Hello Hello! Happy Monday y’all! I hope you had a fantastic weekend and your Monday has gotten off to a great start. I had a great weekend. It kicked off Friday with an early visit from Dylan and an afternoon at the Wells Fargo golf tournament. Saturday morning started out bright and early at work before driving south to a good family friend’s wedding. How cool is this y’all…she wore the same dress as her grandmother and mother did many year before just made slight alterations. After the wedding Dylan and I headed to the lake for a little paddle boarding before he hit the road for Greenville and I back home to Charlotte. Upon arriving home, my long lost running girlfriend, Kimberly, showed up at my door. We had a great time, stayed up late chatting then in the morning went for a 5mi run before playing on the lake till the she had to hop on the train to head home. It was great getting to catch up with Kimberly and just get to discuss life with someone who knows me almost as well as I know myself. She has seen me go through ups and downs and has been there every step as I try to figure out my future. So that where today’s post comes from….
As Kimberly and I talked, it seems as if we are both “treading water.” Sometimes it is with great success and our heads are far out of the water and other times it is just as if we are about an inch above the surface and hanging on for dear life. We are both at about the one year mark into the professional world and still running with our heads cut off like we did in college; trying to juggle holding down a full time job, long commutes, maintaining relationships of the past, creating new relationships in new cities, keeping up with training, and finding the balance of family and fun. It seems like the days are never ending and free moments are few and far in between.
This state of “Treading Water” is something no one ever told me I’d be doing immediately out of college. I thought I would land the perfect job, marry the love of my life immediately after graduation, and be settled into a city with close friends. I never thought I would be working two jobs and would meet my boyfriend and roommate online. I could have never ever imagined it would be this difficult to meet new people and that I would work so many hours for such a little paycheck.
And this isn’t to say I’m not happy….in fact I am very happy. I have learned more about myself in the last year and a half than I have learned about myself my entire life. I have had to grow up… paying my own rent and bills and insurance and being 100% in charge of myself. Your early 20s are a time in your life of great change. It’s almost like you’re the awkward middle schooler again. One day you’re on top of the world and the next day you’re knocked right back down to the bottom to learn a new lesson yet again. Bosses expect that you know the lay of the land but really you’re like Bambi fumbling around to get your bearings and stand on your own feet.
So if I were to tell a new college graduate what life will be like in the year to two years following college, I would say be prepared “tread.” You’re going to have to pay your dues, be flexible, take opportunities when they present themselves, be patient, and work your butt off.
Have a great Monday y’all!