I remember when I was in my final year of university or college as our American friends like to put it. It was a busy time but it was also a worrying time. I remember commenting to a friend of mine at the time "When I think of what life might be like after I graduate - it just feels like a big black void!" I remember him saying he thought the same. Little did I know that my post college life would take me to Sweden for 8 years but such is the unpredictability of life!
I realize that most people wont be graduating for another five or six months but it pays to think ahead and not just drift along. Life for a lot of graduates is going to change and I believe if you follow the following tips you will be in a better state to handle the transition into a new phase of your life.
1) Take at least a year off!
You have just spent the past few months studying for finals, locked in a library or study room somewhere - Get out and get some air. Take some time to yourself and see the world! You have spent the first part of your life following a set path dictated to you by your peers or your parents. Now it is time to go out and find out who you really are. Spend a year to "catch your breath". You have your whole life to work in a 9 to 5 job! Take a step back from your life to make sure you are on the right path for YOU!
2) Travel the world.
Travel does broaden the mind! I realize it takes money to travel but try and find opportunities where you can earn money in a different country.You could do charity work! What about the peace corps or some such charity organization? Do some foreign aid work but do something that will allow you to see a bit of our world outside of what we are used to. Experience a different culture. Remember where there is a will there is a way - so even if you don' t have much money there are ways to fulfill this goal.
3) Don't let other people tell you what you should now do.
Perhaps your parents have expectations of you to go to medical school or to go work in Acme inc. Perhaps your friends will scoff at your aspirations to travel and say things to you like "Boy house prices go up and up... You should get a well paid job and buy a house... settle down... What do you want to take a year off for... Some sort of new ager are you?" etc..etc... Do what is right for you!
4) Remember - Be tolerant - It will be more difficult to make new friends now.
Your whole life - up until this point- has been spent with people your own age. Lots of people your own age. If you didn't like someone or didn't get on with someone there was plenty more people you could make friends with. You could be choosey with who you would become friends with. Life outside school and college isn't like that. You will be mixing with a whole plethora of people from different backgrounds, ages and beliefs. If you start a new job you might be put on a team with so called "geeks", "nerds", or "jocks"! Develop patience and tolerance of others... You will be a better person for it and happier!
5) Remember - You don't have to have it all figured out.
There is no rule book to say that you are supposed to have everything figured out. The older you get the more you realize that very few people if any have it "all figured out". Trust your feelings more and you will find yourself in a better place. Start with developing positive qualities in yourself and you will start down a path more suited to you! Life is a journey not a destination.
I hope this helps any of you who might be graduating this year. The kindest thing that you can do for yourself is BE THE PERSON YOU WERE MEANT TO BE NOT THE PERSON OTHER PEOPLE THINK YOU SHOULD BE.
Be kind to yourself!
Allen
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