What I Learned in One Year Post-Grad

One year ago yesterday, I graduated from college.

It's crazy how fast time has flown since I walked across a stage, picked up my diploma, and set out for the real world. It's been an equally crazy ride, but hey, that's how growing up is. But the truth is that I learned a whole, whole lot, not just about myself, but about how to navigate the workforce and how to lean on my faith as a compass through it all.

So, I want to use this space and talk about what exactly I learned during the past year.

• It's okay if your postgrad job adventure is kind of crazy at first. I was so worried about where I would work and what I would do once I got out of school, but with prayer, diligence, and paying attention to openings and recommendations, I am now working jobs that I love (which include part-time marketing, proofreading, and writing for a blog and a magazine). I stay busy, but it's great.
• You get to build friendships with a wider scope of people. When you're in school, you tend to stay around the same age group, and while I found some of my very best friends in college, I've been able to get to know people in my church from children to adults, and I've been able to work in places where I talk to people from whom I can learn so much.
• Never, ever, ever discount yourself because you're young. Don't shy away from opportunities because you think you're not old enough, because you never know what experience and expertise you can bring to your workplace. Your perspective may really help you and others out, and you will definitely learn from those you work with and the experiences you have. ("Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." - 1 Timothy 4:12)
• If you don't know what you're doing, pray. Just because everyone else around you that's your age seems to be floundering around doesn't mean you should flail in the same boat. Cast your cares on God instead. Pray and ask Him to show you what His path is; He will make things clear in His timing, and when you look back one, two, or even five years, you will be able to see how God helped you.

All in all, this year has been an adventure. I can't wait to see what the next years bring, and how God will lead me.

If you graduated this year, congratulations, and God speed! :)