What to Do After You've Graduated College

Graduating college is truly a dream come true. Whether it has taken you longer than the traditional 4 years or you are an overachiever and graduated in less than 4 years it is still a special time of life. This can be an interesting time in life as well because you have been going to school and now you do not have school and will have more time on your hands.

Life still goes on even when you are not in college and if you are having a bit of a crisis, do not worry, this is completely normal. There is plenty to do and you have a bright future ahead of you since you are done with your undergraduate.

Here are 5 things to do now that you are done with college:

Take a Break

You may feel the pressure to get a job or start applying for graduate school but you honestly deserve a break. The stress of the end of the semester is bad enough and your final semester is extra stressful with graduation. Your brain may feel fried and you probably have just experienced a whole range of emotions that have left you emotionally exhausted.

Allow this experience to sink in before you hop into anything major such as important interviews for jobs or graduate school. If time does not allow you to do this, give yourself some time down the road, several weeks or months later, to take a break. It will help you rejuvenate and you will come back feeling refreshed and ready to work.

Learn Something New

Since you do not have school or the pressure of homework and essay deadlines anymore, you are able to learn whatever you want. This could look like reading a book that has been on your list forever and keeps getting pushed to the side. It could also be taking a free online class and learn a new skill to help boost your resume. With the internet and online learning, your possibilities are really endless as you can learn by yourself.

Dream Big

Now that college is out of the way it really is time to start dreaming big. Look at different people who did amazing things with their lives such as Gary Young or Steve Jobs. There are a lot of different things you can try now that you are done with school. You can travel to a different country, learn a new skill or even go to a technical school. Start a new hobby and keep learning because you never know what you might find that you really enjoy.

Broaden Your Horizon

Most people think that since you are done with school your life has somehow ended. This is not the case at all. In fact, you could even argue that your life has just begun and the world is open to you to explore.

There are so many different activities and hobbies that are out there to try. Your evenings are probably a little more open than they have been while you were in school. This really is the time to do things you have always wanted to do and try things that you would not usually do.

Allow Your Plan to Change

Maybe you wanted to go to graduate school right after you graduated or maybe you wanted to start working the week after you graduated. Finding a job takes time, and there are a lot of different factors that go into graduate school.

If you talk to different people or read different stories about finding a job, you will find that there is no specific timeline for getting a job. For some people, it takes a couple of weeks, while for others it can take longer than 6 months. Be patient with yourself and understand you may end up doing something different with your life than what you had originally planned.

What did you do after you graduated from college? Comment below to start the conversation!