When Things Don’t Go As Planned
When you really think about it, transitioning from college to the real world is a bizarre experience and it is difficult to comprehend.
You’ve essentially spent 16 years of your life in school since the age of five or six, and then you’re thrown into the world with really no idea how to be a functional adult. You’ve learned a lot from school about your specific major, but you haven’t exactly figured out the important things like filing your taxes or beginning to budget your spending.
I’m in a similar position that most millennials find ourselves in after college. Moving back in with my parents. For a long time I refused to be that person. I didn’t want to have to move back home and live with my parents when I’ve spent the greater part of four years on my own. But I have accepted the fact that I am one of those people.
Finding a job is harder than it used to be. And for me, I can’t do much with a Bachelor’s degree in my field. It was my choice not to go straight into graduate school for the sake of my own sanity, but now I have to live with that decision. In high school, I had this dream of finishing my undergraduate degree, going straight to a Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology, and doing my postdoc in a children’s hospital. I wanted to do this all without having to go back home at all.
Unfortunately things are not going as planned. I’m moving back home in a couple of weeks after commencement and I do have a summer job lined up. It will help me in the long run and look great on my resume/CV, but it is only for the summer. I don’t have full-time employment to jump into after the summer is over. It’s uncomfortable when things don’t go as planned. People are constantly asking me what my plans are after graduation, and there have been times that I went back home and cried because I honestly did not know. It’s unnerving ending one chapter in your life without a clear view of what’s ahead.
But I am excited for the opportunity to grow this summer. I look forward to using this time living with my parents to save money for the place I will one day need to pay real rent for. I look forward to actually figuring out a budget and learning how to meal plan to control my grocery spending.
This time post commencement will be a time for personal growth. I’m ready for the challenges headed my way.
