3 things my post grad life lacks

Okay, we’ve done it. We graduated from higher education. We even got that job that impresses people even though they have no clue what you actually do.

We make decent salaries for only being a few years post grad. We have goals, dreams, and hopes that our life will be extraordinary because we are destined for this.

We keep telling ourselves this.

Yet, there are 3 things that our post grad lives lack.

Actual money. We have no savings, live pay check to pay check, and see no problem in actively spending our overdrafts on a night out with friends. Your insurance bounces? #yolo? Our crazy budgets provide short term anxiety relief and we always set goals that prove to be either unrealistic or unachievable because we don’t put finances at the top of our list. Instead, we focus on what our life should look like.

Um, as in this extraordinary, born to be different, going to go down in history and achieve things no other person has life. This is the life we articulate through every social media account we own. Collections of articles, photos, and ideas that form the perception we desire.

The reality is, most of us really are not that extraordinary. We go to work, have wonderful friends, travel, have hobbies, fall in love, fall out of love, spend time with family, and all the while, try to pay our bills on time while not looking homeless.

This is why, I think, we are SO unhappy. We are broke, in debt, and believe we are entitled to this life that really hasn’t happened. We argue with employers for things we feel we deserve. No salary is high enough. There’s never enough vacation. Our cubicle is “only temporary” until you get the corner office with a view. I’ve even heard of friends turning down jobs because they weren’t “good enough” for them.

Does this mean we stop dreaming? No.

Does this mean that we won’t achieve great things in our lives? No.

But, if we keep down this path none of us will ever achieve financial stability, personal happiness, or a stable career.

What do we do about it?

Take control of your finances. Live within your means.

Never stop dreaming, but learn to find happiness in the things you have accomplished (even if they are not as inspiring as you dreamed.)

Be humble with your career. Accept a job post grad and work your ass off. You are not entitled to anything just because you went to university. Be humble and work your ass off, and eventually you might just get that office… in ten years, not next week.