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It’s college graduation time throughout the country. That wonderful time of the year when proud graduates filled with an insatiable desire to make their mark on the world experience the fruits of their labor and transition into the work force. I am several years removed from that symbolic day, but I can’t help but think about the things I know now that I wish I had known then.
At the time, I remember being so anxious to get the ball rolling on my career. Although, in all honesty, I can’t remember what it is that I was so hellbent on doing once I graduated. I had recently made a serious transition, moving to the West Coast to pursue a degree in visual effects. I realized rather quickly that the field wasn’t for me, but I knew in my heart of hearts that the film business was where I would land, in some way, shape or form. I had no job lined up after graduation, but I was ready to commit myself to that passion.
I was so ready that I talked about my desire to be a full on adult ad nauseam. I wanted to make my own money and do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it (because clearly, that’s what being an adult is all about.) But everyone suggested I slow my roll. They told me that I would one day miss college. A lot. That the freedoms and boundless opportunities within my university’s walls were unmatched to the harsh realities of “the real world.”
Pssh. Yeah, right.
I dismissed those comments with a quickness. But boy, were they on point. In college, I was enshrouded in a safe, highly structured bubble where all I really had to worry about was getting an education. Was it easy? No. But I didn’t have to worry about bills, other than tuition, which was covered by loans. I didn’t have to struggle to find a job, keep a job, or maintain that precious work-life balance that people talk about often.
Sometimes being a responsible adult ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, but you couldn’t have told me that then because I wouldn’t have listened.
I wish I knew that my diploma was a piece of paper, not an entitled ticket to job security. Higher education can unlock so many doors, but having a diploma doesn’t mean employers will come knocking on yours. As I’ve experienced many times over the years, finding a job is a job in and of itself. Though the schools I attended were like mini-cities in themselves, once I graduated, I was in a much larger pool filled with equally-qualified candidates, all looking for an opportunity to shine. Not to mention in the work force, “recent graduate” is akin to ground zero. It’s like being a freshman all over again. I knew it would take hard work and a serious commitment to earn my stripes, I just didn’t know how much.
I wish I knew the importance of networking. And not the shameless and selfish, give me what I want now kind of networking. I mean not being afraid to introduce myself to strangers at a party or showing up to events for the mere sake of being social. Sure, those conversations could have possibly led to something down the line, but even if they didn’t, they were prime confidence-building opportunities that could have helped to take the ping out of new, unfamiliar situations, of which I would face many.
I wish I knew more about money. I have so much student loan debt, it’s like Monopoly money at this point. The amount I’m asked to pay back monthly in relation to my income is laughable. (Good luck getting that back, Sallie Mae or Navient, whatever it is you call yourself now.) When you’re young, you don’t often think about your financial future. You live in the now instead of investing what little you can for those rainy days, which will inevitably come your way. Knowing what I know now, I would have enrolled in a 401K the first chance I had instead of thinking, I’ll do it later.
Lastly, I wish I knew to embrace the detours and to welcome failure. There is no set path or one way to achieve my goals. Getting to that endgame is a constantly evolving work in progress that often requires shifting details, rearranging projected timelines, working odd jobs or starting over entirely. And that’s perfectly okay. As long as I continue to follow my dreams, I’ll be okay. So if current me could go back in time to college graduation me and whisper a little somethin’ somethin’ (you know, without messing up the space-time continuum), I’d not only come prepared with this essay in hand, I’d say, “Congratulations. Now go forth and be brilliant.”
