‘So what's’ next?’ A commonly asked question by anyone when mentioning that you are entering final year of University. There is an automatic assumption that the perfect job is lined up or that you are maintaining mental stability over the unknown. For me, the answer to this question fluctuates. Every time I jolt awake at 3am my mind will daydream to a different answer. Having done two gap years before University, I feel more ready to start a job than ever. Yet, amidst the chaos of third year it can be hard to think straight about what it is that I truly want to do next.
With a about a month to go until term starts, I’m not saying every moment from now will have me stressing about what’s to come (hopefully). But the workload steadily increases from third year and weekly Tesco runs for cheap bottles of wine with my housemates says it all. So I’ve tried to confess my 5 main thoughts, rather than anxieties, for next year in the hope that others find it comforting that they aren’t the only ones trying to figure it out.
P.S. and if you are reading this after graduation as well, or 50 years down the line feeling stuck in a role then the same applies to you as well.
1. Job applications
When you have had the same job for years, suddenly writing a CV can feel a bit daunting. This is due to working the same part-time jobs for years and not really needing to update my applications. Also, I am a s elf-depreciator so having to write an application saying ‘I AM THE BEST’ is not something I find comfortable. My more honest CV would write ‘I would be great for this role but I don't know if this is my endgame career and I still need to fix my sleep schedule, hence the coffee addiction’.
2. Changing your mind
I am a fairly indecisive person and have been used to constant change in my life. So, when it comes to settling on a career option it’s a hard thought at 22. Doing a drama degree is great as it opens the door to different opportunities. Yet, having a wide scope of possibilities leads to the fear of choosing the wrong thing. Now I don't believe you can pick the wrong path but the need to get it right is an alarm bell in my head. Our generation ticks between wanting to hustle early on in life with 'burnout culture' and then advocating a slower pace as well. The Tik Toks on my feed flicker between a 'pre-work 5am routine' and a 'quitting my job to move abroad'. So even the algorithm can't keep up with the array of options there are for someone's future.
3. Achieving the University experience
Three years of University seems like a long time to achieve everything and a lot of money to spend in that time. There's a looming fear of whether you got your ‘youth out of your system’ and partied hard enough. I absolutely don’t think this is true but the culture of University wants you to do this from the age of 18. So by the time of graduation, there is the cloud of the 'real world' settling in over your Thursday morning hangovers or pot noodles.
4. Keeping friends
Looking back through pictures of freshers, you are bound to come across faces that you barely see on campus anymore. A tagged ‘bff’ is now a stranger or a first year housemate is someone you distantly wave to on a night out. There are so many people you meet throughout University through your course, societies or just socially. It would be difficult to pretend that you will keep contact with everyone once you leave. The bittersweet feeling of everyone changing paths is something that is out of control. But maybe paths will cross again at some point!
5. Travelling or starting a 9/5
I think the two main roads for after a degree (asides from a masters) are commonly either starting a job or taking time out to travel. My brain hasn’t fully settled on a decision as in all honesty, if I could combine both ideas then I would. My most commonly used phrase of ‘I’m only 22’ seems to apply to the latter option of not wanting to start a job straight away. However, I have never seen my route since leaving school as a straight path so I do embrace the unknown of working wherever a career takes me.
A lot of what will happen next year cannot be listed on a blog so this post was purely just to make people feel less alone. Everyone has a very unique experience of their studies or even figuring out their way in life. So for any one entering their final year of University, I think it is important to keep an open mind on everything. Also, don't throw away your last year on stress but focus on what you have to do in the moment (the advice I'm trying to take for myself!)
Iona xx