Keeping Your Act Together After Graduation

For many young peeps, graduation is a gateway into adulthood. You throw the mortarboard (FYI that’s the graduation cap/hat) up in the air and toast to the end of school days, with the thoughts of a job, that ride, moving out of home to your own spot filling your head. You even throw a party and call your friends and give a speech like a real grown up.  

Very soon after the celebrations, the parents will start asking you to get a job, pop the ring, bring a man home or things of the sort. That is when you realise that your dreams are taking their time. 

The ideal goal of studying for many young people, is to secure a bright, hustle free, smooth life as they master their careers into big offices with air conditioning, leather chairs, and dinner at Cafe Javas on a daily, but life is not that pre-tuned to follow our set desires, and imagination.

So now that you have graduated, but what is next? Let me tell you;

1. Getting your first job will be a hustle so don’t whine, just get started with whatever you have and work hard up. Have a piece of land, start farming. Can write, start up a blog. Love fashion, make a unique piece.

2. People will want to associate with you only if there is something generous, interesting, that you are bringing to the table. Otherwise, they will cut you off real quick. Be the one that can pay your bills (or theirs if need arises) and learn how to sustain yourself. For example, why go out when you are broke? At this stage, it is smart to live within your means

3. Keep the dream. Simply because you studied engineering and you are now doing poultry farming doesn’t mean the dream is gone Many young people get frustrated when they fail to get their first job but don’t give up just yet, hang in there and fight. We know you’ll be an engineer some day. Who knows, you just might use the experience of managing people from the poultry business to be the engineer that employs other engineers. Keep going fam.

4. Ultimately, get yourself a job in line with your passion(s), look for what you love doing, it’s much easier to swing that and you’ll lead a happy life.

5. The studying maybe temporarily over, but the learning just begun. Real learning and studying starts after graduation, and you will learn from your own experiences and mistakes. Just keep every lesson close. You’ll need them to define your own path, and to tell your own story.  Be ready and willing to learn, and relearn. It’s the only way to go.

6. There is no timeline for celebrating achievement. Some of your friends have moved out, got your dream job, driving your dream car, and are even planning on getting married (you probably have already been added to a whatsapp planning group). Don’t let these rush you. Your time will come, as long as you keep focused on what you want to achieve. Coolio?

Bottomline, graduation is neither the end nor the start. Your stars aligned themselves from the very day you were born, however, it’s up to you to work hard in making things go yourway. With hard work, sacrifice, there is nothing that can’t be achieved- it’s survival for the fittest, and since you’ve made it this far, you are fit enough to survive.