It’s often difficult seeing friends going through similar difficulties that I’ve gone through in terms of finding employment after graduation, and generally establishing a base for life in the adult world. After years upon years of being sheltered by academic life, being thrust into this new realm is tough. I can see a lot of the same raw emotions in my friends that I remember having to deal with:

• The exhilaration of being free and on the brink of something exciting
• Apathy mixed with fear with regards to finding a job
• Feeling the sudden panic with the realization that finding a job is necessary
• General sentiments of inadequacy when the job hunt is more difficult than expected
• Worrying when employment doesn’t match what’s considered the “dream job”

All of these emotions are especially powerful at this time because there’s a relative lack of mental stimulation to keep the mind preoccupied. It’s tough to deal with, but at this point I believe that these steps are necessary in order to gain a greater appreciation for the transition as a whole. I mean, this is one of those gateway periods, you know? You step over the threshold and suddenly you’re forever changed.

I’m not saying that I now have my life all figured out, after all, it hasn’t been that long since my own graduation. I can safely say though that after all of this my perspective has widened. Through university it was easy to have narrowed vision; all you needed to do was look as far enough as the next exam or project. As clichéd as it sounds, there are so many opportunities now available.

So when I see my friends going through these testing times, all I can do is remain encouraging with the hopes that they too will find bits of wisdom from this journey through the wilderness.