The Post-Grad Blues

Let me learn you a thing or two about being a fresh grad. For most of us, it sucks. We are sold the dream of going to college, getting a job that pays poorly and living with crippling debt well into your 40s. At least that’s the nightmare I hear from so many graduates.

Let’s keep it real college is not my favorite place in the world to be, but I think I would take it over adulthood any day. Quite frankly, it sucks. Looking for a job is not easy, everyone wants you to have experience but no one wants to give you the chance to learn, (internships apparently aren’t good enough for some people). It can be very frustrating and to be quite honest with you and myself, I am not transitioning well.

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After college, I thought I’d feel relaxed and for a while I did, but continuously being at a job I hate with so much free time when I’m not there started to take a toll on me, and it still kind of does. My anxiety got so much worse after graduation, I still woke up several times in the middle of the night thinking I would be late for class or thinking I had an assignment due. Sometimes I feel like college gave me PTSD.

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So in my opinion if you’re having trouble transitioning from college to the “real world” as they call it, here are some suggestions that I would give. Obviously not everyone will be able to do these things. Some people aren’t financially stable enough, and some people just can’t break out of their comfort zones.

Big. Fat. Mood.

First thing I did was get a therapist. Oops. Yeah I said it, a therapist. There’s no shame in seeing one. It’s very helpful. Your mental health is so important and so many people let it go unchecked. Don’t be one of those people. Sometimes saying your problems out loud to someone who can give you an unbiased piece of advice on that problem, can be more helpful than you think. I see mine once a month and I’m a lot better off than I was when I first walked in her office I’ll tell you that. And don’t let a parent or family member or even a friend discourage you from going and definitely don’t let your pride get in the way of going either. Listen to your mama, and by your mama, I mean me. I just adopted you, now do as I say.

If you have the free time, enrich yourselves dammit. When I saw this “finding a job” crap wasn’t working out at the speed I was expecting it to, I decided I might as well use this free time to enrich myself because who knows when I’ll ever have this much free time again. I started taking singing lessons again, I started taking acting classes (and am actively looking for an agent) which is something that was way out of my comfort zone. I joined a gym, finally. I took business classes at the local incubator (learned a lot) and I am taking photography classes. I started my business Instagram, I’m starting a crime podcast and clearly, if you’re reading this, I’ve finally gotten off my ass and started my blog. I’m even getting my feet wet in the world of PR without having an agency job (shoutout Michelby Whitehead). I even had a garden for a short while before the sun killed all the flowers and corn I had growing in it.

While still actively looking for a professional job, I’m managing to focus on myself and what I want to do and also slowly building up my own brand. Who would’ve thought this free time would be good for something? So maybe it’s not such a bad thing, I mean yes, I am still stuck at my wack job, but this is just a stepping stone to getting where I want to be, right? Hopefully so.

The last thing I would suggest, which is something that I am learning the hard way, is to be patient with yourself. Even though it sucks. Like why can’t everything just happen overnight the way I want it to? Geez is that too much to ask? Everything clearly won’t happen the way you think it will or want it to and that definitely doesn’t make you a failure. Just take care of yourself and hang in there.

So wherever you are on your post-graduate journey, I hope you find your way and I hope you find yourself along the way. I also hope that you’re able to find what you truly want to do and do that for the rest of your life.

Okay folks, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.