ONE. YEAR. LATER.

Today is May 11th, 2019 which marks one year since I finished my undergrad at LIU Post. For those who don’t know I received a B.F.A in Broadcasting with pursuits of being involved in radio or other audio production projects. One thing I can say is time truly does fly. This has to have been one of the quickest years to go by thus far. I am almost in shock that it’s been 365 days since I walked across that stage.

With it being one year later since I graduated college, I just wanted to recap the year with what I’ve been doing and possibly how nostalgic I feel. 

Oh yes, I definitely feel nostalgic mainly because everything was in close reach from classes to friends. I won’t even lie there has been a number of days I missed being in school. Why you asked? Well, I had a routine that kept me busy. I had easy access to everything on campus (LIU is not a huge campus with every building being in close proximity unless you had a class up the hill.) The last four years have truly been one to remember from all the ups and downs that came. I’ll start with my biggest thing, which was changing my major at least three times. That is also something I wish I found earlier on because I would’ve possibly been able to get an internship or more involvement in clubs centered around my major. I also went through maybe three promise coaches (advisors) and that messed me up because I felt I didn’t have someone to go to with my doubts about certain classes. However, I am thankful for my aunt being there in those times. I met some great people there as well; some I still speak to often. I even tried rugby, which I grew to love and ended up being captain for three seasons. (Ha, the number 3 seems to reoccurring in this). Speaking of the number 3, in my third year, I went through A LOT, some stuff that bought out some emotions I never experienced before. An experience that made me look at several things differently. I couldn’t trust many. I would even say it made me depressed for a few months. Luckily, I was opened to the idea of counseling, which I highly recommend because I am so thankful for her for helping me and my parents for pushing me to do it. Aside from that I mainly just learned each semester, each year! 

May 2018-February 2019:

Now onto my time since I graduated. I can honestly say that everything didn’t go as planned and THAT'S OKAY because everyone has a path and it’s unique to the next person that may or may not share the same degree as you. This year has been one of realization and growth for me personally. Career/ work wise, I realized that I’ve been at a stalemate with what I am currently doing and what I want to do or should be doing. I am not saying that is something I am dealing with every day however, everyone has their days where they wish there was something more to be done. 

Since graduating, I MISS HAVING A SET ROUTINE/SCHEDULE. I began really working in retail in hopes of something in my career path emerging. And the funny thing is I had an opportunity, but it just fell through. Nothing sucks more than having your hopes up and something just falls through. So with that happening, I felt I had to start all over. I decided to go back to retail and just save money up for the things I needed for my career. I started with Payless, where I found some growth opportunities, because who do you know that goes from being a part-time employee to being a key carrier in a matter of two months? Not many people. Most of my time was being channeled in learning my responsibilities with that. And in my free time, I made sure I saw friends and occasionally catch up on sleep. While doing that I felt my priorities were so wrong. I became comfortable; to the point where I didn’t look at my future or stay consistent with applying to jobs. I eventually hit a breaking point because I grew tired of this new routine and knew something had to change. 

February 2019 to May 2019:

I decided to apply to different jobs and not just ones based on my degree. I found myself getting another retail job, Target; a company I find to have a great connection in the way they interact with their guest and the community. Also, this was a store that wasn’t even opened when I applied and just presented plenty of growth opportunities as well. They thrive in their workers being global (being able to get multiple tasks done) which is a bonus. But I do have to admit there were some setbacks with this job that I felt the need to put out more applications. Right now Target is what I am currently doing. Today I am in a mindset of being content and wanting to really put my degree in use. I do want to stress being patient and hope one of these companies find you a good aspect to their company. I just find some days harder than others because no person can gain experience without getting experience. I am putting more applications out and doing things that would still have me refreshing my brain on the things I learned in school like writing, recording myself and editing videos that would not see the day of light...until I am confident about it. I also even juggled with the idea of going back to school and getting my masters, which is something I am strongly considering. As I came across other fields I can see myself getting involved in. This has been my one year recap of life after graduating from college. 

- TheeTaylorHill

P.S.- If I can leave you with one advice, I definitely want to stress networking and building your connections because that is what I feel will get you places (something I wish someone stressed on me)

P.S.- If there is more you want to hear about or want to tell me what your feeling post-graduation, whether it be high school or college, I would love to hear about it as everyone feels differently.