One of the scariest things to think about while balancing college life is post-graduation plans, a burden that never dissipates no matter how much you ignore it. Post-grad plans change from person to person, but they usually follow one of a couple of options: immediately entering the workforce fresh out of college, heading for a master’s (and potentially even a PhD), or taking some form of alternate path.
They’re stressful, but they basically define your future, so it’s a challenge trying to figure them out, comparing what you wanna do versus what would be the best for your future. Plus, you never know what’s gonna work out and what isn’t. Most of the time, it feels much easier to just pretend like they don’t exist at all and completely live in the moment. But then you reach the point where you realize that you can’t ignore them anymore because they’re staring at you dead in the face and you can’t afford to look back.
At that point, some people start obsessing over them. They plan out all the steps to achieve them as they enter college and follow these plans to a letter, without any room to breathe. One big example is becoming part of a club’s eBoard right off the bat. Many people try for a position on a club’s eBoard for the goal of standing out on resumes or providing evidence of leadership, which isn’t a bad thing; rather, I think it’s admirable to strive for an eBoard position even if it is simply to look better on a resume.
Where the real problem lies is the self-destructive nature of pushing yourself without end for the sake of plans that are far away. Speaking from experience, ever since starting college (which hasn’t even been all that long), it’s started to weigh heavily on my mind. “What the hell am I gonna do if I don’t immediately start progressing towards a spot on eBoard?” is just one of the many thoughts swirling around in my head when considering post-grad plans. I kept pushing myself to keep doing a lot of club activities even though it placed a huge strain on my mind, desperate not to make the same mistakes I made in high school.
I kept thinking it was all for my future, that I would look back upon how hard I worked and be grateful. Thankfully, I’ve learned to pace myself just in time before severe burnout got to me. I genuinely liked doing all these activities, but it was definitely a lot. I talk about post-graduation plans a lot in a negative context here, but they aren’t always like that. Rather, I’m trying to highlight how strong of an influence post-grad plans can have on your college life. As such, it’s always important to keep yourself from going over the edge, so that your plans feel motivating rather than all-consuming. Of course, your future’s important, but so is the now!
