One Year Later
Today, June 11th, 2017, marks one year since I hung up my coat as a college student, walked across the commencement stage, and officially graduated from college. How wild is that?! One full year as a college graduate! For most of my academic career, I would ponder what post-school life would look like. Would I be working? Where would I be living? Would I keep in touch with anybody from my years in school? It seemed so far off whenever that thought would cross my mind and once it officially happened, it didn’t seem real. I’m going to be honest, most of the time, it still doesn’t seem real. It’ll hit me at random times, such as today, that I can call myself a Western Washington University graduate
It’s weird to think back to that spring day a year ago. I was 22-years-old, I had just finished up my job with Western’s Alumni Association and an internship with Western’s English Department, I lived with two roommates in an apartment only a short drive from campus, and a good chunk of my identity was grounded in being a student. I was hopeful, but unsure, about what my future looked like.
It’s been a year since I was a college student and what a year it’s been. In that year, I moved out of Bellingham, traveled to Australia, completed a three month internship in Seattle, worked on figuring out how to make my own happiness, and started working as a Marketing Intern for a beverage company. So much has happened, so much has changed. I’m in such a different place in my life and it’s so wild to think back to where I was, just simply one year ago. It's a nostalgic, overwhelming feeling when I think back to my time in college and it makes me feel short of breath, makes me wish I could turn back the clock, makes me wish I could relive some of those moments over. Like I said, nostalgic as hell.
Coming out of college, I wasn’t sure where my place in the world was going to be if I wasn’t a student. Almost my entire life has been spent in a classroom, with homework in my backpack and classmates by my side. How do you move on from an identity that has consumed most of your life? I’m not going to lie or sugarcoat it, the transition from college student to “real world” adult was damn hard. It’s emotional and confusing, it’s difficult and tiring. There’s a lot of personal questioning and struggling, and for me, it was not an easy time. I’ve really had to figure out the person I want to be and where I want to go in life. Then chase it.
Like I’ve already mentioned over a handful of times, it’s been one year since I’ve graduated and I’m pretty happy with where I’m at. I’m working for a company and with coworkers who I really like and who push me to exceed in my job. I’m trying to surround myself with positive people who inspire me, love me, and support me. I’m back home with my wonderful parents who are letting me live with them rent free while I work to pay off my student loan (which should be done this fall!). I have dreams and goals I am still chasing, but for right now, I’m pretty happy with where I’m at. Maybe this "real world" thing isn't so bad after all.