The scariest thing about graduation is anticipating what’s next. What will my life be like? Will I get a salary job? When will I have my own place? There’s so many questions lingering in your mind.
When I graduated, I remember being the happiest person in the world. No more tests, quizzes, or boring class lectures. It felt so liberating walking across that stage. But the most ironic feeling was that I was scared. Afraid of what my next step is, afraid of becoming an adult, afraid of transitioning into the real world.
The thought of it was too overwhelming and then when I did take my 2-week break…I jumped face first into failure. My millionaire mentor, whom I was close with since high school, bailed on me and didn’t follow through. I wasn’t too bothered by not having the job offer, but more bothered that he wouldn’t respond to my texts or give advice. I was more hurt than anything.
Then after that, I had 20 interviews in one month and still only managed to land a gig at Macy’s; which was an on-call position. I applied to a lot of companies, but only got lucky with interviews from retailers and regular stores. It was a very long, stressful, confidence-breaking process. I grew depressed from the constant denials because I assumed I’d find a good gig right off the bat.
I had a high GPA, a college degree, and several years of work experience. I even got denied by the local news company when having a bachelor’s in journalism. It was a tough process and I constantly doubted myself. luckily, I landed a job at Target. It wasn’t much at the time, but at least it was a start.