With the Summer comes the end of the school year. For a good number of us, that’s a brief break from our work and study cycle for the next few months. Plenty of time to just live in the moment and enjoy yourself. But, what about those of us for whom this Summer marks the end of their education, and the beginnings for the next step of their lives? For many graduating seniors, or those who are simply entering their senior year, what lies ahead for them can look daunting.
What comes next for us?
College is meant to be your big preparation for what your future is going to be. It can be easy to not worry so much about what that future will look like when it’s still years away from you. But, when you’re face to face with what used to be that future, it’s a different story. Maybe, you’re worried that even after studying in your major, you’re still not sure what it is exactly that you want to do with your life. Or it could be that you feel that preparing for a job is a much less intimidating process than actually having to go out and find one. It could also be trouble with student loan debt. Whatever the case, there’s always something that’s at least a little worrying about this conceptually exciting moment.
You’re not alone.
Part of the reason behind this post-graduation anxiety is the belief that graduation is supposed to be when everyone has got everything figured out. Not having your life well-planned out when reaching the end of your education can make you feel like you’re the one at fault, after all that time meant to go towards shaping you. It looks like everyone else has a future to look forward to while you’re the only one slacking behind. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. A lot of your fellow students are also on the same boat as of feeling like they have no idea what they’ll do next. A 2022 study on anxiety in post-graduate students showed that about 34% of the 39,668 students surveyed in this study suffered from anxiety (Chi 2023). This is to say that it’s very normal to not have everything figured out by the time you’ve graduated. The problem isn’t with you.
So, how do we cope?
You don’t know what lies ahead for you. You don’t know if it will be good, that you’ll be capable of fulfilling everything you set out to do when you entered college. But the future is still the future. It hasn’t happened yet. If it’s a better future you want for yourself, maybe you should try looking to your past. Lean on others for help. Connections you’ve made at school, family members, counselors. Let them give you as much support as they can as you find yourself on your feet. On top of that, there’s still enough time for you to plan accordingly. Look for job opportunities, even if they’re not necessarily what falls in line with what you wanted. Giving yourself stable work is a one-way guarantee to getting some semblance of control in your life. Last but not least, maybe consider that this doesn’t necessarily have to be the end of your college career. Consider if Graduate School might give you more time to properly sort yourself out.
Chi, T., Cheng, L., & Zhang, Z. (2023). Global prevalence and trend of anxiety among graduate students: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain and behavior, 13(4), e2909.
