With one semester left of my collegiate experience, and a boyfriend who has been booted into the real world after graduation this spring, the word of the day is "pressure." I have watched many of the 2011 graduates apartment hunt, job hunt, accept jobs, enjoy the summer, go abroad, work on solo projects,-- and the list goes on.
As the spring was wrapping up for me, I was feeling like I had really nailed it. I applied to more than a handful of internships, and I had accepted two. However, two weeks into the first internship, I quickly realized that it was not a learning environment, and I did not believe in the work it offered. (Lesson learned: it's just as important to do research and profiling for the person you'll be working for, as it is for him or her to research and profile you.) Thus, I've downsized to just one internship that focuses on public events on weekends-- it's great fun, and definitely a resumé booster, but not exactly "work experience" in the most general sense of the phrase.
This is not, by any means, the end of the world. But it definitely does not rocket me into a comfortable position to graduate. The successes and failures and "inbetween's" of this years graduates are both inspiring and exciting. Perhaps I feel that I am in limbo because I feel ready to launch. This final semester is scheduled with filler courses. I would be wise to busy myself with work and living preparations this fall.
Bringing all of this full circle, I am not wishing my last semester of college away. I hear tons of my friends' and family members' voices starting the "I'd give anything..." conversation. However, this grey stage of life, where I am not exactly a college student anymore, but not quite independent, proves to be emotionally difficult. The pressure is very real at this point, and I only know of one worthy response: Work.
