Life as a Graduate

I know I tend to write a lot less often these days partly as I'm so busy, but today I'm going to talk about life as a graduate.

A graduate. What does that make you think of? Before uni it made me think of a really clever, 'mature person', someone who had a decent income, and knew what they wanted to do with their degree. It made me think of gowns, scrolls and mortar boards. But actually, being a graduate is nothing like that.

For me, as someone who returned to 'study'( - well is it studying? It feels more like training, but of course its that as well) I have a clear idea of what I want to do, but a decent income is yet to come. As for the image of gowns, scrolls and mortar boards, the gown was on for 5 hours, and the latter two were in my contact for all of 2 minutes while my picture was taken, and were placed and positioned on me by someone I didn't know. I may have a piece of (very sexy) paper to say I'm very clever but the gaps in my subject knowledge that have become apparent don't make me feel it yet. As for mature, well what does that even mean? We still go out most weekends and mess about in the kitchen together, do ridiculous accents and wind each other up with threats of death/general abuse and other equally amusing activities. I also have no intention of changing for a long time to come!

For others, it isn't so easy. They don't know what they want to do after graduating, and even if they did, that job probably wouldn't exist in a year after 'the funding got cut', if they even got the job which they probably wouldn't because at least 300 other people would have applied too. You see my point? Coupled with the fact that uni was so amazing and you get filled with promise in a future that may not deliver, life after uni can be a massive comedown, especially after moving back in with your parents in your twenties.

I'm counting myself lucky that I hopefully have a future in a career that will last (unless Gove decides he's going to redirect all the funding for education into a Mad Hatter's Tea Party, which would actually be a better use of his time, at least if he did that then on his day off someone could accidentally shred his plans to fuck up the education system). Anyway, all I can say to my friends that haven't been so lucky is that even if you've left uni, there are still people beyond your family who care about how you're doing. The job thing is soul destroying at times but keep going with it, we've got a reputation to keep going guys!

When all else fails, and your mum starts to nag, hand her the graduation picture and say 'does this mean you aren't proud of me anymore? Look how clever and mature I am..'.