Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash
Graduation is such a bittersweet moment. On one hand, you’re moving on and taking your first steps into your adult life and professional career. On the other hand, you’re leaving behind your friends, the college lifestyle, and the security of being a full-time student. As a senior in college, I am currently going through the anxiety that comes with the thought about what my post-grad life will look like. Will I find a good job? Will I like my job? How will I make friends living in a new city?
To help ease my anxiety I’ve been asking people who have graduated from college recently how they have dealt with the stress and anxiety that comes with graduating. Here is some of that advice:
1. Live in the moment.
Life is too short to worry about the future, so live in the now. Focus on having fun with your friends and savoring your last year as a college student with little to no responsibility.
2. Reflect on your time in college.
Graduating from college is a major accomplishment and not a lot of people take the time to think back on how they got there. Before you graduate, try to set aside some time to truly think about how much you’ve grown since freshman year.
3. Stop comparing yourself to others.
One thing you will learn in life is to stop comparing yourself to others. Not everyone graduates college at the same time, not everyone knows what they want to do right out of college, and most importantly, everyone doesn’t succeed at the same time. People live their life at different rates, some will simply figure it out sooner than others.
4. Get a hobby.
Having a hobby as an adult is so important. Not only will it keep you busy and get you out of the house, but it can also help you relieve stress and anxiety. On top of that, having a hobby will allow you to meet more people who are interested in similar things and can help you make friends.
5. Trust the process.
This is one of the most important pieces of advice I have gotten. If you take anything away from this it should be to learn to trust the process. This may be easier said than done, but it can be so relieving to simply trust that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.
When all is said and done and you’re getting ready to walk across the stage, just remember to take a deep breath, savor the memories, and trust the process.
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