The First Year After College

I see the first year after college as being an extremely important one. And I don’t mean that you have to figure out your entire life in this year, I mean that you need to claim this time for the things that are going to develop you into the best version of yourself as you begin your adult life. This is a time to engage in some deep self-discovery, to take some risks for the things you care about, to resist any urge to define yourself or commit to one path and to prioritize your own growth above everything else.

I did pretty well in my first year after college (if I do say so myself). I graduated from a tiny liberal arts college with a degree in theatre, an internship lined up, and no idea of what I actually wanted to do with my life.

I decided to claim and optimize my first year after college. I ended up starting my own business, backpacking around Southeast Asia, and launching a podcast. Now, at 23 and almost two years post-grad, I am truly happy with where I am in life, and I want to share the main lessons I learned, so you, dear reader, may feel as joyful as I do at the beginning of adulthood.

1. You don’t have to have this all figured out!

The worst thing you can do for yourself as you are getting started after school is convince yourself that you need to have your life, career, finances, health, relationships, and worldview all sorted out. May I remind you that you are in your early 20s. You may not feel it, but you are so young, and you have a very long way to go in life. Life is a process, and you figure everything out as you go. Right now is your opportunity to begin shaping yourself and embrace the fact that you don’t have all the answers.

2. Don’t let anything define you. Especially not your degree.

You may have just spent the past four years of your life earning a degree in a specific subject, but I beg you not to let that define the course of your life. Very few people actually end up with careers related to their degrees, and that is more than OK. The course of your life and your career shouldn’t be defined by the subject you chose to study in school when you were 18 years old. Do not stop exploring new subjects and gaining new interests because you believe your path has already been defined for you.

In the same regard, don’t allow other people to define you. Whatever your teachers, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, or fairy godparents say about you and your life… these are just suggestions. You are in the driver's seat of your life, and you are the one who has to live with whatever life you end up creating, so the best thing you can do for yourself right now is learning to quiet the noise and tune into what you want over what everyone else is telling you.

3. Try as many new things as you can.

Again, I know that you spent the last four years of your life pursuing one subject, and you spent the last two decades of your life learning, but that doesn’t mean that your education is over. Your education is over when you say it’s over, and I hope that you make the decision that your education will never end.

You should spend this next year collecting knowledge and experiences and do it as often as possible. The best gift you can give yourself in the first year after college is to learn how to take your education into your own hands, so you can continue educating yourself independently for the rest of your life.

4. Travel. Yes, you can afford it.

I figured out how to make a living online through my business, so I could spend six months traveling around Southeast Asia. And this was the best thing I could possibly have done for myself. There is nothing in the world that accelerates your growth, strengthens your confidence, and broadens your perspective like international travel. So I suggest you go to any lengths to make this happen for yourself.

I know that this can seem daunting from a financial perspective, but I promise you are capable of it!

5. Build meaningful friendships.

In my opinion, the quickest route to a quarter-life crisis is by not having enough meaningful friendships in your life. This is one of the most difficult parts about school ending for most people. When you graduate, a lot of your university friends are going to fall out of your life, and you may find yourself in a social limbo.

But don’t worry! There are lots of cool things out there like Meetup.com and Facebook communities that will help you connect with some amazing people and begin building lasting friendships for this next phase of your life.

And I urge you to really take ownership for finding and connecting with people who are going to support your growth and push you to be the person you want to become. It’s true that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, so make sure you are choosing your friends wisely. And do it now while you are young, so you and your tribe can grow together throughout life!

And most importantly, have fun! I know that the first year after college can be a little scary and confusing, but this is such an exciting time in life. And it’s an opportunity for you to have fun, enjoy the added freedom of not being in school anymore, and be grateful for the amazing life you have ahead of you!