If you're a third year, right now is kind of a scary time. You're just about to (or already have) handed in your dissertation, sat your final exams and now you're looking at what essentially is the Rest Of Your Life, stretching out in front of you like a never-ending highway.
If you're freaking out, don't worry. Literally everyone freaks out around this time. I dealt with it by sitting in beer gardens, drinking cider and sticking my fingers in my ears going 'LALALALALALALLA'. An activity I like to continue to this day.
Today, over on Reddit, grown up ladies are sharing the things they wished they'd known before donning the cap and gown and shaking the hand of some old dude who probably was someone at some time at their graduation.
Before we get into their advice; here's a little bit from me....
Don't compare yourself to other people. There's always going to be someone from your year that's a super duper overachiever and you sitting there being grumpy that you too don't have an internship as Beyonce's PA isn't going to change anything. You do you. And let other people just get on with it.
Here's some other bits of advice to help you through.
This woman who knows it's OK to take some time
'Don't stress so much about figuring your life out right away. It's okay to relax and take some time to work and figure out what you want to do. I overwhelmed myself with way too much at once.
It's also important to remember that your social life is most likely going to change completely, and thats normal.
Remind yourself that you have a degree (and that's great!) and just take it from there.'
This woman, who's got a dose of harsh truth
'You get a job by networking, not by applying. And in that case, grades and work experience are still important.'
This woman, who knows it doesn't matter if you don't know what you want to do yet
'I'm graduating from law school right now (sunday). Here is my advice: it doesn't matter what you graduate in or what you do after. Have fun, do whatever sounds cool, money is something to not worry too much about. If you want more education, volunteer on weekends to find out what you like, but don't worry if it's in a differnt field. You're young--figure out what you want to do later!! Enjoy life now!!'
This woman who realised that annoyingly, internships are the way forward
'Get a fucking internship or getting a job will be extremely difficult.'
This woman, who knows that even if you buggered it all up, it won't matter in the long run
'There's a point at which grades don't matter. There seemed to be opportunities for people with 3.7/4 GPAs and higher. After that a 3.5 brings the same opportunities as a 2.9.'
Like this? Then you might also be interested in:
‘I’ve Got A Degree. So Why Am I Working Picking Up Empty Glasses In A Club?'**
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Follow Jess on Twitter @Jess_Commons
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.