Right before you graduate, the exhilaration of finally ending your educational journey will take over your every thought. You will be so thrilled and your body will be electrified that you will neglect to think past the moment of receiving your diploma. Sure, you have contemplated at what the future will bring, made plans, went to job interviews, researched job opportunities abroad, etc. But the real world is often very unexpected and will never cease to amaze. No matter how ready you think you are for it, it will throw curveballs at you one after the other until you’re ready to call it quits. Don’t! Instead, here are 9 things you need to know before graduation that will somehow prepare you for the real world (but in no way will guarantee that everything will go smoothly).
1- You will constantly be late to everything
Your mind will be jammed with hundreds of thoughts per second. You will find it exhausting to live inside your own head and deal with all the voices and all the noise. This will make you spacey and therefore you will end up being late to almost everything. Because you’re trying so hard to do a million different things a day, you will always optimistically assume that you have more time than you actually do. You will overwork yourself and overtire your body! When that happens know that you need to align with what you really want to do rather than remain this zombie who is trying to do everything.
2- You need to have your own bank account
Now is the time to pick the best bank, figure out how credit cards work and learn as much as you can from your parents about money. Because when it comes to money, parents know best. Once you get a job, you will be so tempted to buy everything you ever wanted even though your salary barely covers your lifestyle. You will need to find a balance. You can’t become so obsessed with saving money that you forget to invest in the life that you’re living at the moment and at the same time, you need to invest in your future.
3- People will have their own idea of what you should and shouldn’t be doing
But you can’t let them get to you. Be it your parents, your peers, your family or whoever. Sometimes you will be tempted to do what others are pushing you to do because deep down you have no clue what your next step should be and you’re afraid of making the wrong decisions. But life isn’t easy and there is no ONE right way and ONE right decision. So base the majority of your decisions on your gut rather than someone else’s intuition.
4- Muting the outside world and listening to your own thoughts will prove to be harder than expected
Because everything is happening too fast and too soon, you won’t be able to catch up with your own thoughts. Sometimes you’ll lose the ability to tune in carefully to the voices inside your head and to your stream of consciousness. Alas, if you’re at a loss, just remember to affirm yourself that whatever it is that you’re doing, you’re not doing out of fear of anything.
5- Time will be your new best friend
You will never appreciate and hate time as much as you will after you venture into the real world and leave the safety net of textbooks and assignments behind. You will be at odds trying to manage your time, but it will be against you and on your side at the same time. The most important thing out of all after graduation is to learn and hone time management skills because it will seriously be your savior!
6- Having a job is different than school
Never make the mistake of assuming that going to university is the same as having a job. Assignments, finals, papers, projects aren’t the equivalent of a walk in the park, but having a job is the equivalent of walking through fire. Unlike uni, you can’t just decide that you’re sick today and skip. You have responsibilities and people are depending on you. You’re not only studying for yourself anymore!
7- Learn to constructively criticize yourself
Point out your own flaws for yourself before somebody else does it for you. The faster you accept the things you need to change about yourself, the easier it will be adapt and actually alter these things. But also don’t bring yourself down in the process. Learn how to be soft and hard on yourself at the same time.
You will never be ready for the real world, but the real world is so ready for you! So you better buckle up.
