COLUMN: Seniors, be strong – the end is near
So I’m graduating in a mere three weeks. Kind of exciting, huh?
I look forward to this event with mixed emotions – a combination of excitement, frustration, worry, joy and a little bit of a melancholy disposition. I have really enjoyed my time at USU, so much so that my first inclination when I finally accepted graduation was approaching was, “Why don’t you stay and get a second bachelor’s?” Not necessarily a bad plan, but after being in school for the last 17 years, I feel an overwhelming urge to get out in the world and see what I can do.
So if you’re not in school, you find a job. That’s the plan. Now we know. So the next person who asks me what I’m doing with my life after graduation, I’m simply going to hand a copy of this column and politely walk away. I hate having to tell people I’m not sure yet, and what’s worse, I hate having to tell myself.
In fact, this is where all my other emotions about graduations start to emerge. I find joy in the idea that I will actually get to start doing what I have been training to do for the last four years. I feel excitement at finding and getting into a career, something new, something fresh, where I can work my way up and accomplish something worthwhile, while earning my own paycheck. I am frustrated that such a job has not yet been secured and worry that it will be a long time before that job is found.
Are you other graduates feeling similar things? Maybe we should form a support group.
Every person I happen to mention college graduation to always comes back with two questions: first, so what are you going to do with your life and second, are you excited? The first question I have already prepared my answer for, and it will have to do until I can come up with a real answer. You fellow graduates feel free to borrow the idea.
But the second question is a little different. Youjavascript:replaceBreaks();
double breaks’d think it’d be a no-brainer. Of course, you’re excited to graduate. But it’s not enough. In fact, excited doesn’t even cut it. Excited can’t explain the million butterflies you have in your stomach or the anxiety you feel every time you fill out a job application, wondering if this is your future career.
Congratulations to all the graduates. May these last three weeks be good ones. Let me know if you want in on the support group.
Mikaylie Kartchner is a senior in print journalism. Comments can be sent to mikayliek@cc.usu.edu