So you've graduated, the celebrations have finished and the hangover has worn off, so now what?
Last week I donned that iconic cap and gown and did that walk across the stage. I stepped off the other side and had that thought - now what?
Let's go back a few years -
This wasn't my first graduation. That was in 2017. I completed a degree in History and Drama and Theatre and instead of entering the usual graduate blues, I decided to go back for a masters.
Context, my life isn't exactly conventional. My parents live in Spain so I couldn't exactly go and move in with them unless I fancied learning Spanish fast, so I moved to Worcester where my boyfriend's family lived. I rented a room in a shared house and got a job in a hotel and pondered what to do next. My boyfriend B still had two years left on his degree and I had nowhere else to go, so I signed up for another year in the semi unpronounceable Aberystwyth.
Now let me just say that I loved my masters. I studied History and Heritage and got to debate personal and cultural identity to my hearts content. I pulled the all-nighters to finish essays and spent my summer desperately trying to fit in a dissertation with life getting in the way. And it was all for that. A walk across a stage and a piece of paper with my name on it, I would at least expect some kind of confetti cannon! And I had to pay to hire my robe. Sidebar - over 9k on uni fees and they can't hire the graduation robes?! Dude c'mon.
Seriously though, it's an over worn topic of conversation, and a definite first world problem, but the abyss that appears before you as you walk off that stage can be mentally all-consuming, particularly for those of us who battle with our minds anyway. I'm lucky. I officially finished my degree at the end of last year and am now in a good job. But that doesn't stop the question of what now? University teaches you many things but there's no way it could prepare you for the void that almost all graduates inevitably stare into.
This is a large part where this blog came from. I always need to have something to focus on, when I don't, that's when the voices get the loudest. So I've decided to fill the void of studying with a blog, a new fitness regime and directing a play (more about those in later posts!).
Just to add a positive note - you graduated! You did it! Those months of hard work and all-nighters has paid off. You now have something that many people don't, and no one can take it away from you. Well done!
Because that is something to acknowledge - we did make it, and we can always say we have that qualification. But that doesn't always help the Graduate Blues. I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I can say this: Find something for you. If you can't get that dream job yet, or are struggling being at home with your parents, find something for yourself. Learn 30 new recipes, write a blog, set a fitness target, or if you're me, do all three! There's always more to learn and new things to do, so don't give up and stop. Keep trying to move forward and improve yourself until you find the next thing!
Hwyl am nawr,
J x
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