The Postgraduate Diaries

It's been 19 days since I graduated college. Two and a half weeks of "the real world."

The golden question for the last year has been, "What are your plans after you graduate?" And it's my favorite question, because I have no idea. It is now the dreaded "after graduation," and I still don't have an answer. On social media, I see countless peers of mine posting that they have accepted job offers, internships, fellowships, grad school admissions, they're cross-country road tripping, living in a van, changing the world already.

How can I not look at that and wonder what I'm doing wrong?

My entire life I have considered myself a hard worker, making all A's from kindergarten to 12th grade, receiving a competitive scholarship for college, and getting accepted to my dream school. All the while balancing sports and being a double-lettered varsity athlete in high school and getting inducted into the sports hall of fame of my county. I continued to work hard in college, and I got accepted into my desired degree program, which is the most competitive in its respective school on campus. I got accepted into a prestigious study abroad program and thrived, making a 3.85 GPA while traveling the UK for two months with new friends and peers. I excelled in my major courses and sought out electives that gave me a sense of direction and purpose with my career trajectory.

I say all of this to bring you in to where I am today. I am on month six of active job hunting, and there is not end in sight right now. I have applied to about 30 job postings, got interviews with two, and an offer from none. For someone who has seemingly done everything right in school and possesses drive and direction, how do I keep my head high when all I am receiving is negative news or nothing at all? I am not asking this because I have the answer, because I certainly don't, but I am trying to find it.

And you're coming with me.

Welcome to The Postgraduate Diaries, a journey I am embarking on and want to document. Searching for purpose in an almost-post-COVID world is a struggle, but it is one I cannot avoid. This blog will be a platform for me to recount my postgraduate life experiences, express my frustrations, celebrate my triumphs, and offer solidarity to anyone else in my position.

It's all happening, folks.