1. Loneliness and Disconnection as a Young Adult
I had an amazing experience during college. I was part of different school organizations and often travel with my college friends. College life for me was a large bubble that entrapped me in a crazy fun world. But as one might expect, after college my social life went to almost zero. People around me became busy with their career, relocate to a new place or start raising a family. Social life is off the list for most of the times.
When you get out of college and start chasing a path of your own you will realize that making friends in adulthood can feel tortoise-like. Everyone has a life. No one else has time to look out for you. They’re busy looking out for themselves. So, get enough sleep, eat healthy, and save money. No one else is going to make sure you’re doing those things. Not only are you each changing but the world you live in is changing. It’s a lonely world for young adults but it gets better.
2. You will fail and get rejected more than you expected
It is wonderful when things go your way, but most of the times, things don’t.
My post-graduation life fantasies did not match reality. I sent countless job applications and even prepared for a year to get accepted in my dream job just to be rejected at the end of the process. Most of the interviews I had, even when the interviewer says I’ll be a great fit, eventually ends in a rejection notice or ghosting. It felt like an endless failure. It took me multiple rejections before landing my first job with a salary just enough for my everyday expenses. It doesn’t become easier but I become stronger
Truth is, you will hear the word “no” more than you will hear “yes” but it is never an excuse to not keep trying.
3. Feeling uncertain and lost
I am 22 and still feel uncertain and lost about my life. I thought I had it all figured out. I thought I planned everything the right way. Yet I still feel stuck. Left behind. No progress. No achievement. I feel I am in a weird in-between phase. I know I am not a kid anymore but I don’t feel like an adult yet. I am too old to be living like I’m still in college but I don’t feel like I have much in common with the older generations. I feel so lost. But I guess everyone gets to this point in their life, right? Then, maybe it’s okay.
It’s okay to get lost sometimes and question your purpose. It happens to all of us. It’s okay to be uncertain and get scared of not knowing what is going to happen. Let’s embrace the idea of getting scared and still do the things that scare us because it’ll help us grow.
4. Being broke takes a lot of time
When I was younger I thought that after college I will be able to stablish a really good life for myself. I thought that I would be able to get my dream job and earn money immediately. But I WAS WRONG. I mean of course, we can be financially successful after college but it will not be that easy and it will not happen straightaway as I thought it would be.
Yes, money is not everything. Money comes and goes. But there will be moments where buying a decent food for dinner is gonna be hard for your pocket. The constant worry of how to pay monthly bills, groceries, and rent is real. Every 30 days you’d definitely feel like “really? I paid this bill already” just for it to happen again 30 days later.
How I wish there was a subject in college that prepared us for this.
5. It’s okay to not figure out life in your 20’s
When I was young, I don’t have to think about how to open a bank account, how to apply for a life insurance, how to get a drivers license or even how to make ends meet. Even during my student life, the subjects I have to take, the rooms I have to be in, the books I have to read, the things I need to do in order to pass. Everything was all set . But after college – for the first time in my life – nobody told me what to do with my time. For the first time in my life, nobody taught me how to figure things out. It lead me to making a lot of mistakes and being a mess for sometime. I was beating myself up for wasting time and not figuring life after college. But I realized I don’t have to figure it out right now. I don’t have to figure it out tomorrow. I don’t even have to figure it out next week. I just have to get better than I was yesterday.
Sometimes life won’t make sense and it’s completely okay. It’s okay to not have an exact idea of what you want to do with your life – you’ll get there.
“To the world, I’m now an adult, but most days I don’t have it all together”
Den
-Writer