I've always considered myself to be a planner. Since elementary school, I have lived with my agenda by my side and knew what schools I would attend after 6 grade (yes I had planned out what junior high, high school, and even college I wanted to attend early on). Sure my parents and teachers influence played a large decision on what I wanted to do, but the paths I chose to take were because I was passionate about them also. 

      For many high school students, college is seen as an escape route. It's the time where you can finally live independently away from your parents. Suddenly no one is there to tell you what to eat, if you should go to your 8 am class, or do your laundry. Though these were very tempting reasons to move out of my house and apply for out of state schools, I decided early on that I would live at home and commute to college. Yes, I was one of those commuter students that at times was considered an outcast during my freshman year. You might be asking why I chose to go this route instead of doing your stereotypical college rituals such as joining a sorority or getting a fake ID to go to the local college bar. 

      Living in the Twin Cities allowed me to choose from a wide variety of institutions. On my street alone there are three college and one law school along with three other institutions that are less than 3 miles away. With a major already in mind, choosing a college was fairly easy because not every institution had it (French-mes amies). I found selecting a college similar to shopping- I had created myself a list of items I wanted for a certain price. I knew that I couldn't afford to go to a place like Saks or Nordstrom, but didn't want to get something cheap either from a megastore like Forever 21. I wanted an education that allowed me, frankly, to get my moneys worth. 

    Since I knew what my majors were right off the bat and had taken IB classes I was considered a sophomore on my first day of college (another path that my parents had encouraged me to follow when I was in high school).  I created a three year plan so that I could graduate early while still fulfilling all my credits. I followed what my advisers said, financial advisers, and parents so that I wouldn't be in debt after college. I applied for scholarship after scholarship and kept up my grades so that I could graduate with Cum Laude Honors (something that I hadn't been able to do in high school- only honors then). I studied abroad, completed four internships during college, started an organization, and worked full time with over 20 credits each semester. 

     This was never a part of my plans. I chose to graduate early not only so that I could save money, but to also be ahead of my peers who were graduating in May and snag a coveted job afterwards. I've had interview after interview and email after email with little to no explanation why I wasn't offered the job. I've become addicted to watching my email and staring at my phone- hoping that someone will call and say that I've received an offer. And still....nothing

    Now I should mention that I realize that I'm not the only one in this situation. There are many other college graduates that are in the same situation as I did. I realized that I majored in something that I was passionate about and that might not be lucrative (French) but to off balance that I chose to major as well in Communication and a Certificate in International Journalism. I know that others aren't lucky enough to have parents or the means to start off fresh after college or even receive the opportunity. I want to remind others though that they are not the only ones in this predicament. Sometimes you can't be sure if the path that you are taking is the correct one- or if it will even go anywhere. It can be...well kinda depressing at times. Sure it's great that I can hang out with my puppy and my retired father, but I'd rather be using my time and energy that I (and my parents) put into college and APPLY it. For now, I'll just have to wait and see what happens and remain as optimistic as I can.

   If you have any tips of how to 'deal' with post college blues please comment below! Also- feel free to check out my new website (domain name will be changed) http://star604sak.wix.com/sabrinakennelly that shows my works from fashion to photography. 

Have a great day!