Let the countdown begin

It seems surreal that we only have 40-something days left in our undergraduate career. Like other students, part of me is ready to graduate. I am ready to embrace the next step, a new city and begin the next chapter of my life. And like other students, I am sad to leave the tight-knit community we have called home for the past four years.

I find it funny that 50 days, nor the Senior Fair and picking up my cap and gown served as a wake up call. Both events, monumental in name, scream to seniors "THIS IS IT. ITS THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!". But it was the first job interview, the real preparation for the next step that jolted me.

I think it is a lot easier to be "ready" to graduate when your fate is unknown. You aren't bound to a plan or any responsabilities. But I see having a job as having a plan. And with a plan comes structure. And structure signifies the end of being a carefree college student.

We are presented with a unique situation: In order to proactively search for a job, one must start early. You can begin to send out resumes in December, network and pour over job listings. But many organizations or companies are not willing to hold a job until May. So you either don't hear anything or are told that they are looking for immediate hire. And the cycle continues until the Spring, when places are looking to hire and your timeline is more prevalent to their organization. It is almost like you are penalized for being proactive and then BAM! April rolls around and you start to feel the crunch of a looming graduation.

The first interview was incredibly rewarding--it reinforced that my skill set and background was relateable to someone and something and it was a nice payoff for the dozens of applications I had sent out. But it also signaled the beginning of the end--the end of Muhlenberg and days of school-centered responsabilities.

I don't want to stay in college forever, but I also regret rushing to verbalize my desire to move on. I propose that we enjoy what we have left as Muhlenberg students and Allentown residents and take the next step, one application at a time, in stride.