Is life better after college?

[Vallerina 2]

So, I'm just sitting here late on a Saturday night thinking about what stuff used to be like for me. Sure, I was poor, and I had some really tough courses (I remember one where the top overall avg. for the class was a 40%.) I also had about 30 friends within a 5 min drive. I also had someone to hang out with no matter what time of day it was. I also didn't feel "stuck" in a job. I also had access to hundreds of different clubs in almost any activity you could think of. I felt that I was getting the most I could out of life.

I've been out of college for two years, and is it really like this when you're out of school? Does it get better? I'm usually too tired to do much after work (including studying.) I work in Chicago, and there is so much stuff to do, but I never have time, so I miss out on a lot. It takes effort to see any of my friends, and they're not always available. Many of my good friends live all over the country now, so it's very difficult to see them.

Sigh...youth really is wasted on the young! Is college really the best time of everyone's life? Do the post-college years get better once the cold reality that it will never be like that ever again wears off?

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[Muenkel 0]

Val,

Life is what you make of it.
Exciting things are ahead for ya...chin up.

Chris

_________________________________________
Chris

[pajarito 0]

Just different. Another stage in life goes by. There will be more.

[tbrown 26]

I like college until about my senior year, then I just got bored as hell with it. Like Muenkel sez, life is what you make of it. If you went back to the old campus you'd go out of your mind hangin' out with KIDS, it's surprising how much you've already changed without realizing it.

If you need to shake your life up, please do whatever it takes. I'm all of a sudden 48, with too many regrets. Believe me, the DECADES fly right on by.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[Vallerina 2]

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Exciting things are ahead for ya...chin up.

I know that there is stuff to look forward to in the future. And, I know I can't look into at the past too much, but things will never be like they were in college. That's for sure! It would be easier if I wasn't so exhausted all the time. And, I'm doing cool things that I didn't get to do in college....like go to Spain....but, it's just different.

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If you went back to the old campus you'd go out of your mind hangin' out with KIDS, it's surprising how much you've already changed without realizing it.

Haha!!! Actually, I hung out there a little over a year after graduating, and it was weird...someone that I used to babysit was sneaking into the bars....it was just so wrong! I felt old.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[Kennedy 0]

I know how you feel, I'm there too. Hopefully things will get, as someone put it, shook up for in the near future. I'm one year out and not looking forward to the next one looking like this one. Wish me luck.

I'm sure you'll get your stuff in gear. Jobs suck, that's the nature of most jobs. There a reason most people change jobs 5 times before settling into a career. If you can't enjoy it, work to turning it into a (past) learning experience.


ps - part time jobs suck when you have a BA

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[pilotdave 0]

I've been out of college for almost a year now. I like having money, but the best part is (or at least was until I started grad school) having so much free time. After work, I can do whatever I want and not have to worry about anything. I'm jumping a lot more now than I ever did in college. There are definitely things I miss about college but overall I think I'm glad its over.

Now grad school is just the worst of both worlds... work all day, then 3 and a half hours of class at night, 2 days a week. And homework. Ugh how I hate homework...

Dave

[Kramer 0]

Val, this isn't the same cheery Val that I spoke with today. Remember that one that never said goodbye when she left the DZ??

Don't depress me, I still have two years left of college. People say that college it the best years of your life, but I refuse to believe them.

But anyway, I think you should just come back to college...you can go to Ball State with me.

The FAKE KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!!!!!!!!!

[lawrocket 3]

When I was in college, I couldn't wait to get out. Once I got out, I wished I was back in.

Now that I am more aged, I know that I would never want to go back to that. It's like going back to elementary school - things were simpler, but freedom wasn't there. Your life and experiences empower you.

Live for the future. It's all ahead of you, and love that part! Life after college is great. Life after 30 is even better than that!

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[tcnelson 1]

there's always an exciting game of uno at kelly's pad waiting for you.
Ted

"Don't talk to me like that assface...I don't work for you yet." - Fletch
NBFT, Deseoso Rodriguez RB#1329

[SpeedRacer 1]

well, I'm 39 years old. I can say for a fact that being in your thirties kicks ass compared to being in your twenties. So yes, I'd say that things definitely DO get better!!

Speed Racer
--------------------------------------------------

[wingnut 0]

val,

never been to college before... but well.....it is much better now than when i was in basic training.... that help ya at all???? don't worry... prety soon you will rule the world and all will be good..... have no fear.............

______________________________________
"i have no reader's digest version"

[Casurf1978 0]

Val and Ken. Life after college is well different. Both of you have been in school for close to 80% of your life, you had a set schedule. School starts in the fall, you get winter break, spring semester comes up next, spring break then summer vacation. Its been like that for 18+ years. So in a way your going through a "shock" to your system/life. Like everything there are pros and cons. I've been outof college for 4 years now and I'm still gettin use to post college life. Hell I'm going to Grad school within the next three years, as to what I want to pursue, I dont know. I do know that I dont want to continue in the finance world and most likely will pursue a masters in one of the sciences.

