G R A D U A T I O N
The cure to senioritis and similar procrastination diseases. Side effects include caps, gowns, degrees, responsibility, and a job.
 
Are you happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time? Then you’re either 22, Taylor Swift, or graduating. Graduation brings on a lot of emotions so you’re probably feeling all the feels right now. This is the day you realize you just spent 16+ years of your life cramming for tests, hunting down a scantron, and begging for extra credit in school to walk across a stage, wearing a robe, and collect a piece of paper. The real world is a scary place and universities do not offer Adulting 101 so how do we know we’re ready?

If you just graduated and are as confused as you were taking that math final you are not alone. Here are all the things you’re probably feeling coming up on graduation…

Relief
No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks. Even if you are 0% sure of what you’re going to do, the heavyweight that has been on your shoulders for the last four years has finally been lifted. This is what real freedom feels like. You pushed through all the struggles to get that piece of paper. You earned that degree. You have that cap and gown and you should flaunt it across that stage.

Buyers Remorse
This is what happens when you are a poor 20-something-year-old eating a bowl of ramen and stressing about your law final. You start to question why you spent thousands of dollars on “finding yourself.” You might not have your dream job or you might not even have a job. Was it even worth it? Where’s your return on investment? This was the most expensive piece of paper ever. What should you do with those textbooks that cost you your liver? It’s not like degrees are refundable either.

Available
Now what? You find yourself having more free time than you are used to. You can watch Netflix guilt-free because you don’t have a test to study for or an essay to write. Someone might ask you to hang out and you can no longer say “No, I can’t. I have homework,” even though you just want to stay home and pet your cat. This concept of free time is new and exciting. You might even have time for a hobby. I hear adults have a few of those. 

Hopeful
Things will work out and come your way. Take Tina Fey who was working at a YMCA at this point in her life and J.K. Rowling who was writing a novel on napkins. The world is your oyster. That’s a saying, right? The point is, you are doing just fine. You have a degree that tells others you know what you are talking about. Embrace the uncertainty, the chaos and the unknown. 

Accomplished
College was probably one of the most challenging things you have done in your life. You are the Harry Potter of the undergrad world! You can do anything; be anything! With a degree comes a lot more responsibility but it also comes with a sense of pride. In the United States, only 30% of people graduate from college. College is hard, man. You may not have a job, a cushy salary, and you might still live at home. OWN IT! You are a college graduate. This is an exciting milestone in life. You have been waiting for this moment since you learned how to spell your name.  The pressures of academic life are all pushed aside and Fat Joe lyrics start to blast in your head,“Nothing can stop me I’m all the way up!”

Terrified
This could be the scariest point in your life as of right now. Maybe you’re moving, maybe you have some tough decisions to make, maybe you are going for your Masters or you just booked a plane ticket to Europe. There are so many options for graduates after college.  It is time to put those adult skills you supposedly learned over the years to the test. Looking back on everything, you’re not even sure if you deserve this degree. College is ending, and life is starting. What a terrifying concept. 

ilasufgasdkljfh
That is an emotion and if you are graduating college you know exactly what I am talking about. The only thing you are certain about is that the last four years went by way too fast.