Does it all go this fast?

August 2016

“It doesn’t feel like senior year,” I laugh and remember, “cause it’s not.”

Did I open my eyes and wake up with a job, in a new city, and new responsibilities? Not responsibilities like “homework on a Sunday, instead of enjoying NFL football,” but those “real world” responsibilities.

Today, and like every day this month I woke up at 6:45am, tucked in my shirt, got in my car, and commuted to work. A day, that’s much different than the previous 22 years of my life. However, as time usually does, times have changed. I am a full-fledged adult.

Do I feel different? Ehh, maybe a little bit, it’s really a weird feeling if we’re going to be honest. Luckily for me, I was writing a lot during my college years, and recorded almost everything I did, almost down to the number of times I sneezed (jk). This transition of my life (college to job) is way different than the transition from (high school to college). Some of those differences are obvious, but others, not so much.

1.        There’s not a pep rally when you arrive. When I moved into my apartment I wasn’t met by a RA or a packet to “welcome me home.” Now, I am not saying that I wanted that by any means, but the “real world” is real on day 1.
2.         Friends aren’t free. College friends aren’t free, but they are sure easy to make. Everyone wants to know your name, and everyone wants to hang out. The real world yells at you if you check your phone at a red light (that’s another story for another time). The real world isn’t easy, and it’s a challenge to meet new people, which doesn’t scare me, it excites me. Life isn’t as easy as college made it out to be.
3.         Dad doesn’t give you food money anymore. Yeah, you have to buy your own Chipotle bowls now, it’s not that bad.
4.        Gaining weight is easy. If you’re working 8-10 hrs a day, weight can catch up to you. If you remember, you probably walked to class, now you commute to work. It’s inevitable that you’ll gain weight if you don’t change your habits. An apple a day, and an activity a day, might keep the weight away.

College wasn’t the best four years of my life, but to this point, it was the most unique. However, I am striving to succeed in this thing called the “real world.” I have a kick-butt job with endless opportunities, and I believe I’ll be writing another chapter like this when all of what I have now goes by so fast.