Alex Brizzi, Campus Carrier Contributing Columnist
With graduation lurking around the corner, I can’t help but feel the weight of the real world on my shoulders getting heavier.
Questions constantly float around in my mind: What is due in the next four weeks? How many jobs have I applied for again? Where am I going to live? Stress is accumulating by the hour, so how as seniors in college, five weeks shy of being a “grown-up,” can we prepare in the best way possible for the scary postgrad world?
For many people, graduating college means moving back home for a while. Studies have shown that the number of college graduates moving back into their parents’ homes is on the rise.
Of course, this has been due to economic ups and downs, which are directly affecting the job market. College graduates just are not motivated to get up and go find a job and many end up taking a gap year to “figure things out.” Haven’t we been doing something like that already for four years? Figuring out finances, locations, jobs and so on are top of the list to start thinking about, but looking back at how Berry has helped me to prepare is also important.
Although Berry somewhat encourages a sheltered culture, the institution still offers plenty real-world simulations. The constantly complained about attendance policy is hey, guess what, preparing you for the fact that you won’t be able to sleep in whenever you feel like catching three extra hours of sleep just because.
Berry also offers a multitude of jobs for just about every interest and major. Students have the opportunity to become managers and CEOs of campus jobs, which certainly helps their resumes stand out from other prospective employees.
Berry has great intentions with preparing us for the work force, but I still have struggled the past year or so to learn and teach myself other important things.
I don’t know how credit card payments work or the interest that comes attached to them. I don’t know how to file taxes and whether or not to have someone do them for me or to do them myself. I have learned, however, by living off campus this year how to manage bill payments and rent. When you live at Berry, everything is paid at once, and more likely than not your parents are the ones getting it done.
I wanted so badly this past year to show my mom that I was growing up so I said I was going to take on renting a house, plus utilities, along-side already paying for my car insurance, cell phone bill and a portion of my tuition. This was the best decision that I could have ever made.
I think that if I would have waited until next year to fully learn how to manage money better, pay bills, work at a new job, live in a new place,and all the other things life has to offer, that I would have gone absolutely insane. There’s so much to take in all at once and doing this has been extremely beneficial.
I would personally encourage all students, whether you are four weeks from graduation or four weeks from surviving your first semester at college, to take as many opportunities as you can.
Go to job fairs and networking events. Get to class on time and create good habits now before they die hard later. Get a fish and try to keep it alive longer than three days. Any type of responsible action will help prepare you to do and be your best in the “real” world.