My Summer as a Graduate

Well, in case you didn’t know, ya gal is officially not a student anymore (don’t tell Student Beans). I’d say “has graduated” because it’s snappier, but I didn’t have a graduation so maybe that’s a loophole for me?

Anyway, I made the rookie mistake of telling God my plans for my “last ever summer” before I work until I die (a cheerful thought) and well, he laughed and then COVID happened. So, instead of going on as many holidays as possible and seeing friends as much as I could – like I hoped – what did I do for three months?

Worked Part-Time

I’m really lucky that I 1) have a job and 2) really like it – who knew it was possible? Since April, I’ve been working from home two days a week. It’s been so good for me, because I’m one of those people who NEEDS to be doing something all the time and I’ve worked since I was 16, so I can’t imagine not doing it?

I started a new role in digital advertising – something I’ve never done before, so I’ve gained some really good experience, developed my skills AND retained some of my sanity. Plus, the money doesn’t hurt either, but it’s not like I’ve any holidays to spend it on, is there?

I really enjoy working part-time, because it gives me the structure, routine and challenge of working, but gives me a two –day week and five-day weekend, instead of the other way round. Happy days. So, I still had time to enjoy myself and have an almost-summer (weather and pandemic aside), without getting bored and feeling unproductive.

Blogged

Not to state the obvious, like. I’ve been writing like one blog post a week, and I know I really should be doing more, but here we are. The thing is, because I write about so many different topics and things, it’s actually harder to come up with ideas. Like, if I had’ve done what most people do and just chose a theme and stuck with it, then I’d have some guardrails and would always kind of have an idea of the direction I’d be going in. But now I’m in too deep and I’ve made my indecisive bed so in it I shall lie. Hoisted by my own petard.

Plus, I really enjoy blogging, so I’d rather write when I have something I want to write about, rather than forcing myself to come up with ideas and write – takes the fun out of it, you know?

Tried to Figure out What on Earth I Want to Do in Life

Emphasis on the “tried”. I think we’ve all had those wee freak-out moments where we go, “No but like, actually, what am I gonna do?” A lot of us non-graduating graduates have had a lot of time on our hands, and the realisation that summer is ending and we haven’t “done” anything is hitting us.

Even though it doesn’t matter if we didn’t do anything apart from sit at home watching TV and just paddling about – because give us a BREAK there was a pandemic and we’re going to be working for the next 40 years so don’t we deserve some pre-work retirement? – we’re still panicking because we didn’t apply for jobs (because well, there are none), we didn’t do those online courses, webinars or experience-building opportunities we told ourselves we would after we “just took some time for ourselves and recovered from uni”. Oops.

So, last Friday, I decided to have a wee brain-storm “thought shower” and have a crack at this life-planning-goal-setting thing.

Completed an Online Course

The result of my thought shower. I decided to do a Content Marketing Course with HubSpot Academy, because content marketing and creation are things I want to do, but didn’t know how or where to even start. It was actually really helpful and I learned things that I can actually put to use in my blog – you mightn’t notice a difference but trust me, I did some things.

I’ve always wanted to turn my blogging into more than just a hobby, but instead of diving head-first into my little action-plan, I thought I should probably learn how to actually market my content, you know? If I’m going to pursue this, I want to make sure I’m doing it right; plus, doing the course give me an extra week before I have to start doing-the-major-work-involved in said action plan. Clever, eh?

Socialised (a bit)

Went on a few outdoor-socially-distanced coffee dates, sat in a few times when the British government decided to go halfers, you know how it is.

Read (a lot)

Since lockdown started, I’ve read 34 books. That’s probably more than I read in my life up ‘til then. I read a few feminism books (which just made me angrier than before); read a lot of predictable and cliché rom-coms (which pretty much undid all the work of the feminist authors); and read some “classics” to see what the fuss was about. Side note: What’s the craic with thirty year-old men fancying children in all the Jane Austen and Bronte sisters’ books?  Not a fan.

But yeah, passed the time, expanded my mind and made the most of the “Free” section on the Kindle store.

Nothing

Perhaps the most important one. I took time to myself*. I sat on my bed, went on my phone, watched the beautiful trash that is ‘Married at First Sight: Australia’ and went for a hell of a lot of walks. I actually know the workers and “regulars” in my local park; I’m like one of those ghosts that just roam the same places constantly.

I’m in that beautiful and scary gap between finishing 18 years of education, and 45 years of full-time work. Doing nothing is important, because God knows when I’ll have this free time again. Maybe when I’m retired, but sure the planet could be long gone or I could be too old to enjoy it (another cheerful thought).

*Reading could probably have gone under here, too, but I wanted my list to seem longer.