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Crazy to think that such a thing exists? After spending about a quarter of your life in school you start to convince yourself that this is your life! And that light at the end of the tunnel that legend speaks of is nothing but a myth!
The joys of the late night crammings the last minute papers or assignments that are due in the next couple of hours, the intense itch to get your next caffeine fix, and how could we forget the group assignments with group members that we just wanted to give them a hug..... with our hands..... Around their necks
For many of us going through university you get to learn the many different type of personalities, which tends to vary from one extreme to the other .You were either the party animal and partied your way through university and never learned the meaning of studying, because let’s face it you’re a genius studying is for losers right? If you weren’t the party animal you probably fell among the 95% of the rest of university population in which you busted your ass trying to get through yet another agonizing semester.
And then, something miraculous happens, you actually finish your bachelor’s degree. At first its the best feeling of your life. Finally its over! You feel like a freed prisoner, no more studying no more 20 page papers. Nothing! I was so happy when I finished university even though I came out of there feeling like university beat the crap out of me, I felt like I could breath. I was looking forward to the next chapter in my life. When I told my friends that I was graduating they congratulated me as well as gave me a fore warning. One of my friends told me how happy she was to graduate but then eventually that happiness quickly dissolves and was later replaced with helplessness, confusion and a slight depression. At first I thought there was no way that was going to be me I was extremely happy that I was going to graduate and I was looking forward to actually starting life, you know getting married having kids etc.
Unfortunately my happy phase didn’t last long. There was a moment of now what? I had this vision that life after university would be so exciting but it was as if I was still in university (minus the homework). I had all this time and no idea what to do with it because normally I would be in class or studying for an exam. Eventually I got bored and started to question whether this was going to be my life. After doing some research I learned that these feelings are normal after graduation but in time they fade. As a matter of fact if you Google ‘depression after university’ you will find over 220,000,000 website on post-university depression. By which many of these graduates felt a sense of lost, helplessness and lack of direction which drove them into a mini depression. Its actually quite stunning to know that many university graduates go through this phase. What was most surprising is that there aren’t any studies conducted on this nor are there any statistics about it .
As I’ve mentioned before, the good news is that the post-university blues do end and eventually you start to feel better again. Here are few things you can do to help you kick these blues,
First of all give yourself credit : Alot of graduate are so eager to graduate that they forget to give themselves a tap on their back . Graduating university is a big step and a huge accomplishment that not everyone has gotten the opportunity to go through. So applaud yourself !
Job search : In order for life to start you need to make the funds to get there. If you have a vision of getting married one day you’re going to need to start saving for that future, after all money doesn’t grow on trees. Even if marriage isn’t in your cards but maybe buying your first car or your own condo/ house is. In order for you to attain that goal you’ll need money and in order to get money your going to need a job. So start hunting.
Find a hobby: After months of always complaining that I am bored and I have nothing to do, my boyfriend asked me what do I like to do. A question that stopped me dead in my tracks. What do I like to do? Since I was so used to school and falling into that routine I never really got to know me, and what I like to do.Do you have a passion for dancing, why not take up a dance class or acting class . Now is the time to find something you’ve always wanted to do and go for it.
Travel: As Drake so eloquently put it ..YOLO.. life is short don’t waste it sitting around watching life past you. Grab life by the balls and explore. The world is at your finger tips get out there , maybe you’ve always wanted to visit the exotic life in Thailand or live lavishly in Cali.
Explore within your Community: It always nice to travel but let’s face it , traveling can get really expensive. In order to keep cost relatively low, look at events that are going on in and around your city whether it's a Jazz fest, Igloofest or Osheaga.
Schedule Night out ....or In: call your friends and enjoy a night out on the town. Whether its to a club or just going out for dinner. If money is tight have an indoor affair with you and your friends some small snacks and drinks. Just time spent with friends can be just enough to lift your mood.