Life After College-Prioritizing

Hey y'all!! This is kind of a words of wisdom blog.

My blog this week was inspired while I was getting sucked in to an episode of The Hills. I know, what does this have to do with anything? It doesn't....what does is that I just happened to be watching MTV, which I don't ever do anymore, when I saw a preview for the show College Life.

College Life seems to be a "reality" show based around the lives of Freshman at college. Of course, the preview was full of drama. Now, the point I'd like to make here as someone just about to leave the college world is that for the most part....college isn't that dramatic. For some people, it will be. It's the part of your life where you meet people who will really shape the adult that you become. You'll make some big mistakes and some big decisions, and you'll take those situations and turn them in to a future.

Enough of my adult preachy preach though...what I wanted to talk about as you leave the world of college fun and enter the adult world is learning how to prioritize your life. More than likely, you'll be looking to live on your own if you aren't already. You'll be dealing with paying rent, and bills, and possibly paying off student loans, and getting a long-term job. The most important thing to remember in all of this is that while you may spend a lot of time being carefree and partying and staying up late in college, that priority doesn't translate well when you have to be up early to sit through morning rush hour traffic to get to work on time. It's something that for me, came on gradually as I've gotten closer to graduating.

So I'll just share with you a few things not to forget:

*Make time to focus on work. Pro-actively seek jobs, plan ahead, work on projects, get plenty of rest.
*You MUST take time to focus on yourself. If you feel like sitting on your couch in your pj's watching bad television all day...do it. Sometimes you need YOU days.
*Spend quality time with your friends. Not partying in crowded events where you say "hi" and "bye" and that's it. Go to dinner, go see movies, hang out with your friends in your pj's and watch bad television...do the things with your friends that you used to enjoy before life got complicated.
*The older you get, the more you appreciate your family. Show them. Call your mom just to see what she's doing. It's easy to get caught up in trying to be independent, but trust me, your parents will never abandon you, they will always be your biggest supporters.
*In all of this, don't forget to have fun. If you enjoy going out...then go out! There's a fine line between too much and what keeps you sane.

Most of all, just have fun. Don't take anything too seriously. I think one of the things about growing up and being on your own is that everyone tells you not to grow up too fast...but don't be afraid of growing up either. It's a different look at the world, but from where I am it's just as awesome.