The past week has been a whirlwind of fun and excitement. Beginning on Wednesday and lasting through Sunday, Z and I got to spend the week with a whole host of great college friends who were in town for wedding activities.
One of the things that I noticed this weekend is that sometime over the past 3 years, we have all become grown-ups. I'm not exactly sure when this transition happened, but I do vividly remember how different life was for all of us just 2 short years ago, during the first year after graduation.
No one really prepares college students for life after school. For most of us in our short lives, the first 1-2 years out of school have gone on record as the most difficult of our lives. Suddenly being dropped in the "real world" without rules, timelines, goals, and direction can feel like falling into an infinite abyss. Managing the expectations of where our teenage selves thought we would be at 22-23 and reality was extremely difficult. Navigating the very beginning of our working lives during the greatest financial crisis since the great depression felt like paddling against the current, when the best we could hope for was not to drown.
We worked jobs we didn't like. We worked at restaurants, and as administrative assistants, and as interns. We felt under-employed and under-appreciated. We missed our community and friendships as we spread out accross the country in pursuit of work. We spent countless hours on the phone, recounting the past, the good times of being in school. We were not sure if we would ever realize our dreams or find contentment in our careers.
But somewhere in the past year or so, we've found our way. We've found jobs that could turn into careers, started graduate school, gotten married, discovered community. I'm not saying things are perfect, but we are all on a path that no longer feels like a dead-end. We are hopeful again and ready to take on the future together, and that is a wonderful thing.
I'm thankful for the time I got to spend with all of you, and I have nothing but excitment for where your lives are going and for the next time we are together again.
Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Burnett. May your lives be filled with happiness together!
-M.E.
I loved this post! It makes me miss you and your way of looking at life.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking a lot about this too this past weekend. It's really hard to find your way the first few years after school, but it's comforting to see that we are all figuring this life out. :)
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