ZAHIRA LOPEZ

ANTELOPE STAFF

“Where are you moving?”

“Have a job lined up?”

“Is there someone special?”

These are the questions that have been haunting me during my last semester of college. I have no plans of furthering my education after undergrad. 

Then it hit me. 

I am about to enter the real world.

Whether or not seniors admit it, everyone is nervous. It’s okay to be scared of the next chapter, especially when looking around and seeing friends on different paths. 

Since I left high school, this has been proven true. I have multiple classmates who are married, a friend younger than me who is engaged and another who has a full-time job offer waiting for her when she graduates. 

I think it’s easy to forget the reality of things because most of my peers share the commonality of being in college.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this video on TikTok that reassured me that the best is always yet to come. 

I don’t remember the creator, but the video said something along the lines of:

“Everyone says college is the best four years of their lives. I
disagree, I do think they were the most fun, but I do think the life I’m living right now post-grad is like nothing before, and it’s even better that my friends are going through it at their own pace.”

As I reflect on my UNK experience, I know that everything happens for a reason, including my degree change, the lost connections, the gained friendships and the self-doubt. All of it was fundamental in figuring myself out and setting myself up to allow continual growth.

I’ve come to terms that it’s okay to be selfish. I might even go as far to say it’s necessary. As I figure these things out about myself, I go back to my one fundamental principle:

In order to help others and grow with them I have to help myself first.

I’ve never been so excited to get into the real world with graduation three months away. 

Sure, I will still have the responsibility for paying my bills. But I will get to do what I want, when I want. I get to create a life for myself. I yearn to pick up new and old hobbies. I hope to fall in love with a new city, a new person or a new place. 

If I have any advice for soon-to-be-graduates, it’s this:

It’s completely normal to not have it all planned out. Like all walks in life, this won’t be linear and some of it won’t be easy. But embrace it. Embrace the unknown and welcome opportunities because it will all be worth it. Remember, there was always a time where you dreamt of being were you are right now.