Spring semester each year at Taylor brings a certain refreshing yet fretful feeling in the air. On one hand, the first semester has ended and a new one awaits.
However, a daunting uncertainty lies ahead. For most students, they’re trying to figure out what they’ll do for the summer and find a place to live if they have an internship. Or maybe they’re trying to get plane tickets home.
For seniors though, and second-year MAHE students, anticipating grad school or a “real-life” job awaits them. Some even get a head start and graduate Taylor a semester early, such as recent graduate Joe Pfeifer as he graduated early from Taylor in December 2019.
“Job searching can be daunting and frustrating, but it is important to recognize the blessing it is to have received a college degree and have the ability to explore different job opportunities,” Pfeifer said.
“Adulting,” refers to someone doing things a normal adult does such as grocery shopping, cleaning their house or apartment, working a full-time job or buying a car. The list goes on.
Most people know anxiety is a rising mental health issue, especially among college students facing the rigor and constant pace of college. Does adulting and becoming independent also increase anxiety?
I’m not offering any hard evidence for either side, but in my case, adulting has been refreshing. I have one foot out the door in the real world now, as I live off-campus with a part-time job at a coffee shop while simultaneously finishing up school as a part-time student.
While there is a lot of pressure to find a full-time job after graduation that will give me more than just a few dollars, the job-search also comes with endless possibilities to explore.
In my case, I knew I would go to Taylor for most of my high school career. Having such a big life decision already made felt natural and I didn’t have to look around at many colleges. Now, I have the chance to survey different jobs and be excited about starting my professional career.
For some people, I understand that’s scary.
“I know that the field and jobs that I am applying for right now are pretty competitive, so my worry is that there will always be someone more qualified than I am and I'll be left without a job,” said Jen Cline, a second-year MAHE student.
Wherever you land, remember that things will be alright. If you didn’t get that job or get into the graduate school you wanted, it’s not because you’re a failure. Nor is one path better than another.
That’s something I’m having to remind myself. The pressure can be too much sometimes, and I know a full-time job will bring even more stressors. Yet there is meaning and goodness in every situation. God doesn’t waste any moment, whether you’re adulting or not.
