Struggles of a Final Year Student

Time is ticking. The last semester of college has come for many of us. Pressure is on, tension is high and the impending doom of adulthood is upon us. By now, most final year students will be feeling the panic and anxiety of leaving the safe confines of university and entering the real, and harsh, world. At least, that’s the case for me.

It is no secret that many of us haven’t a clue what the future holds and which road to take (Shout out to Robert Frost, he gets it). Without a doubt, I’m sure that you, as well as I, have been bombarded with a continuous stream of questions throughout the year, especially over the Christmas holidays while in close proximity to family and friends, about your future plans and goals. In my case, two answers have emerged depending on my desperation levels in that moment. If they are low at the time, the answer will be that I’m searching for job opportunities and am confident I’ll find something. If they are high, it’s usually along the lines of “I have absolutely no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life, thanks for asking”.

I have thoroughly considered different options for after college and have realised I’m the type of person who needs to get on the career ladder as soon as possible. But I do want to share my thoughts about the different types of final year students that, at one stage or another, I have, considered becoming.

The Clinger

This is the student that has decided to stay in college and go the Masters or post-grad route. You may know exactly what you want to do or you don’t care what you do, just as long as you stay away from responsibility and in university. For the latter, as with most of us final years, you’re not ready to adult and will put it off for as long as possible.

Although the Clinger can enjoy another year of sweet college life, it comes with downsides they may not foresee. Newsflash: A masters is hard. You will have to do a lot more work than anticipated - suddenly that undergrad 5000 word essay doesn’t seem so bad anymore. A lot of your friends will have moved on, although, there may be a few stragglers like yourself, and even with the possibility of making new friends, college won’t have quite the same feel as it used to. To top it all off, you’ll probably be left with a hefty loan or broke AF. Of course some people actually have their shit together and do a post-grad because it will benefit their long term goals #respect! If that’s not you, then maybe it’s not worth it.

The Gapper

You are an adventure seeker. You have the bug and seek to enrich your life with new and profound experiences. You’re young and this is the time to go out and discover what the world has to offer. You’re just not ready for an office job or real life, but you want to do something productive that will stand to you. This could be an opportunity to seek career inspiration! So where to? Australia, Canada, South America, the US? The world is your oyster! You will probably return with no money and no job but the memories alone will last a lifetime.

The Squatter

You’re homeward bound. College is ending and you’re a bit of a lost soul. You have no option but to return home to mammy and daddy. You may be going home for financial reasons or you possibly just don’t know what direction to take, but home isn’t what it used to be. You’re now 22 and your parents don’t really want you living at home anymore.Last time you were living at home, you were 18 and now Mam won’t do your laundry and she expects you to cook dinner and tidy the house because you’re not doing anything else. Your Dad will probably be on your case every minute of every day about growing up and getting a job. All your friends are out there doing something new and you probably feel like you’ve wasted the last four years of your life. Good news is, this is probably just the right type of motivation that will kick start a plan for your future!

The Climber

You want to jump onto the career ladder straight away. You are probably sending out hundreds of CV’s just to guarantee you will be called for some interviews. Your brain is fried from all the applications you’ve written, most of them pages long. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to attend lectures, and study and apply to everything. Competition is high and your confidence is lacking because you’re afraid that it’s already January and you haven’t gotten anything yet. Maybe you’re being too hard on yourself but you have to be, it’s crunch time! You’re either motivated by innate ambition to do something amazing with your life, or pure fear that you’ll end up with nothing to show for all the work you put in these last four years. Fingers crossed is your best bet at this point. Light a candle for me Gran.

The Serendipitous

Things just work out for these rare and lucky folk. You adopt an “it’ll be grand” approach to life which hasn’t let you down so far. You’re in a queue at Starbucks, ready to order your caramel Frappuccino and the person in front of you drops their wallet. You pick it up and hand it to them and start chatting. Turns out this person is launching a start-up and needs interns to help with the grunt work. Two years later you’re managing the place. We all know these people. They just go about their lives with the chillest of attitudes and everything works out for them. They always land on their feet. Unfortunately, we can’t really plan to be this person. It just happens.

So, the struggle is real fellow final years. We will be fine though. We’ll find the right path eventually. Just keep focused for a few more months and enjoy being a college student! This is the last time it’s socially acceptable to really mess up so do it now rather than later. Good luck!

#rant