Post Grad Preparation
Dear college graduates,
First and foremost, congratulations on your many, many accomplishments. You’ve overcome sleepless nights, endless turn-ups, and hundreds of lectures. You’ve survived the lows to enjoy the highs. You’ve learned some valuable life lessons and hopefully, you’ve had the chance to experience some type of growth from freshman year until now.
Now let's dive into this post-grad life.
The high of graduation is unmatched. The love and support from family, friends and even strangers feel endless until you’re hit with the reality of everything that comes next. I always wonder do you, college graduates, feel like you were prepared for the post-grad life? Like honestly and truly? When I say ready, I mean ready to completely step into the real world, while actually utilizing a degree or at least some of the skills you just spent thousands of dollars obtaining?
The time period right after graduation is a very sensitive time for graduates. It can be described as a post-grad depression period. This period or phase usually exists when individuals feel as if they were not prepared or ready for what comes after graduation. People experience break-downs, unhealthy eating habits, irregular sleep patterns, and a lack of self-confidence. Many people began questioning themselves and their purpose, especially when you see the people around you getting jobs, buying cars, moving to different cities, etc.
I think the hardest pill for most graduates is not having a job straight out of college. It is even harder not having a job in your career field. You’ve spent years working tirelessly only to be back at home (which for some people this is okay, and that is okay), working at the same place you were when you were 18, 19, 20 without a degree. On top of the struggle to find a job, you have soooooo many decisions to make and this can cause an uncanny amount of stress on most people. It honestly gets overwhelming. You constantly have to think about your next move and ways to get everything in order.
As graduation approached for me, I remember battling with different emotions and stress. I had to ensure that I was reaching my own personal goals while also ensuring that I live up to the expectations of others. But, if someone was to ask me "What are your plans after college?" I honestly, didn't have a solid answer. Many people would look at me and think that it's not okay for me not to know what I want to do. However, I was working on growing into the person "I" wanted to be and focusing more on what made me happy rather than living up to the expectations. I had to realize MY decisions affect me and my happiness more than anyone else.
So the constant questions and concerns about my “next move” really made me wonder "What is success?"
When I hear people talking about being successful it seems as if materialistic possession measure success. But I knew that's not how I wanted to measure success so I googled the definition of success.
Google defined success as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose & a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity. The definition listed above is very true but my freshman year of college I found a quote by Maya Angelou that has been posted on my wall for 3 years while I was in college. The quote reads: "Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it"
Now, this forced me to create a definition of success specifically tailored to my life. Success to me is being able to live comfortably (fully furnished living, bills being paid on time,etc.), the ability to travel WHENEVER I please, able to provide for my family when needed, pay tithes, own 2 businesses and being able to give to others in need. If I am able to do each of these without hesitation then I am in fact successful in my eyes.
My definition of success may not seem like much to others and that is fine because YOU define your own level of success.
I've learned though that becoming success takes the following:
Being creative and coming up with ideas, even if they sound crazy. Don't be afraid to think outside the box or the norm. Set goals and don't just say them, write them down as a reminder that you set this goal for yourself. Don't be afraid of failure and if you do fail to learn from your mistakes. Figure out what can be done differently so that you can succeed at whatever the task may be. It is also very important to make connections and network. It is easier to relate to people you know personally who've become successful rather than looking at someone like Beyonce or Bill Gates and trying to become as successful as them but you can't really relate to them.
Here’s some advice for any upcoming or recent college graduates:
Take it all one day at a time.
Do NOT compare yourself to others
Do what makes you happy or what works for you
Take chances/risks and go hard for EVERYTHING you want
Be patient and don’t rush anything
Expand your network as much as possible and use all available resources
Keep your resume updated and apply on websites such as indeed, LinkedIn, and usajobs.gov