Wow has last year flown by so fast. Just last year I was blogging about the Legislature and my time there. I was getting ready to end the school year and trying to figure out what I was going to do after graduation. I was in stress mode to finish up my last quarter strong, I was trying to finish studying for finals, finish final papers, and trying to apply like crazy for jobs.
If there was anything I learned from my last quarter, it was that everything will be alright as long as you take a minute to yourself, take a second to recollect your thoughts, and then keep chugging along.
Looking back at my last quarter at UW, I honestly wish I applied the same mentality I did spring 2016, to all my other quarters at the UW. I was as open as I could be, I broke out of my bubble, and I socialized and met as many new people as I could. Given it was my last quarter, my mentality was "If they don't like me, oh well."
Till the end I tried to managed to keep my shit together. There were long nights full of multiple 10 minute naps, long study sessions with classmates, endless readings, endless papers, and the worst part was that they came flying one after each other. And before you knew it, BOOM, it was time for exams! Giving myself little treats such as multiple 10 minute naps helped, giving myself the ability to see friends and hang out with them occasionally, and learning to reward myself for hard work ALL HELPED.
I can definitely say come end of May, I was scrambling around. I had this school stuff down and I threw one more stressful task into my already fragile task list. To find a job upon graduation. During my breaks I updated my LinkedIn, my resume, and my cover letters. I looked at various job search databases, and applied to as many places I could that were of interest to me. I reached out to all of my references and caught up with them. I did everything I could on my end to make sure I was "employable," to make me an ideal candidate, and to put myself out there as much as possible. I was doing informational interviews and meeting as MANY people as I could!
Next thing I knew, I was studying for finals and working on final papers. Then finals came around and I was finally done. I remember staying up ALL night the night before my POL S and LSJ graduations trying to finish my International Conflict paper and FINALLY finishing at 8AM. Although it was due at 3PM, my graduations overlapped the due dates so I tried to rush finish as much as I could.
Next thing I knew, I walked both of my departmental graduations and was finally done! I walked by big graduation and my time at the UW was officially done. The week after graduation, I was responding to e-mails on job offers and positions, scheduling interviews, and attending interviews. By Thursday of that week following graduation, I received several job offers. And I committed to a place I knew was unique, would help me grow, and offered me an experience I knew I COULD NOT get anywhere else. After my week off of school doing the job hunting process, the 2nd Monday after graduation, I became employed. Since then, I have been working my tail feathers off :).
The work life is definitely different than being in school. But honestly, I think that's another post for another day.
