Which way should I go? With that one guy who directs movies just so he can say racist things to filipinos? Or the dashing young gentleman with the ginger beard?
Well, this decision is just one of the many obstacles I must face in the real world. But, the first obstacle us graduates (or almost graduates in this case) seem to always face is the dreaded question, "So what are you gonna do next?" There are of course many variations of this question, such as, "Do you have a job lined up?", "What is your next move?", "Are you gonna sell yourself on the corner to pay off your student loans?", etc. Our younger friends ask us, our extended family asks us, our professors ask us, and even those oblivious graduating peers ask us on occasion. We are bombarded on all sides with this anxiety provoking poke and prod, sometimes multiple times within a social gathering. And, it is exhausting to answer, to say the least.
As the weeks turned to days before my graduation, the questions of future plans began to blend together into one big, ugly gremlin jumping up and down on my chest. I might have an idea of what I want to do, but I do not in any sense have a set plan. A lot of graduates do have their next step set in stone, but a lot of us still don't. For those of us who chose to play it by ear, those questions can sometimes make us feel like slackers, a bit unsuccessful, or just a big lame. I can say with confidence that it weighed on me a little, but I never let that question dictate my feelings towards graduating. I had a rough go at it in college, and there was no way that some Nosey Nancies were going to get in the way of that feeling of pure joy as I walked across the stage.
So, my first obstacle in this new adventure I call the college afterlife, was round-house kicked to the face with joy. Not only joy, though, pride, excitement, and a kind of ecstasy that one can only feel after holding in a breath for a little too long, while punching a unicorn in the face (relief + doing the impossible). Erin -1, Afterlife- 0.
