As I pack up my first classroom, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on my post-university life. Having my college years cut short due to COVID made leaving college behind that much harder. I mean think about it, spending 8 months getting into a new routine, getting sent back home, then spending the next year in isolation, not really being able to make friends until the second-to-last year of university… Not the college experience I had in mind. Not to mention, having my last semester dedicated to student teaching meant not getting to finish the time out with friends or even getting to attend graduation. Granted, I was on Erasmus in Dublin during graduation (an experience I wouldn’t change for the world), but it didn’t give me the closure I think I needed, looking back.

Every time I go on Instagram recently, it feels like, this video has been coming up on my reels. It basically says “you really just finish college on a random Thursday and never look back.” I didn’t realize how true that was at the time, but it really is so accurate. The funny thing is, when I was in college, I didn’t think college life was for me. All I looked forward to was living on my own, being able to travel whenever I wanted, and having my own money to spend. The grass is always greener, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I am living my dream life and I don’t regret a single decision I have made to get here, but there are some things about post-grad life that aren’t talked about enough… That’s where I come in. Welcome to all of the things I’ve learned or experienced in the last year that I didn’t necessarily stop to think about before.

The first, and probably the most difficult is making friends. As someone who grew up in the same area from kindergarten through senior year of high school, I never had to work to make friends. Sure, I went through various batches of friendships, as you do growing up, but I never had to seek out friends outside of school. Going into college, it was a little more difficult, but I still found my friend group, after much trial and error. Post-grad friendships though? I don’t get it. I had definitely heard about this struggle going in, but experiencing it really opens your eyes to how difficult it can be. I envy the people that go into their corporate job with an entire group of fresh graduates and are able to form connections right off the bat. That’s great and all, but outside of work, where tf are people finding all of these friends??? In my case, moving to a different country and starting in a field that most people don’t enter until their mid-to-late twenties doesn’t bode well for forging lasting bonds, but still. Don’t get me wrong, I love my coworkers and I wouldn’t trade their friendships for the world, but having no one in my age group to talk to can be tough. I sometimes feel like I am two different people: the mature, work version and the silly, twenty-something, that is, on the rare occasion when I get to see people closer to my age. I know, I know. You gotta be intentional. Put yourself out there. Blah, blah, blah. Wayyyy easier said than done. In any case, I will keep going to my Run Club in hopes my new BFF comes up to me and strikes up a conversation. After all, I can’t be bothered to talk to new people first thing on Saturday morning…Who do you think I am??

Sorry to start off so negative…my bad. I’ll bring the mood back up.

The second thing that comes to mind about my post-graduation life is travel. Now, I get it. Living in Europe really makes this much easier and way more accessible, but I am a firm believer that traveling post-grad is the best time to do it. I guess not everyone gets teacher holidays off of work, but there are plenty of opportunities for long weekends here and there. Do it!! This is the time to explore and seek out new opportunities. I mean, what are you really saving money for now anyway? Death? I’ll happily spend that on memories in different countries, thank you very much. (I probably do this to a fault, but who cares…right?) I have had such fun solo-traveling moments in the last year. I’m sure I’ll do a full post on my solo-traveling journey at some point, but for now, I’ll say this: book the trip. You don’t need a friend to go with you. I have found I am way more outgoing and meet way more people than I ever would have traveling by myself. You’re never going to have less commitments than you do right now. Take that weekend trip, why not? And never fear. I’m working on the travel recs posts, in case you need some inspiration.

Sorry to dampen the mood again, but it was inevitable. The hot topic post-grad: entering the workforce. Your new normal until retirement. Yay us!! Just kidding, I have mostly positive things to say (after this). In my opinion, entering the workforce is almost daunting in the same way as choosing your dinner or brushing your teeth. You know you’re going to have to do it every day for the foreseeable future and that is scary, to say the least. I recognize how fortunate I am to have found a good job that I love right out of the gate. But, in any case, starting a new life chapter is a lot. New routines, maybe a new city, and as we’ve already established, new friends. Plus you get the added bonus that everyone you know from school is starting new stages of life, most of which are wildly different. You have your professional school friends, whose lives (at least from the outside) look fairly similar to undergrad, your gap year friends, your corporate friends, who are already making more money in their starting salaries than I’ll ever make, and your friends who are getting married and having children. Social media is a wild time, that’s for sure.

Anyways, back to working. Establishing a healthy work/life balance is a challenge, but it is much needed. Not to say you shouldn’t throw yourself into work. I have really tried to learn a lot this year, not only to get better at my job, but also to learn from the aforementioned, fabulous colleagues who have so much to share. As a newbie, everyone knows that you don’t know what you’re doing. This is the one time you almost get a free pass to ask questions and make mistakes. Don’t waste it.

As I grow up, I’m realizing that one of the biggest of life’s lies is that adults have everything figured out. They really don’t. I’m coming to find that the truth is, everyone is figuring life out as it comes at them. Everyone is constantly discovering new things about themselves. Everyone is making mistakes. I guess there comes a time where you just get good at rolling with life’s constant punches. Or at least get good at looking like you are.

So the moral of the story, one year into the real world, is do whatever the hell you want. Everyone else is.

That’s as profound as I can be for one day.

ttyl,

B