Feeling the heat

JAMIE EDDY | FEATURE EDITOR | THE USD VISTA

Thanksgiving break is not only a great time to hang out with family but also the perfect holiday to see old friends.

As we all continue to grow up it seems to get more difficult for all of us to gather together, so the holidays are the ideal time to do so.

During Thanksgiving break I was lucky enough to have many of my closest friends home for the fall holiday, allowing each of us to catch up with one another on school, relationships, recent adventures, family, travels, and post graduation plans.

My friend Caroline just landed her dream job with Facebook including a fancy title that I cannot recall and neither can she most of the time. In addition, her new job comes with a more than generous starting salary, allowing her to treat herself to luxuries that many 21-year-olds are not financially capable of affording. I am absolutely thrilled for her, yet it makes me nervous. I have barely begun the process of looking for a job, let alone a job with a substantial starting salary.

In the last few months I’ve had dozens of parents, teachers, friends, and peers ask the semi-horrifying but all so appropriate question, “What do you plan to do after graduation?”

I would argue that this question is the most common question asked to individuals in their final year of school, forcing the soon-to-be graduates to feel the heat of finding a job that offers financial security. Financial security not only gives recent graduates the feeling of success and financial freedom but it also grants parents the ability to retire without the burden of sustaining their now-grown-up kids.

Although this question should not come as a surprise, it has lead to a heightened pressure to adhere to the conventional means of society placed on college graduates.

By conventional means of society I am referring to the stress that is placed on recent graduates to find a job before or soon after finishing school in order to transition successfully into the real world of working, salaried adults.

Although the news of my friend Caroline scoring her dream job with a successful company has made me feel a bit anxious and slightly pressured to focus on job hunting, I need to remember that there is still ample time to search and that the right job will come along soon enough.

This is an exciting time for USD graduating seniors and I have high hopes for the class of 2016.