Stay in School As Long As Possible, Living In The Real World Kind Of Sucks

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From when we’re young we’re told that we can be anything we want to be. Set your mind to something and work hard, and you can undoubtedly achieve your goals. We’re told we’re special and that there’s no one else in the world like us and with that begins the growing of our egos that are bound to be disappointed by the reality that is life.

In high school we study as hard as we can for SAT’s and ACT’s while simultaneously participating in multiple clubs because we’re trying to get into the best college we can. We’re preparing ourselves for our ever-so-bright future because we know we’re going to be one of the people who makes a difference in the world because of how special we are. We get accepted to one of the colleges we apply to and we’re onto the next part of our lives.

College flies by and throughout those years we have the time of our lives. We drink too much, kill far too many braincells, sleep too little, make a lot of friends, meet plenty of people and study, study, study. While we maintain an active social life, intern, possibly work and focus on passing our exams with the least amount of effort to get by, we’re excited and scared for the future. We think we’ve found our passion or maybe we haven’t but we know what we want to do (or so we think). Finally, we graduate college and we have no idea what happens.

We’ve been in school ever since we can remember and whether we choose to admit it or not, we
haven’t really been in the real world, like ever. So we have this dream of what to expect and then it hits you like a ton of bricks that you’re no longer in your fairy tale. This is now reality whether you like it or not and there’s nothing you can do to slow it down.

It’s now been 2 and 1/2 years since I graduated from college and I think every year I get a little bit more disappointed by reality. There’s a possibility I just haven’t found the right career for me but I fear it’s more than that. The tough realization that this is life hits you like a ton of bricks once you’re done with school. You’re just another person. There are lots of great skills you may possess but there are also millions of people with those skills. You may have many great personality traits that you once thought made you unique but little do you know, there are lots of people just like that. We work so hard throughout high school and college thinking that it’ll make our futures brighter but little do you know, every single other person is thinking and has thought the same thing.

So in my 24 years of life, I’ve been told thousands of times that you’ll figure out what you want to do or what you’re meant to do blah blah blah. I’m not going to say how many jobs I’ve had in the 8 years I’ve been legal to work (for fear of future employers reading this article) but I’ve had way too many plus 5 internships and I still have absolutely no idea what I WANT to do or what I enjoy doing for 40 hours a week. Maybe the depressing reality is that you just have to pick a job that doesn’t make you hate your life and stick to it. Work your way through life so you can pay for materialistic stuff you don’t need and living for your 48 hours of freedom on the weekends. Or, do what I wish I would’ve done, pretend your Van Wilder and stay in college as long as you can.

Don’t grow up, it’s a trap.

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