15 Signs You’re Living The Ultimate Post-Grad Lifestyle

Whether you choose to believe it or not, the phrase, “college doesn’t last forever” has finally caught up to you. Your days as an invincible college undergrad have come to a close and have left you facing the inevitable, post grad lifestyle. How do we know that we’re actually living in this new stage of life? Besides for the fact of actually graduating, the following signs are true indicators that you are now, in fact, a post grad.

1. The number in your bank account is more important than the number of followers you have on Instagram.

Saving money is a constant thought, which has presented itself in a whole new light now that college is over. In college, you saved your money to ensure that you had enough cash to pay your Greek life social dues or to go out for two-dollar Tuesdays. Now, you worry about being able to afford your monthly rent or being able to afford the two-dollar subway ride to work.

2. Happy hour is the new pregame.

Let’s have a glass of wine and order some appetizers because downing shots of vodka in a dorm room with The Remix to Ignition blasting is soooo yesterday.

3. One drink is equivalent to the what-use-to-be five.

#Drunk

4. Brunch is your new favorite meal.

Sunday funday is defined as Mimosas and eggs at noon because kegs and eggs are no longer an appealing (or appropriate) combination at that hour.

5. You have at least considered using an online dating app.

Because how else are you supposed to meet someone now that college is over?

6. You experience life, as it is, clique-free.

Whether it’s going to a bar, going to lunch, or going to a sporting event, those selective groups of people are no longer in their respective places and you can no longer predict whom exactly you’ll run into. Instead, it’s an entirely unpredictable world of new faces. So maybe you can meet someone? Yeah, because strangers are so unbelievably sociable and easy to talk to.

7. You understand what it means to be in a long distance relationship with your best friends.

The friends you made in college could easily be classified as your brothers and sisters and will most probably make an appearance in your future wedding party. However, they’re no longer living in the house next door or living on the other side of your bedroom. You can no longer run to them when you need advice, have gossip to share, or need to borrow a pair of shoes. Now, they’re a text, phone call, and a drive away – you see and talk to them often but not nearly as often as need be.

8. Your closet looks a lot more like J.Crew and a lot less like Forever 21.

Earrings that turned your ears green and black mini skirts have made their exit out of your everyday fashion ensemble and have been replaced by clean-cut pearls and nude colored pencil skirts in the frontline of your wardrobe.

9. You watch what you eat.

Domino’s Pizza and Easy Mac were foods that you could eat every day and still look flawless in a crop top and skinny jeans. If you eat those foods now, those calories go straight to your thighs and you’re left with the overbearing guilty question of, “WHY did I eat that?”

10. Attending your yoga/Bar Method/gym class is a religion.

You live and breathe your monthly fitness membership and realize that working out is a priority in order to maintain some type of figure now that gravity has hit.

11. Napping is no longer a part of your daily routine.

The casual nap between classes at noon and/or the nap at 5pm before your lecture hall is no longer an option. Instead, naps have been replaced by Trenta-sized iced coffees from Starbucks to help you power through until bedtime.

12. You would rather spend a weeknight sleeping or watching romantic comedies because FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is overrated.

You are aware that your weeknights need to be spent in a relaxing way in order to be fully charged for whatever the next day has to offer. You understand that you have real responsibilities to uphold other than the responsibilities of making sure you vacuumed your side of the room or that you have enough clean clothes to wear for the week.

13. You’re more concerned about who looks at your LinkedIn profile than about who likes your Facebook profile picture.

Social media exists in the post grad stage of life to connect with people in the workplace and to discover job opportunities. While we still use social media to connect with friends and to broadcast our lives to the public, it means so much more when the CEO of a company views your LinkedIn profile than when the guy who you made out with once likes your photo.

14. The number one conversation starter is, “So… What are you doing now that you’ve graduated?”

Basically, if you had a penny for every time you heard this question, you wouldn’t actually need to be doing anything… because you’d be rich.

15. You feel like you need to know EXACTLY what you want to do with the rest of your life.

Yes, you have graduated with a degree in whatever area of study you were most interested in while you were 18 through 21 years of age. However, if you are unsure about exactly what you want to do as a career or may even think you’re interested in something completely different than what you studied, you have the time to figure it out now. This is the stage in your life where you need to take chances and try new things in order to discover what you’re truly passionate about.