Unfortunately though, it’s pretty hard to convince the masses otherwise. Upon meeting someone for the first time, I feel like I always have to defend myself as a “post-grad” because the bulk of people I’m meeting are either unemployed and unmotivated, still in college, or are at least ten years older than me – and they have no clue. You would think that having some kind of detailed plan such as the LSAT and freelance writing to fall back on would help, but no – it just leaves people scratching their heads.

If they’re not scratching their heads, I get a lot of “You must miss college.” Uh, duh. Of course I miss a lot of things about college (there’s a reason people refer to it as the best time of their lives), but considering I have only been a “graduate” for the past few months, it’s not something I’m sulking over too much. And in all reality, I miss a lot of things a lot more than college — you know, things like not having to pay back student loans!

The assumption (hello, LSAT question type) that gets me the most is that I have all the time in the world. Just because I’m a post-grad doesn’t mean I have an endless amount of free time. In fact, I think I had way more free time during college than I do now. Sorry BFFs, I don’t have four hours to talk to you on Facebook chat. No, sorry new girl, I’m not available twenty-four-seven to lunch, brunch, and shop-til-we drop. This new life is all about scheduling, planning, and working hard.

It’s not that I don’t want to veg out sometimes, but I don’t think that I want to get into the habit of doing so because, well … I don’t want to turn into that post-grad stereotype. Instead, I want to set my own post-grad norm – even if that means occasionally crying over my LSAT practice, sitting in traffic for two hours from one Hollywood event to another, or relaxing at the end of the day to an episode of Dawson’s Creek (confession – I love the adolescent drama!). It may be a bumpy, tiring, frustrating road, but I’m out there doing what I have to do — and I haven’t given up.

I know I’m not alone in the post-grad world. So, tell me – what post-grad stereotype are you setting for yourself?

I really don’t have a huge problem with that…cliche as it sounds, there hasn’t been anyone yet that I would even consider worthy of my “sacred gift”, as my Catholic school teacher called it. Nor am I saving myself for marriage. It’s crossed my mind, being raised in a pretty conservative family, but I’m not going to lie and say that if the right person and situation were to arrive….well, you know.

No, I’m fine with being a virgin. It’s other people that seem to have a problem with it. It’s not that my friends ridicule me for it or anything, but there is a certain awkwardness whenever the topic of sexual conquests and such comes up in conversation. I’ve tried to tell them a thousand times that it’s totally fine to talk about sex around me, I do know what it is and the mechanics involved. I guess they feel like they’re making me feel naive or something ridiculous like that.

It’s also pretty annoying the assumptions that people make about me when it comes up in conversation. I can’t count the number of times that I’ve been at a party and somehow the topic of sex comes up (as it often does at college parties), and I am met with horrified stares when I nonchalantly utter the words, “No, I’m a virgin.”

You would think that I’d told them my dog just died. People have actually tried to console me, saying things like, “Oh, it’ll happen for you eventually. Don’t worry about it!” Are you kidding me?

So, I guess I just want to debunk a few myths about virgins:

1. I don’t spend all day pining to FINALLY have sex.

2. I will not sleep with the first person who offers.

3. I am not Amish/Mormon/Southern Baptist/member of an anti-sex cult (although all of those are perfectly valid reasons for someone to remain a virgin…except possibly that last one).

4. I do know what sex is, and how it works.

5. Talking about sex doesn’t make me uncomfortable.

6. Just because I haven’t had sex doesn’t mean I’m not having fun.

So in the future, non-virgins, try to understand where I’m coming from.

I mean, lest ye forget, you were all virgins once too!