It’s nearly halfway through the first semester of the 2018-2019 academic year and Sonoma State University seawolves graduating in the spring are starting to feel the pressure and anxiety that comes with the idea of the future.
With their time at Sonoma State coming to a close, many students have begun speculating about whether or not their schooling and internships have been enough to show employers that they’re qualified to delve into their professions.
However, this period of uneasiness is very common amongst millennials and shouldn’t be something to worry about too much.
In the 2016 podcast hosted by “The Thoughtful Counselor,” doctor of philosophy and licensed professional counselor, Cyrus Williams, described the difficult transition out of college as being part of one’s quarter-life crisis.
Cyrus noted that during this time people between the ages of 20 and 25 are typically “a mess trying to figure out what they’re supposed to be doing and why.”
Sonoma State fourth year and communications major, Sunday Simon, can attest to this feeling of uncertainty. When asked about her future outside of college, she was quick to confirm her own feelings of anxiety about finding employment.
Simon is especially worried about finding a job because “nothing is ever guaranteed, especially in my field – in all fields. Mine is centered around media where everything is constantly changing and that’s pretty scary.”
As opposed to Simon, biology major Kristina Kurzadkowski, who is hoping to obtain a masters degree upon completion of her bachelors, feels confident about securing an internship after graduation and is not necessarily looking for a job right away.
However, Kurzadkowski is mainly worried about the expenses she’ll have to pay within the coming years, thanks to student loans.
Seeing as though she isn’t financially secure on her own, she plans to move back home with her parents after graduation and steadily work until she’s acquired enough money to move out and pay off her debt. She isn’t sure how long this process will take or if her future job will pay enough to make a substantial dent in what she owes, but she is hopeful.
In the case of transfer student and communications major, Tal Rimoni, he was sure to obtain three different internships at various TV news stations throughout his college career in order to gain the hands-on experience that he couldn’t learn in the classroom.
However, when Rimoni found himself doing mindless “grunt work,” he began questioning if he’d made the right choice about pursuing a career in media. Rimoni now believes that internships can be a “hit or miss” because “they may look good on a resume, but it doesn’t mean they were helpful to you at all.”
Although he didn’t find his internships to be enriching, Rimoni still has high hopes of moving to Los Angeles to work in the entertainment industry and he’s excited about what he can accomplish after graduation.
The transition between college and the real world is a time when nothing is for certain. However, this ambiguity doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. Rather than focusing on the negative, millennials can take this time to appreciate the vast possibilities and routes they can take after college.
It is important to realize that the uncertainty that comes with the idea of one’s future is completely normal, and while the idea of the quarter-life crisis might seem incredibly frightening, it’s safe to say that every millenial, and Seawolf, will experience it at one point or another.
