I’m sure every student at a point in their college career asks themselves the same question. What will I do after college? I have personally asked myself this question hundreds of times. College is often portrayed as the most important key to a successful life, leading you straight to the perfect job that will fix all your problems after graduating. While yes, college will open the doors for a better future, it doesn’t magically fix your life. What I have learned about being in college and constantly worrying about my life after graduation is that it’s not always what you study in college that helps you be a step closer to achieving your goals or a perfect life; it is the other stuff you learn while in college. This includes the relationships you build, the skills you acquire, how much networking you do, the clubs and hobbies you’re in, and even those failures here and there.
I always had the mentality of focusing on just one goal: graduating. However, I started noticing that I wasn’t enjoying the process of being a college student. I had barely made any friends, didn’t participate in extracurricular activities, or didn’t do any networking. When I realized that these things were eventually going to affect how my life looked like after graduation, I decided to do something about it. I started by deciding to take a class outside of my major and took Intro to Photography. To my surprise I loved the class, it was engaging, I felt involved, and was actually looking forward to being in school. While taking this class, the teacher talked about the other opportunities and courses offered in the journalism department. Being a business major taking classes with 30-plus people who barely spoke and were waiting for class to end to run out, I enjoyed the energy in my photography class and wanted to be part of this department.
From there, I decided to investigate any possible minors available in the journalism department. I found Social Media Management and declared it a minor that same semester. As the next semester started and I took more journalism classes, I quickly saw a change in the student in me. I was more involved in my classes, talking to my seat neighbors, and started participating in outside-of-class projects. I was also able to get closer to professors and ask for guidance, which I desperately needed and never asked for. Because of that, a teacher encouraged me to join the NMGZ community, which helped me get a better understanding of the opportunities available to me and do so much networking.
That’s how, in almost over a year, I changed my mentality of worry and stress about my future after graduating to a more hopeful and exciting one because I felt more prepared and knew I could find a spot where I belonged without letting impostor syndrome get to me. Yes, stressing over things will always happen; that means you care. Graduating is a big deal, but don’t let it get you down. Instead, enjoy the ride and do everything you can: join that club, make friends, take that elective class, and leave your comfort zone. All of this will prepare you for your life post-graduation.