(Not So) Recent Graduate
I’d say it was quite daunting the first year after graduating from university. Yes, there was this great sense of relief and achievement, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was lurking around the corner. It took me a while to realise that the ‘something’ was the weight of adulting.
The entire year after graduating felt like a free pass, a judgment-free zone. Because realistically who’s expecting a ‘recent graduate’ to have themselves figured out? They tell you to work part-time, go travel and have a breather before life gets serious.
However, when it draws closer to a new cohort graduating and snatching the ‘recent graduate’ title away from you, the judgement suddenly appears. You get asked questions like: What are you going to do now? What’s the next move? It very quickly overwhelms you to the point you’d rather go back to studying than deal with people’s questions.
Honestly, I feel like if we just extended grace to the graduates still ‘figuring it out’ you would find a lot less of them going through post-graduate depression in the first place. Being not so recent doesn’t have to be so bad.
