Being a recent twenty-one-year-old college graduate comes with its ups and downs.
For one, you go out a lot. I mean A LOT, A LOT! Because unless you’re that one lucky kid who nails a job straight out of college or your family is super rich and pays for you to go travel the world: you sort of have some newfound free time on your hands…which is fine, if you’re a raging alcoholic and you love spending money, but I have come to find out…that lifestyle kind of gets old real fast…For example this past weekend.
My friends had asked me what I was doing this weekend: which was, of course, nothing, expect to apply for jobs…which I’ll touch base on momentarily, so we all decided why not go out…every single night…which resulted in this.
Thursday: Showed up in all the same color (irrelevant but still) met at a local bar, few drinks, ate food, engaged in socializing, and saw those people you haven’t spoken to in years. Pretty low-key. $12
Friday: Traveled to a further bar, enjoyed homemade Jell-O shots, consumed a few more drinks, purchased Cook-Out (which if you do not comprehend what that is I am praying for you) talked to a strange man, danced with a wedding party and had a friend sleeping on my couch. $18
And Then Saturday: Went uptown, attended several bars, including one strange nightclub, got some free drinks, had to pay a stupid cover, bought more drinks, experienced weaving through weird sweaty people, took an Uber, witnessed a shooting, and again had a friend sleeping on my couch. $22 (I bought a pack of gum too)
Anyway, you get my point.
I mean it’s not always bad going out so much, you get to mingle with your friends, get involved in some interesting situations and gain some weird stories: but there comes a point when you just, and I hate to say it, turn into a grandma. Which then brings me to my next point: now what?
As I mentioned, when you graduate college you acquire a lot of free time on your hands, which besides being filled with partying, can also be filled with something productive…which is where we create some good…and some bad.
The Job Search. It’s the only productive thing you can do post-graduate life besides kill your liver, which is what I have been actively filling my free time with…at least I do until I physically cannot look at my computer screen any longer. Now, when I say job searching I don’t mean working at the damn mall or local food stores, unless that’s your lifelong goal then God bless you, but I mean putting that a hundred thousand dollar piece of paper to some use…I mean at least it fills up your free time right…right.
But let me be frank with you, even though it is a productive thing to fill your time with…IT SUCKS. I hate to use that word and be rather barbaric, but I feel as if it is the only suitable adjective for the process.
I mean I can’t tell you how many times I’ve entered my address, and telephone number, answered I am NOT a protected Veteran, filled out ridiculous questionnaires…all for what…
To wait, and wait, and continue waiting spending every waking moment with your fingers crossed during the immense amounts of free time you have…all for emails and voicemails saying you are underqualified or just not the right fit…Cool.
So, the productive job applying turns into being depressed, jobless, and still with a lot of free time on your hands which then results back in going out…it’s basically like a dysfunctional merry-go-round. Just not as amusing.
In the end, I guess after graduating there’s nothing you can do…but DO. And if I’ve learned anything from this past month of being a post-graduate it’s this: No matter what, being discouraged…well that’s just not an option.
With Love,
Lex Paige
