I don’t know much about life post-grad, but I do know that there are a lot of us in the same boat.
In life, there are things that we are expected to do, especially while we’re young. You go from middle school to high school to college, and in a way, it’s all spelled out for you. However, after college you are in this limbo area. You are expected to get a job, but there’s no one to help you. The world essentially tells you that you’re on your own and to figure it out yourself.
There is nothing more intimidating than feeling like you're alone.
When talking to my friends who are already in the “real world” they say they feel like they have been left high and dry. Not that we need someone to tell us what to do, but it feels like in college there is more support for figuring things out. However, the minute we graduate we’re expected to have every answer. It’s hard going from being supported to being entirely left alone to navigate life.
Although daunting, we should celebrate this unknown time because we will never again be able to have this much freedom in exploring ourselves. Not to be corny, but post-grad confusion is the one point in time where we will be able to do whatever we want in order to find ourselves. We have to tackle enough throughout our lives, so using this era to do the things we actually WANT to do is vital.
It’s okay to not know what’s going on. Sometimes having the freedom to have options can be exhilarating. Most people think of this time as confusing and frustrating, but it’s important to frame it positively. Your outlook on this confusion can help immensely. From what I understand, this time is chock full of obstacles, realizations, and discoveries. Post-grad life can be so freeing as we are not defined by anything and have the total power to do everything that we thoroughly enjoy. More times than not in school we did things that were grouped in with similar interests and never got to branch out. Using this time to branch out to experience mistakes, failures, passion, and new hobbies will totally define our life.
Experiencing all the things life has to offer is the most magical feeling. Whether you go to grad school, take a gap year, travel the world, find a career, or just simply figure things out, it’s important to treat yourself in experiences. So, try a new food, take a sewing class, go on a road trip, fail, and just embrace this time. We are only in post-grad in our twenties once, so use this time to create a new you.