It’s hard to believe that it was just over a year ago that I graduated from college. Now that I am an official old-person, real-world member, I was able to have the privilege of being on the other side of graduation this year to watch some of my friends get their master’s degrees.
And, I have to say — it was kind of a momentous experience for me. One, it was better because I didn’t have to be at the arena 2 hours before the ceremony started so getting to sleep later was a bonus (sorry friends). But in addition to that, I did something crazy; I listened. Like, I paid attention to the people who were speaking and then reflected on it. That is a marked change from the previous year when I spent the ceremony texting my friends across the floor and sending “this is my bored face” pictures to my mom in the stands (I know, my maturity knows no bounds).
Plus, it got me thinking about what it’s like to be a recent grad again. I know, I know, I was in their shoes all but a year ago so it’s rather soon to be reminiscing, but regardless my brain went down that path and who am I to stop it? (Well, I guess I would be the one to stop it since it’s my own brain and all but…I had a point here didn’t I?)
Anyway, what was crossing my mind was remembering how many thoughts were running through my head on graduation day. (And there were a lot of feelings. So many feelings, and I don’t cope with feelings well). First, of course, I was excited because after four years of hard work, I finally had this marked accomplishment for all my efforts. But in addition to that, I also thought about all the pressure that comes from graduating. Everyone wants to know what you’re doing next and sometimes that question isn’t easily answered. And when that happens, it sort of feels like you’re failing; that, even though you’ve made this huge accomplishment, it doesn’t matter unless you have your next twelve steps figured out.
This is impossible. Sure it’s nice to feel like you have it all together, but what does that really mean? Does it mean having your dream job and an apartment and living in a big city making tons of money? I’ll give you a spoiler, friends: that’s not going to happen — at least not right away. So why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to accomplish the impossible when we’ve already accomplished so much? Obviously you can’t sell yourself short once you graduate, but you don’t have to make a lifetime’s worth of accomplishments within your first year of graduation.
As you graduate — whether it be from high school or college or your week at summer camp — remember that it’s okay not to have it all together. You have plenty of time to grow and figure out what to do next and besides, what’s life without a little mystery anyway?
Written by Laura Sestito. Laura is the Production and Editorial Coordinator at NextStepU and a graduate of Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y. She is currently struggling to be a “real” adult.
