Dear Soon-to-be Graduates,
This is it. What you’ve been looking forward to for four whole years (give or take). You’ve taken the classes, worked tirelessly both day and night, drank A LOT (energy drinks before tests and alcohol after…depending on your priorities) and now it’s finally coming to a close. You’ve ordered the cap and gown, and you’ve been counting down the days one-by-one with gleeful anticipation.
Don’t worry. Your day will come and it will be as fabulous as everything you’ve dreamt. I mean, mimosas at the President’s house — what more could you really ask for? The thing about special occasions, though, is that inevitably, they end. And after all the bubbly novelty of your freshly- graduated self has worn off, you’re left saying, “Now what?”
Seriously, now what?
Many people might answer this question with, “Now you get a job… get your own place… go to grad school…” You catch the drift. While these are all practical answers, these are all incredibly irrelevant if you don’t do one thing first.
Now, more than ever before, you take care of yourself.
Okay, well, what does that mean? First, I’ll tell you what it doesn’t mean. Courtesy of yours truly, here’s the top five things NOT to do after graduation.
1. Don’t start smoking cigarettes. If you’ve made it this far without using tobacco, keep it that way.
2. Don’t become a pseudo-alcoholic. Drinking alone on a Tuesday night while watching reruns of “Friends” has never been cool, and it never will be cool.
3. Don’t let your weight get out of hand. You might have more money once you get a job, but more money should not mean more McDonald’s. That shit is going to haunt you. Trust me.
4. Don’t spend all of your free time alone. It’s not healthy for you to all of a sudden become a recluse if that’s not your preferred way of living.
5. Don’t sleep on a twin mattress on the floor of a building that may or may not have poisonous spiders lurking around. Just don’t.
Alright, thanks for the advice, Sarah, but that still doesn’t tell me what I SHOULD do. Well, self-care can vary greatly from person to person, but there are some shared themes. Take care of yourself by cutting through all the relentless noise in life and get back to the basics: Mind, body and soul.
Just because you don’t have any more classes doesn’t mean you should stop learning. Find out what it is that you enjoy doing that keeps your brain active. If you don’t enjoy reading or writing, find other hobbies that keep you engaged. Learning a new skill is still learning — learn to knit if that’s what you’re into.
Feed and exercise your body. Do it often and do it well. Learn about nutrition. I’ll say it again for the people in the back: LEARN ABOUT NUTRITION. Pizza is not a food group, contrary to what you might believe when there are half a dozen or so different places to order pizza in Carlinville alone. Find an exercise that you enjoy. Weight lift, run, do yoga, dance around your apartment in your underwear or be active some other way. A happy body is more likely to house a happy mind. Human bodies were made for moving.
Nourish your soul. Ask yourself what makes you want to wake up in the morning. Spend your time and energy on people, events and things that truly make you happy. Keep a journal. Read self-help books. Surround yourself with positive energy and return positive energy back into the world. Meditate. Thank God, the universe, Allah or whoever/whatever higher power you believe in that you had the grand opportunity of waking up today. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Oh, one more don’t for the list:
6. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. You’re f**king graduating college. You got this.