Read

Learning to Accept — and Love — My Post-College Life

Creator:
Published:
May 6, 2024
May 6, 2024
Wondering what to do after college graduation? Read this article to see why you don't need to have it all figured out yet.

Beaming with pride and excitement, you turn to your left and right to share a grateful smile with the friends who have carried you through the last four years. You can’t help but let out a carefree laugh as you toss your grad cap up in the air, watching it soar to unthinkable heights…

…until it comes crashing down, becoming well-acquainted with the bridge of your nose. Oh yeah, and poking you in the eye.

Post-grad life can feel just like a four-corned cap to the face: shocking, a little abrasive, and sometimes unpleasant.

I thought I was really prepared to step into my identity as a non-student. I was fortunate enough to begin my *real* job at the start of my second semester of senior year. I balanced the part-time work with part-time classes, and whenever work got tough, I could rely on the on-campus people and places I had grown to love over the past three and a half years.

I love my job, and in those four months of school and work, I adjusted to it well. So much so that following graduation, nothing felt different. I got up at the same time, drove to work on the same route, and left in time for lunch. The only difference was that when I came home, I traded afternoon classes for another part-time gig.

In those first few weeks, I felt completely unchanged. Frankly, I appreciated the monotony. I was in the same place, with a lot of the same people, working the same job I had worked during school. With frequent trips to see family and friends, I didn’t have time to create an existential crisis about my greater purpose in life. 

Then, something changed. Remember the grad cap I mentioned earlier? It came crashing down again. And this time, it landed with a resounding thud.

“What was I still doing in my college town? Why did I feel so old? Why did I trust any of my own decisions?”

These thoughts infiltrated my brain and left me curled up in a ball of worry on my couch of college-apartment-past.

I moped around for a while until a memory interrupted my spell of self-pity. When I first started my job, I woke up every morning and thanked God for the opportunity to do what I loved.

Somewhere between comparison and self-loathing, I had forgotten how blessed I was to be in my position. I was employed, appreciated, and loved, all in a familiar place. Once I started thanking God for the beauty of my situation, my feelings of inadequacy subsided.

No, I’m not a law student in London or a power-suit-wearing businesswoman in NYC. And that’s okay. Once I started realizing that my path didn’t need to mirror the journeys of my friends and classmates, I felt free to listen to their stories. Heck, I even became a better friend! I could appreciate their experiences without feeling a sense of longing or regret.

The insecurities I had about my job, earnings, and level of success came from no one else but me. Sure, I’m still figuring out what I’m doing, but I’m also actively working towards my goals, trusting in God, and accepting what I don’t know.

That grad cap is now firmly in my hands, ready to be stored away as I take my next steps into the future.

Creators:
Abby Urban
Published:
May 6, 2024
May 6, 2024
On a related note...
What Made Coach John Thompson a Legend

What Made Coach John Thompson a Legend

Grotto Shares

Creating Community Around Catholic Beard Balm

Creating Community Around Catholic Beard Balm

Grotto

5 Things I Did to Make the Most of My Single Years

5 Things I Did to Make the Most of My Single Years

Emily Mae Mentock

Facing the Pandemic as a Single Person

Facing the Pandemic as a Single Person

Grace Carroll

When it Comes to New Years Resolutions, Grounded > Perfection

When it Comes to New Years Resolutions, Grounded > Perfection

Marye Colleen Larme

"Too Many Experts"

"Too Many Experts"

Robert Christian

What Makes ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ an Extraordinary Show

What Makes ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ an Extraordinary Show

Victoria Mastrangelo

This 28-Year-Old Shows Us How to Bear Suffering with Hope

This 28-Year-Old Shows Us How to Bear Suffering with Hope

Grace Carroll

4 Tips for Eating Ethically on a Budget

4 Tips for Eating Ethically on a Budget

Caitlan Rangel

It’s Not Easy Being First — Here’s How to Take the Leap

It’s Not Easy Being First — Here’s How to Take the Leap

Molly Cruitt

How I’m Rethinking the Ease of Disposable Items

How I’m Rethinking the Ease of Disposable Items

Clare Rahner

We Need to Let Nature Triumph

We Need to Let Nature Triumph

Patrick Cruitt

How an Engineer Finds God in Nature

How an Engineer Finds God in Nature

Grotto

An Easy Guide to Writing Meaningful Thank-You Notes

An Easy Guide to Writing Meaningful Thank-You Notes

Ellen B. Koneck

If You Grew Up with Divorce, You May Still Need Healing

If You Grew Up with Divorce, You May Still Need Healing

Dr. Daniel, Bethany Meola

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

6 Ways to Keep Learning After College

6 Ways to Keep Learning After College

Evan Holguin

St. Bernadette Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

St. Bernadette Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

Why Introverted Leaders are Not a Contradiction

Why Introverted Leaders are Not a Contradiction

Jessie McCartney

This Poet Uses Her Christian and Potawatomi Heritage to Share Beauty

This Poet Uses Her Christian and Potawatomi Heritage to Share Beauty

Grotto

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.