My first year as a graduate - The Lessons

Going to university is one of the best experiences of your life. They are three (or four) years of your life that you will look back on with love, laughter, possibly some regret, sadness, but most importantly happiness. The drunken nights and the hangover days, the lazy days and the late study nights, the friendships you made and the friendships you lost, these are all memories that will never be forgotten. However, as much as we would like it to, university does not last forever and eventually we have to say goodbye to our student days and step into the REAL world and become actual ADULTS! It’s a scary thought but it is something that is inevitable and no matter how hard we try it is going to happen to us all eventually. As a graduate for over a year now I have learnt a few lessons in this time, some good and some bad, but some of which I think many graduates can identify with. As graduation ceremony season is now in full swing I thought I’d share a few of those lessons I have learnt with you. Enjoy 

   1) Being unemployed is not an experience you will enjoy over a long period of time. After graduation you feel as if you can achieve anything as you leave with the degree you worked so hard for. What university forgot to mention to you however is that a job is not just around the corner (unless you live near a Tesco) and after a few lazy weeks at home reality kicks in and you realise you have no money and therefore need to find a job. But with no experience, a half-hearted CV and little motivation finding a job is not as easy as you thought it would be. You may spend days, weeks or even months applying but still can’t get anywhere. You’ll begin to lose confidence as your friends start becoming employed but you’re still waking up at 11 just in time for Loose Women. But, eventually you will find a job and will feel a massive sense of relief as you now have something to pop on the ol’ CV.

    2)    Being employed now means MONEY – You have a job and that means you can now, firstly, pay off the overdraft that has helped you live for the past three years, and buy things that seemed impossible to afford when you were a student. Goodbye Tesco Value noodles and hello Tesco’s Finest! I won’t lie to you, receiving your payslip on pay day is one of the best feelings ever! Earning more than what your whole overdraft was every month really puts it into perspective how poor you actually were at university. Earning money means new clothes, holidays, gadgets and maybe the occasional saving. Eventually you’ll love earning money that being a poor student doesn't look so appealing anymore.

     3)  NO MORE LIE INS!! That’s right, goodbye lie-ins, hello 6am alarm!  

     4)   Friends – One of the hardest and worst things I have learnt in this year as a graduate is that you will not keep in contact with all of your friends from uni. Despite living together or being friends with people for three years, there are some that I have not spoken to since graduation and I genuinely have no idea what they’re doing with their lives. As sad as it is, this is just one of those things that happens in life. People come and go but I will always have good and happy memories of them and I know that university would not have been the same without them there.

     5)  Life gets serious – The negatives – You have now left three years of partying, sleeping and studying behind. You have an overdraft and student loans to pay back and perhaps, like me, for most of the time you will have no idea what you want to do in life and will feel a bit lost. You might have to start paying rent, bills or even a mortgage. Sorry mum and dad for ever thinking our lives were harder than yours!!

6)   Life gets serious - The positives – Don’t worry, I’m not all negative and being a graduate does have its perks. As I've said, you begin to earn money and can buy things you want as well as need. After graduation you begin to think about the future, and although it is scary, it is also exciting. Now that years and years of studying are over I love knowing that I can now try and make some sort of impact on the world. A degree can open many doors for you and you have created amazing memories along the way.  Growing up is inevitable so we may as well have some fun whilst we’re at it…