Scared?
Depressed?
Got a parent
grabbing each foot trying to drag you back home?
It’s not a
positive time, on the whole. But just because it may feel like an immensely sad
moment in life, that doesn’t mean you have it make it into one.
Instead of
focusing on what you won’t be doing anymore, try thinking of what you have done; all the events and parties
and memories you have experienced.
Bear in mind that not everyone gets to go to university. Think how many people
from school you remember seeing work in a shop whenever you went home at
Christmas and Easter.
Don’t think
of graduating from university as ‘the end’.
Just think
of it as a new chapter in your life.
For one
thing, you won’t be in education anymore. Let that sink in for a bit. No more
homework. No more exams. No more long nights of revision with no-one for
company but a can of energy drink.
The ‘no homework’ thing is certainly something to look forward to. This
will vary in whatever profession you may choose, but there will come a time
when you can return home, flick on the TV and not have the immediate guilt
feeling of “I should be doing work.” Anyone who had a dissertation to do but
happened to play video games a lot will know what this feeling is like.
Don’t forget
as well, after you’ve donned the robe and accepted your scroll, that you’re not
leaving university into a life of working in a bus station or fast food
restaurant. The last three, four or five years of your life will count for
something, and provided you don’t wear flip flops to job interviews and
actually show like you’re willing and able to work, you’ll land a job doing
something that you enjoy.
This is a problem with the word ‘job’: the meanings and reaction tied to it. Some students hear the word “job” and think ‘boring’, ‘time-waster’ and picture themselves wearing a sandwich board. But you’ve got a degree now. If you’ve studied teaching or a science for three years, it’s now time to continue with that subject except you’ll actually be getting paid to do it (Student Loan didn’t count, by the way). Early starts, late finishes or having to commute won’t seem as difficult when you know you’re doing it for a career that you studied hard for, and therefore deserve, and are actually interested in doing.
If, like me,
you graduated with an artistic and/or creative degree, then your options are
very much open. It doesn’t matter as much where you work so long as you have
enough money to live, while in the background you can write your
novel/paint/further your photography and whatever else. Yes, you can get a job
in these types of industries, and that would be brilliant.
If you can’t at first, which unfortunately is quite likely because these industries are tough to get into and establish yourself, try not to lose hope. For the last few years, you were studying a topic you love, a freelance talent and hobby that can never be taken away from you. Now it’s time to use that talent, to show the world what you can do and what you are worth.
I’m ready to work in any kind of shop or restaurant, so long as I can write my novel in my spare time. Because who knows, the day may come when my writing income outweighs my employment income. And then the dream shall have been reached.
For myself
and the rest of you, that journey starts right now. To make our time at
university worth it, and use all we learned to its full potential.
It’s an all-new chapter, after
all.
