learned who was going to stick by my side through it all. in the past year, i’ve had a fair share of friendships fall apart but i’ve also built some really strong life long relationships. in college, it’s hard to know who your real friends are sometimes. and after graduation, i had a hard time accepting that some of these people i spent all my time with in college were never really my friends. but one year later - i’ve realized that everything happens for a reason. the friends i have now are the ones who are always there, who push me to be my best self, and who want to see me succeed. and when you have friends like that - nothing really else matters.
i feel excited about the future. i worked so hard for 16 years to be where i am now and i really feel like i can do anything i want to do. and i know most people say college is the best 4 years of your life - and maybe it was. but i feel optimistic about my future and i’m anxious to see where i end up in life. my advice to the recent college grads is not to dwell on the past 4 years but to be grateful you had that opportunity and to use everything you learned in college to build a life that excites you.
a quick congrats to the class of 2020 ♡ and for those still in college - check out my other blog posts here!
photo by julianna sagliano. https://www.instagram.com/_jesphoto/