As I prepare for the last finals week of my college career here at Oklahoma Christian University, I’m faced with the question: Am I really prepared for the real world?
Years of cramming for tests, sitting in chapel and complaining about the caf will soon be replaced with the monotonous, yet exciting responsibilities I’ll have in the real world as I soon embrace my new title of functioning adult.
But am I really prepared for that?
After months of apartment hunting, trying to score the perfect after graduation job, working two part-time jobs and trying to learn as much as I can from the seniors who have come before me, I can confidently say no; I am not wholly prepared for life after college.
But that’s okay. If I were entirely prepared for the real world, what would be the fun in it? What stories would I have to look back on five and ten years down the road if I walked across that stage with it all figured out?
The real world is messy and unpredictable. I’m in no way prepared for the wild and crazy things life after graduation will bring; but I can also confidently say that I am, however, prepared to take them on as they come.
As the most stressful semester of my college career comes to a close, I’ve learned that Oklahoma Christian wasn’t meant to teach me how to handle every curveball the world will throw at me, there’s no class they can offer that will teach me that. Instead they’ve taught me to hopefully tackle the problems with a little more grace.
Just as I hope my fellow seniors have learned from their time here, a part of being an adult is knowing that you have to learn certain things for yourself or at least learn to ask the right questions. As much as I’m not totally prepared for the real world, I can at least say that I’m ready to be an adult about it and maneuver this new journey to the best of my abilities.
Even if you don’t have all of the answers, don’t sweat it; nobody really does. But at the very least, have a plan.
My experience at Oklahoma Christian has been far from perfect and, just like many of my fellow December graduates, I wish I could change some things. I don’t think I would be on track to enter into the career field I’ve grown to love without my time at Oklahoma Christian being exactly what it was.
So as I leave Oklahoma Christian and move forward into my tiny studio apartment with the rest of my life ahead of me, I wish the class of 2014 the best of luck and the best of luck to all of the classes to follow.
Taylor Lawrence is a senior and the Assistant News Editor for the Talon.
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