They say that you’re adult when you turn 18, but the reality is that most people don’t feel like adults until after graduating from college, and even that can take a while. Growing up is a gradual process and it all depends on how much effort you’re willing to put in. These are four ways to graduate from college kid to a professional adult.
Leave the Dorms
Having a home of one’s own is one of the best parts of being an adult. While living with roommates and a bunch of mismatched, used furniture might’ve been fun and excusable as an undergraduate, now is the time to grow up. You should find yourself a proper apartment with furniture sets that match. If you didn’t get in any trouble with your dorm RA, dealing with a landlord shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Learn to Budget
While in college, you likely got financial support from your family, with potentially a part-time job to help out with other expenses. As you strike out on your own, you need to learn how to manage your money. You should have a monthly budget that you stick to as much as possible. You should also be putting money into savings on a weekly basis. When you give yourself a safety net and spend money responsibly, you’ll be amazed by how much stress you avoid.
Start Networking
Graduating from college is your time to get your career off the ground. With a competitive job market, you need to do all you can to stick out. This is why you should start networking as soon as possible. Whatever your chosen career path is, get in touch with experienced people in that sector and let them know about how you’re looking for work.
Learn Discipline
Imagine an unfulfilled future version of yourself. They’re unmotivated in an unsatisfying job, wondering what they could’ve done differently. It’s likely that what sabotaged them was their own lack of discipline. Discipline is all about saying yes to beneficial opportunities and no to detrimental ones. Sometimes it means reserving the pleasures of now for the rewards of later, but it gets easier with practice.
The fact that you’re even admitting to yourself that you need to grow up shows that you’ve ahead of even most adults when it comes to maturity. Every day is an opportunity to show your sense of growth as you make it from college kid to professional adult.