I Graduated College...
NOW WHAT?
HOW am I supposed
to KNOW what I want
TO DO for the rest of my life?
C
ollege is an amazing and exciting time in life that hopefully will be one of the best memories for you. It’s the only time in life where you are on your own, but still have the responsibility of school and are somewhat under the direction of your parents. Each undergraduate has a different experience, but I’ve found that a lot of people have the same concerns directly after graduating. This article can
hopefully give you either direction or a sense of understanding that there isn’t always a clear path. After graduating college, you’re left with a few decisions that most likely will decide the rest of your future: Should I go to graduate school? Do I move back home with my parents? Where do I want to live? Should I complete an internship? Will I find a job in my field of study? For each person, it’s about learning what is best for you, and with anything, the more things you delve into, the more you’ll find what you’re passionate about. Something that I’ve heard a lot recently from college graduates is the same question: How am I supposed to know what I want to do for the rest of my life? I’ve found through the past year that setting goals, having aspirations and steps in place to get to where you want to be, are all important things, but there’s one piece of advice that young adults forget: enjoy the journey. Enjoy this moment in life where you have extra time to fulfill goals in congruence with your day job or can open doors for something that you never thought existed.
Although there is a lot of unknown, I’m a firm believer of the more you put into something, the more you’ll get out of it. As with anything, you never know if a job is a great fit for you unless you try it. A friend once told me that going on an interview is a two-way street: they want to see if you can fit within their company, and you need to see if you want this company to fit into your life. So, I would say to take the interview, you may find out that there is a potential career opportunity you never thought would happen. Enjoy the road you all have ahead of you. Although there may be some potholes, bumps and construction in the way (we’re from Pittsburgh, we should be used this by now), try to learn from every moment and grow from it. Learn from your mistakes and apply them to a new task to make the next project even better. Maybe an interview didn’t go well, but take that time to evaluate why and how you can improve for the next one.
By Coby Detar, www.poisedinpink.org
42 GOAL: A Publication of Go2Goal, LLC | Summer 2017