City Diaries: Postgrad 2.0

The other night over dinner, my 2 close friends (and former college roommates) and I were reflecting on the unexpected woes we all experienced fresh out of school. That unexplained postgrad angst that no one really prepares you for before graduation. All of us agreed that we had tunnel vision after finishing our degrees. Our only goal was to "get a job"—an achievement we had all seemed to think would in turn, result in lifelong happiness...obviously.

However, as anyone working full-time probably knows (once the newness of being an "adult" has worn off and you realize that you've got at least 40 more years of the daily grind until you can retire), gainful employment is not always the key to everlasting fulfillment.

Don't get me wrong, having a full-time job and being able to pay the bills is important. Financial independence is a luxury. So for that, I am thankful. 

But, do I want to work in digital advertising my whole life? Probably not. Will digital advertising even exist in our post-apocalyptic world with global climate change? Also...probably not. Let's just try to make this Paris Agreement work before jumping to any uncomfortable predictions about the demise of our planet + Facebook's Newsfeed inventory.  

What I can tell you is...I'm in the process—an extended brainstorm, if you will—of trying to figure out how to be more creative, eventually work for myself, and be able to pay the bills. Not the dream for all, but part of my adjusted recipe for lifelong happiness...coupled with love, family, friends, and a happy home, of course. 

—

Sitting at the dinner table with my old college friends, I took a moment to reflect. Almost four years out of school and recently transplanted from LA to NY, we each seemed to have quietly emerged from our initial postgrad fog—a fever-dream of false starts, wrong turns, and general lack of direction. Although none of us have it totally together, per se, what we do have is the newfound understanding that life is much less simple or predictable than we had imagined.

And what I've finally realized is...the plan is: there is no plan.

So, where does that leave me now?

I'd like to call this Postgrad 2.0. Happy you're all here with me, along for the ride.

-M