It’s OK for seniors to graduate without a job

It’s getting to be that time in the semester where people can ask “so what are you doing after college” and think themselves entitled to a legitimate answer. Sure, your family members and acquaintances have been asking you for years, but now that graduation is within sight, people expect you to have every last detail of your life mapped out.

I’ll go ahead and say it – I have practically no details of my post-grad life situated. My resume is finely groomed, my Linkedin connections are rising, and applications take up a disgusting amount of my free time. But do I have a job, apartment, and travel plans all situated? Absolutely not. And you know what – that’s okay.

Not all areas and fields of interest and study can be worked out months in advance. We’ve been told since childhood that you do well in school to get into a good high school so you can get into a good college so that you can eventually get a good job.

I’ve always felt like I had a next point to connect to, but jobs are much more expansive than the connect the dot our parents and teachers have always laid out. It’s okay to figure things out as you go – newsflash, that’s how all of humanity secretly operates. Fake it until you make it. We’re all figuring things out, constantly, forever. That’s called life.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s definitely important to dedicate time to developing potential plans and routes for your future. What I’m saying though is it’s okay for those plans to be options. I specifically know my interests and the field that captivates me, but I am open minded about what I want to do within that field.

I have always been the over-planner. In high school, I used to have nightmares about someone shredding my planner in front of me. But we need to learn that it’s okay to figure things out and roll with the punches to SOME degree.

Accepting this has made me a happier and more balanced person, so I thought I’d share some of the benefits of adopting an organized but flexible mentality about the remaining time in college and post-grad plans.

Believe it or not, jobs hire year round. Not having a job by graduation doesn’t mean you aren’t going to get a great, dream job or that you’ll have to live at home forever. Stop comparing timelines with your peers. Do the best YOU can for YOUR job search, and don’t let the pressure of others seep into your present and future.

Job searching, bucket lists, and reflections are all things that are a part of second semester senior year – that’s just the way it is. The thing we need to make sure to keep in mind is that while those things are important, they should not consume our entire life force for the remaining weeks of college. The thing that may be the most beneficial to your future happiness is making sure to practice mindfulness. Be present.

Is college the best four years of your life? Maybe, maybe not. But four years at Vandy are absolutely four kickass years that have shaped your growth more than you could ever fully comprehend. Plan your future of course, but don’t neglect your present. Say yes. Look up from the ground when walking to class. Revel in your schoolwork. Stay up late talking to your friends.

The real world can often seem like a looming fog about to engulf our entire lives, but it is going to work out. You will get a job. You will change jobs. You will have adventures and trials and triumphs. Things will work out because at Vanderbilt, we are intelligent and happy students. Appreciating that in these last few weeks will carry over into us being intelligent and happy workers and people.

Anchor down with mindfulness in the remaining part of Senior year. We have all doors open, which admittedly can feel like no doors are open. But I promise you that if you keep perspective, future you, wherever you end up will thank you beyond measure.

Now if you need me, I’ll be at every happy hour Nashville offers, humming the fight song and weeping blissful tears.