P.S. Kennedy I know what you mean about part-timer with a B.S.

[VivaHeadDown 0]

I gave up waiting to find out. I quit working on getting a real life in the real world, got work on a DZ, and now I can't wait to wake up everyday. My social life has merged a lot with my "professional" life, but it sure beats what the rest of the world is doing, or not doing.

Don't Confuse Me With My Own Words

[Tink1717 2]

College is unique because there is a readily available social component that is very hard to replicate out there in the real world. Much more hard work is needed to attain and maintain friends after school. Work is a poor substitute. More often than not, there is no common interests between co-workers. Add to this the vast amount of time that jumping consumes, (in particular, weekend time) and there is even less time for the whuffos in our lives. It is possible to get and keep new friends, but it takes a huge amount of work.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[Vallerina 2]

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After work, I can do whatever I want and not have to worry about anything.

Lucky you. I have to study.

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Val, this isn't the same cheery Val that I spoke with today. Remember that one that never said goodbye when she left the DZ??

Yup. Same one.

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People say that college it the best years of your life, but I refuse to believe them.

So far, yes, they are. Graduation was bittersweet. I waas proud of getting a degree, but I really didn't want to leave.

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But anyway, I think you should just come back to college...you can go to Ball State with me.

Haha! That'd be fun! I have a few vague Ball State memories!

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Live for the future.

That's the part that's depressing. I look into the future and see myself doing the same crap for insurance companies, taking vacations not because I have a strong desire to see something but because I have a strong desire to get the Hell away from work. I see myself being in a cool city like Chicago with so much stuff to do, but I'm too tired to do any of it.

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College is unique because there is a readily available social component that is very hard to replicate out there in the real world.

Tell me about it.

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More often than not, there is no common interests between co-workers.

I had a whopping three coworkers that I felt I shared any intererests at all with. Two of them left. Luckily, the one that is still there sits right next to me. He's the only reason that work is tolerable. He's cool as hell, though. I felt all alone with my bizarre line of thinking until I met him. There is another person on this planet that thinks almost just like me....the world should be frightened.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[TomAiello 25]

I read this thread, and then I looked at your sig line, and then I laughed, and then I thought "how about a twelve pound nestle crunch for 25 dollars?"

And then I thought that a more appropriate response might be:

"There's still time to start a new life in the palm trees."

There's incredible wisdom in that little nugget. I know people who have struggled for years in life situations that just didn't work for them. Then one day, almost out of the blue, they stood up and just chucked the whole thing, went somewhere else, and started over, with something else. Not one of them (and I'm one of them) feels that it was a bad decision. They invariably wish they had done it sooner.

For guidance in tough times, some people read the Bible. I just listen to Jimmy Buffett.

The junior mints are still out there. You just have to go get them.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[Lindsey 0]

I really believe, Val, that life does keep getting better. Whenever I've felt in a rut, I've imagined what I'd really like to be doing....then I've found a way to do it. I read in one of your posts about going to grad school in Women's studies of some sort. Seems like you have a real passion there--and in grad school you surely do meet people with similar interests. I'm guessing that you just haven't gotten into your groove yet, but I have NO DOUBT that you will. Hang in there chica!

Peace~
Lindsey

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[Kennedy 0]

Quote

I read this thread, and then I looked at your sig line, and then I laughed, and then I thought "how about a twelve pound nestle crunch for 25 dollars?"

And then I thought that a more appropriate response might be:

"There's still time to start a new life in the palm trees."

For guidance in tough times, some people read the Bible. I just listen to Jimmy Buffett.

The junior mints are still out there. You just have to go get them.

I knew there was a reason I liked you, even though I haven't met you.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[Vallerina 2]

You just made the best post ever.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[Muenkel 0]

Tom, Great Wisdom.

Val,

I felt the same as you. My college years were great. The social life was there, there was a sense of freedom. Staying up all night cramming for an exam never bothered me. Graduation day for me was also bittersweet. But, there is most definitely a great life after college. Some jobs can suck and others may really satisfy you. Some of my biggest laughs came at work with my co-workers. I found my twenties to be a challenging time. You change so much during those years. Then 30 hits and something clicks. You feel more secure in your own skin. It's just a new phase in your life which will have bumps but will also have some smooth road. Enjoy it.
Sorry for my rambling.

Chris

_________________________________________
Chris

[Remster 24]

Who are you calling a fruitcake?

Remster

[EricaH 0]

Val, College was a blast, but I couldn't wait to get the heck outta there and get on w/ my super great "grown up life"... well, I graduated, realized I didn't have any friends left & my job sucked.

Last year, almost 1 month shy of 5 years out of college - I FINALLY was happy w/ my life (I still hate my job though).
I've gone in & out of many people's lives, just never seeming to fit in w/ the group. Now, I have many friends & 3 "best friends" (b/f included). Often I have nothing to do, but I'm happy @ home.

It's like peace finally found itself to me. As much as the world continues to suck, my friends ROCK!! (Or I'm just old & complacent ).

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)