Last weekend I had a huge kind of freak out moment when I realized that I graduated from Miami a year ago. A year!? How, why does time go by so fast!? I was not a happy camper in the days leading up to my graduation. I could hardly smile on the day because I was so devastated to be leaving my school, my friends, and the life I had built for myself. On top of all of that I was beyond stressed out about finding a job (why?), and moving back home (again - not to be taken for granted). A year later I'd say I have a much better perspective on what being in the real world really means.
When you graduate, after the tears flow and the goodbyes are said, you head home with a giant question mark looming over your head. Don't analyze it. Take a hot second (or a few months) to enjoy summer, possibly intern/freelance, read, take a vacation. I slept in, began to eat healthy again, and started working out. Not only did I instantly drop my "senior 10" (is that a thing? It was for me...) but it helped clear my mind. I also networked with friends and family and through them I scored a freelancing gig at the Saks Fifth Avenue photography studio in the Flatiron District. It was an awesome experience and just furthered my understanding of what I wanted to do. Eventually, I got a job in media and started work on exactly July 9.
Living at home wasn't easy or fun, but it was the smartest decision to save money. I moved out in October and that's when I'd say my official post graduate life began. And it's been amazing. I still live with my best friends (this time they are from high school though) and we still have the same amount of crazy escapades. One key difference: your days are spent at work. This is a huge adjustment, but the sooner you accept it, the sooner you get over it. Working puts you in a routine though and absolutely makes you appreciate the smaller things. Paying my own rent and bills, I genuinely appreciate every purchase I make (from splurges on Rebecca Minkoff to chai tea lattes at The Bean). I'm also not such a wreck of life. College was fun, but I could only take so much. Now, working out at 6:30 am almost every morning and having control over the food I eat and the alcohol I drink has done only positive things for my body & mind. Sometimes I'm like how the hell did I go to Champagne Brunch and then Sushi Nara and then CJs? Silly me!
This is turning into an essay. The last thing I want to say is let go of that huge pit in your stomach that you feel after your final good byes. I am still and will always be best friends with my housemates. We all live far apart but I know I could call any of them, any day and we'd pick up right where we left off. Group texts, snap chat, Facetime, Gchat (your lifesaver in the real world)...come on, it's impossible to fall out of touch. The best part is they all read this blog, too :) We have a reunion happening in July and I can hardly contain myself.
So I know it's hard. But I'm telling you the truth when I say it does get better and you'll figure it all out. Congrats grads :)
