The Final Days
Many anxieties are attached to college graduation. The “Graduation Blues” are extremely common and perfectly normal. From firsthand experience I found myself constantly wondering, what the heck I was going to do once I got my degree. Would I find a job? Would I have to move back in with my mom? It was terrifying. Being a graduate during the recession, many fresh out of college professionals are stuck pondering how on earth they will be able to pay off the heavy student loans they signed their life away to. Sure the government allows a six-month grace period, but for many, it's not long enough. The stress of the unknown can cause even the most emotionally stable persons mind to go haywire.
Student Life Coordinator, Isa Adney, shared her own personal experience dealing with the "Graduation Blues", and the best way to get past it.
"When I graduated college I cut off all my hair, stopped wearing all the sundresses and sandals I loved so much, and started buying stuffy suits. I lost myself completely and became very depressed very fast. I was the commencement speaker at Stetson University, had won their top graduate award, and was also a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar. I thought after I graduated the working world would be begging me to come work for them - wrong! I became so depressed, lost my identity, and felt like a failure, and wondered if college really did prepare me for the real world."
This happens to many graduates, they expect to receive an amazing job immediately out of school. But that's not reality.
Adney added, "I learned from that experience that I had some misconceptions about what the transition looked like, and assumed I was the only one going through this struggle. The most important thing students need is to hear of others experiences and understand that all great and successful people started somewhere at the bottom."
"I think we have this misconception that once we graduate with this bachelor’s degree we will be offered great salaried jobs. But really, from what I’ve learned from interviewing a lot of successful people in jobs that they love, the real path is exploring what you want to do and getting your foot in the door any way possible," said Adney.
How can I get over the blues?
"The key to helping students overcome the blues is to instill their confidence in who they are, not what they do, and encourage them to explore who they are and let go of the empty desperate pursuit of job status and the "right" career path," Adney said. "Instead, they need to realize that the adventurous, social, free, and engaging life of college does not have to end; much will change, but it doesn’t mean they have to change."
If you are or know someone who is suffering the graduation blues here are some helpful tips that I did to help ease the anxiety.
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Start the job search as soon as possible if you are looking to jump right into the work force. The sooner the head start the better.
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Meet with a professor to make sure your resume is as strong as possible to separate yourself from the others.
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If you're not ready to jump into the work force, volunteer and look for internships that can help build experience for your resume.
And of course, don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back for finally completing the lifelong goal you set for yourself. Understand that life throws us many obstacles; graduating college is one of them that also opens the door to many possibilities.
Are you suffering from graduation blues? What is your HeadDrama about graduation?
