College is Over and That’s OK!
(Illustration by Kimberly Johansen)
University life is widely regarded as a period of golden years for a multitude of reasons. College campuses allow students to live in walkable communities, trial a range of experiences and meet some of the most important people they will ever know. For this reason and others, many graduating seniors are understandably worried about what the next stage of life will look like.
Graduation is stressful. This stress is not eased by the compounding echo created by social media posts warning students to take advantage of the last few weeks of senior year because…post-grad life sucks?
There’s an easy solution: don’t peak in college. I believe your best years should always be in front of you.
Evaluating what makes life worthwhile during college might ease the transition. Some of these factors are within your control while others or not.
For example, I enjoy the intellectual stimulation of academia, the thrill and joy of intramural sports and the ease of meeting new people. These are factors that I can somewhat control, even as I leave the confines of university life.
I am without a doubt a lifelong learner, so I am not worried in the slightest that post-grad life will deprive me of intellectual curiosity. Although, I am starting to understand that it will look different.
This is not good or bad, just an adjustment. Challenging yourself to engage with academic material has even become an online trend for adults. Today reported on the 2025 TikTok trend of creating an independent curriculum to stimulate the brain and avoid “brain rot.”
Graduating does not have to be the end. Instead, I encourage my fellow grads to partake in adult leagues or adjacent opportunities. I hate to break it to you, but it is officially time to join a run club to meet people. Run clubs populate social media conversations about post grad life for a good reason. They may help you build a routine, meet new people and live a healthy life.
As for meeting new people, build a life around your interests. The people will find you. Also, figure out who you are. No one finds a deeply insecure person interesting, so continue to learn about yourself.
The variables out of your grasp during the post-grad transition might include proximity to friends, location and eased means of experiencing achievement. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself what is most important and that might mean asking, “If not now, when?”
Weigh what matters most and take the steps necessary to shape your life the way you want. No one is going to do it for you; if not now, when?
Another factor of identity that is not easily filled after college is the sense of achievement. College gives you academic validation that post-grad life does not offer. Grades are a metric of success that makes you feel like you are doing good—at least for me. College gives students the opportunity to win awards, edit journals and build personal relationships with professors.
This will no doubt shift as graduation looms. This means you might have to search for a sense of achievement in ways you had not considered. Marathons, promotions, marriage, travel—you choose. But adjust expectations about what accomplishment looks like.
Post-grad life will be difficult regardless of the precautions you take to prepare yourself. This, like many life-altering changes in your life, is inevitable. But take it to heart that change does not always have to be bad. By always seeking to better yourself, you will learn to not peak at life when you are so young.
But regardless, enjoy. Go out every night. Carpe diem…or carpe noctem!