For graduating seniors, the moments leading up to commencement are full of celebration, family, graduation parties, and acknowledgement for four years of hard work. However, the next four weeks, for most, will also be jam-packed with anxiety, uncertainty, and fear of the unknown. 

For a lot of 21 and 22-year-olds, having a job upon graduation is our shining pillar of success, at least in our minds. The question, “what’s next?” feels suffocating, so much so that a conversation with a loved one turns into a scramble to make yourself sound more self-assured than you are. 

The words “I don’t know” feel off-limits, embarrassing, and all-consuming as we throw applications at LinkedIn postings, and try to conquer all of our wildest hopes and career dreams before our cap hits the ground on May 10.

The Whit’s current editorial staff is made up almost entirely of seniors who will be moving on from our office in Bozorth Hall in a few short weeks. Many of us understand the fear and the crescendoing pressure as our departure from Rowan gets closer and closer. 

None of us has figured out the magic solution to feeling perfectly comfortable with our impending adulthood, but what we can offer is our advice about lessening its power over the way we are experiencing these last few months. 

One of the easiest ways we can lessen this post-graduation anxiety is to stay present. Remember that soon, nights of watching TV with your roommates, weekly club meetings, and lectures that don’t start until 11:00 a.m. will all be a thing of the past. Take the time to enjoy the daily pleasures, like your favorite coffee spot on campus, your walk to class, and friends you don’t typically see outside of a classroom or club meeting. 

Mindfulness can also take form in short-term goals and daily tasks. You might not be able to discover the cure for cancer by 11:59 p.m., but you can fold your laundry and take one thing off your plate for tomorrow. 

The second thing to keep in mind is that there are thousands of other people, from universities all over the world, who are feeling the same way that you are. What bonds us all as a graduating class isn’t our majors, our hobbies, or how we spent our weekends in university. It’s the fact that on May 10, we are all entering the “real world.” Regardless of your major or your plans for the year ahead, none of us know exactly what the next 365 days and the years that follow are going to look like. There’s no use in feeling behind when we haven’t even gotten to the starting line yet. 

While you’re at it, turn off your phone. The influencers posting about how incredible their lives are are being paid by massive corporations and big brands to keep up a facade. They don’t have anything figured out either, so it would be silly to give a reel or TikTok the power to make you feel less qualified, less worthy, or behind somebody whom you don’t know. Many of these people are also the product of a lucky viral moment or clip. There’s no use in comparing your full plate to a bite of someone else’s.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember during a massive lifestyle change like this is to embrace the fact that impermanence is the only constant, and will continue to be until the day we die. In order to grow and adapt to a changing world, there will be things we leave behind on the way. Outgrowing friends, seeing family less, moving out of your apartment, and starting a new job are all things that are inevitable. Even our personality traits and the way we carry ourselves will mold over time, as we learn lessons in and out of the workplace. Graduating from college is the first of many changes that will shift our lifestyle, communication skills, and routines.

Change is scary. There’s no doubt about that. But by taking the time, and making an effort to embrace its presence and stay grounded in the here and now, we take back our power over the way it makes us feel. 

To everyone graduating this semester, we extend our congratulations and hope that you can take the time to worry less and celebrate more this season.