In what ways did you grow in the first year after graduating?

I got rejected so many times looking for a job that I had to learn to build confidence that I didn't have in order to gain experience I was expected to be imbued with...the "real world" is nothing like you expect it to be

Prior to graduation, I found a lot of my identity in my major or what I thought my “future career” would be. A year and a half later and I feel like I have a much more complex identity. Like it doesn’t matter if I’m not perfect at that one thing I thought I needed to be, because I have so many varying interests.

Before graduating, I’ll be honest, I was pretty depressed. Just kinda stuck in that 5 1/2 year rut of work, school, work, school. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea what I was doing half the time. Working in retail.

Now, I’m about 11 months post graduation. I’m working in a field I never expected, but is perfect for me (and fits into one of my degrees!). I’m more confident than I have been in a long time. I’m dating a wonderful man who I love very much. My anxiety and depression, while still a problem, are much better. And I’m finally moving out from my parents’ house in 3 weeks!

I think for me, the biggest difference has been my confidence. I’ve gone from completely lacking it, to rocking it most days and being a supportive partner to my boyfriend. I think finding a job that resonates with me played a big part of it.

With the winter coming, I can feel my depression seeping back in more. But I have reasons to push through now.

I realized it was okay to not be perfect. Outside of school there is no 100% or A+s. There’s just paying your bills and being happy with yourself. And sometimes what it takes to be happy and get the bills paid isn’t doing everything at a 100%, but realizing that 50% is okay too because you gotta protect your health. Or clocking out right on time so you can make dinner with friends instead of staying late to tie up all the loose ends. Or maybe it’s your social life that takes a hit so you can prepare for a promotion, or earn an extra commission. The point is that not everything is perfect when you leave school, and that’s really okay. It’s less about 100% and more about finding the balance you like.

I think I grew tougher, I did things I never thought I could do before but things just keep getting harder. College life was a bubble with a very clear objective and challenges, adult life feels much more abstract in comparison.

Personally, I learned a lot about myself.

Between falling out with some of my friend group and the rest of them moving to different states, I took a step back and did a lot of thinking about the last four years and how to move forward in the same city but with a different mindset.

Professionally, I realized that the thing I went to school for wasn’t enough to make me feel satisfied in what I did so I taught myself a lot of new skills so I didn’t get too complacent.

Got a job as a contractor, I've learned a ton and I like moving from company to company without hassle.

After graduating undergrad, I feel like I became more realistic about my limits and learned more about what I wanted in an ideal life and future job. I used to aspire to be a doctor or some high stakes professional, but later realized that there’s only so much I want to be able to handle from day to day in terms of stress. I realized that it was okay to live for the simple pleasures of life and that I didn’t need a career to define me or even be “defined” by some huge greater purpose. This guided me into a field I felt was a better fit for my interests and personality, while still having a decent work-life balance.

Since graduating earlier this year, I've landed an incredible job and moved to a new city. I'm gaining so much experience and work with amazing people. I feel so blessed. This is essentially my first job out of college and my first time moving somewhere new and being truly on my own. College life felt like a bubble for me, an extension of high school in a way. In just a few short weeks I feel like a completely different person with more experience and confidence than I had before. I know I have a lot to work on and so much more to learn, but I know I will get there.

I never would have dreamed this would be my life just a few months ago. It's been almost a year since I've felt true happiness and I'm finally experiencing it again. Comparing where I started when I first graduated to now... the difference is already unreal.

I'm loving my life so much now compared to college, and I feel like I've grown more in a few months than I did the entire four years I went to school.

Managing my money is starting to become easier now that I'm working a stable FT position, and I don't have to worry about any academic financial obligations such as tuition, supplies, loans(for now), etc. When I was in school, I was working little hours and barely making enough to get by, so I was basically living check to check. But now I'm making enough to build a savings and have some extra funds to have fun every now and then.

I did student teaching in the fall after I graduated college. It whipped me into shape for the teaching world and the adult world. It taught me how to be more savage and less sorry about it. I learned more about how to conduct myself professionally with both teens and adults. It made me feel more accomplished as a person because I did a wonderful job and showed me that I can handle the teaching world.

It really made me question how on earth teachers can work with kids or teens all day and then go home to their own kids. I know I’m not cut out for that, so I don’t want to have kids. I really enjoy the role I play in their lives as a teacher; I don’t want to play the parenting role. (But I have wished I could adopt some of my kids who have unstable or unsupportive homes).

I still don’t see how my cooperating teacher wakes up so goddamn early every day and functions...oh wait I do. He drinks copious amounts of coffee to where he practically has to pee every five minutes.

I am still not a morning person, but the school I work at now starts later and I don’t have to travel as far, so it’s much easier on me now.

The high school I student taught at was kinda rough, but I made it through. I still think about the kids I taught and I miss them. I just remembered that they graduated in June!

I learned more about the "real world" and myself in the sense that in college, I didn't really know what I actually wanted to do once I graduated or even if I would get a job. When I graduated and started working, I got exposed to a lot more different types of jobs and people who had wildly different career paths then they had originally had or thought they would want that it really broadened my understanding of my own capabilities . Like someone else said, the real world doesn't hand out grades or 100%s but is more concerned with your output so I think I realized that maybe there were some things I thought I couldn't do in college because I had to do it very very well but that actually, I could have done because you don't have to be great and it could have set me up much better in the future. You just have to do your best. Idk.

Grew very depressed

I’m ten months out from graduating...

I thought it’d be easier to save money and be healthy than it is, but that’s not too shocking. I’m working on it.

I love my job. I’ve learned A LOT in that realm. It’s very technical so I’ve learned a lot about my industry. I’ve also learned a fair amount about how to communicate effectively. I’m using a lot of the time management skills I learned in college.

23 but still feel 18 sometimes. Each day is an opportunity to solve a problem you’ve never had to face before. The more problems you solve, the more confident you feel. Even if you’re constantly facing problems you’ve never encountered before. That’s how I feel anyways.

AMA if ya want

It’s been a year and half here. I’ve successfully landed a couple of jobs via personal connections and networking, but I wasn’t happy due to companies’ poor management, lack of support from seniors, and lack of self-awareness and self-respect to move on. On top of this I was going through a break up, living in a poor neighborhood witnessing crimes and recently had a bad mix of anxiety attack with conversion + depressive disorder. Failures and hitting rock bottom helped me to realize self-worth on my own, and with people who truly cares about me. Realized that you won’t know what it’s like to and how to live without a framework or right answer to life, job, relationship and happiness until you’re completely out of school and feel like you’ve reached the end of things.

I learned how to cook anything. Cant guarantee the taste tho

I learned that what you learned in school has little relevance in the real world.

Stopped giving a fuck as to what people think

A lot of brutal honesty from my supervisors, coworkers and clientele. I no longer work in that field, but it helped me work toward a more internal locus of control when confronted with problems.

3.5 years. I don't think I've changed at all and certainly not for the better