I am months away from replacing the stress of getting a degree with the stress of using the degree.
At every holiday party and meeting with a former professor, I go through the following interaction:
“Hey, how is school going?”
“Good, I’m almost done!”
I recently paid my last e-bill. I’m on the other side of it, and I will never worry about Ferris’ tuition again.
It is impossible not to think about what’s next. In a perfect world, I’d graduate in May and move straight into my own place in a new city with an exciting job in my field. Unfortunately, a college degree no longer guarantees success.
Bloomberg recently cited a study by intelligent.com, reporting that most college graduates work in fields unrelated to their major. Among graduates 25 and older, a quarter make less than $35,000 per year.
With a national average of $37,000 in federal student debt and rent increases exceeding the rate of inflation, it seems impossible for my generation to find stability without a leg-up.
I’ve been beyond fortunate as a student. Countless people have helped me get this degree. I’d be nowhere near it without my advisors, professors, classmates, coworkers and family.
Unfortunately, once I am truly on the other side of earning my degree, I will be far away from so many of these people. You get so close to the people you meet in college just for it to slingshot you a thousand miles away into a new future.
I planned on staying up through all hours of the morning this week to work on projects and articles. Instead, I stayed up with my co-worker, roommate and best friend.
She and I talked about how similar our struggles are and how different our coping mechanisms are. We commiserated in a way you only can with someone you share both an office and a kitchen with.
Right when we dug deep into the insane speed with which senior year moves, and how different each first of the month have been, I saw that it was December first. I thought, “I’m almost done,” and almost felt dread.
I have one more semester on campus, with the Torch and in the state of Michigan. My goals include slowing the time down by just a few seconds. We will have the rest of our lives to work full time and climb some corporate ladder. I may never live so close to this many people who value me again, and certainly not in such affordable housing.
While I spend this spring job hunting, reporting and editing, I will also spend it counting all the things that Big Rapids provides me with. I encourage other seniors to remain present in our final stretch.
Senioritis kicks in almost every time I open a broken InDesign file or have to drive an hour for sushi in this town. It suddenly melts whenever I unlock my front door to see a full kitchen and living room of people cooking and laughing.
It may almost be over, but so many other things have only just begun.