After The Dorm Room: Post College Adulting was originally published on September 5, 2017.
The move from the dorm room back to the life you know as your room back in your hometown can be quite complex.
For some of us, post college is a little more nerve-wrecking than we’d like to admit. I mean come on, how weird is it to move back in with your parents/guardians? Not that you don’t love them more than life itself, but you go from wild & crazy 3 a.m. party nights to having rules and parental expectations again.
When I was in school, my parents expected me to go to class, get good grades and maybe have a little job on the side to cover my personal expenses while living alone or with a roommate.
When I moved back home, the bar had been raised and someone forgot to notify me.
My transition back home was fairly simple. I packed boxes for the essentials that I needed in the house and then I packed boxes for what would go in storage until my next move. Honestly, I still haven’t completely moved back in. There’s still packed baggage I stuffed under my bed and a box that I live out of pretty much daily. I’m not sure if it’s me not being able to let go of the fact that I no longer live by myself. I mean my roommates consist of the same people that used to stalk me in high school when I didn’t check in with them in at a decent amount of time. But to be fair, I think I’ve just been stuck on the fact that I thought I would already be in the apartment hunting process.
Graduation
Sometimes life throws us curve-balls like that. Sometimes, the grass is actually that nasty, dried out, dead, yellow color on the other side. We spend so much time in college wishing we were on the path to graduation and living our adult life. Then when we’re finally on the path to graduation and adulting, you take a deep breath and that anti-climactic moment that you waited years for has gone and passed. Isn’t that so funny? Years of hard work, stress drinking, anxiety and headaches give you 5 seconds of stage fame. Then it’s over. Congratulations! You graduated. And.that.was.it.
The Transition
No one really tells you what post college life is like. Sure, you’ve heard the stories. People go straight from college to their dream job across the country or maybe they move in with their college sweetheart and live happily ever after. But no one really tells the story of what the rest of us do. We move back in with mom and dad. With no idea what our next chapter in life is going to consist of, and at some point our parents keep pressuring us about why we don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend yet.
My anxieties of moving back home mostly stood around my parents being possible helicopter parents and me feeling like I would lose some of the freedom that I once had. The truth is, my parents are the only ones that keep me grounded and motivated. However, moving back home still kicked my ass in other ways. Your college friends aren’t 5 minutes away anymore. You no longer have structure that years of college has instilled in you. 9 times out of 10 your dream job with a dream salary doesn’t just come knocking at your door. No one tells you about how your anxiety and possible depression follows you. You poor college graduate.
The Job Hunt
Emphasis on poor. Please watch out for the misleading pyramid schemes that they try to throw your way on job boards. Do your research on companies that claim to be entry level and specifically say they’re looking for college grads. Those companies are more likely to be stringing you along and lying because they know you’re lost, eager and a first timer.
I personally had a roller-coaster experience with job hunting after college. I researched a lot on Glassdoor before I applied or interviewed with any company I’d never heard of. A lot of them make up these mouth-watering descriptions and pretentious salaries that would surely drag any unemployed grad in. Truth is, they prey on us. They expect us to jump at anything because the job description sounds great and the salary looks even better. Truth is, these positions are often just sales or marketing positions in disguise.
Most of them are commission based and full of “entry level” shit. You just received a degree. Do your research because you’re smarter than that! And don’t for a second think you’re the only one going through this. Do a Google search; talk to your friends. You’ll find so many other graduates have stumbled into a quarter life crisis after college. Many other recent grads run into hardships post college. Everyone has their season to bloom. Keep watering your own flower.
Xoxo,
Rickeshia
