After months of studying and working my post-grad ass off for the LSAT, I finally got my score. After weeks of waiting and anxious e-mail checking (I had to remove email messages from my Blackberry because every time my phone lit up or beeped, my heart would stop), the message letting me know whether or not I’d be able to apply to the schools I’m interested in or not appeared. As the message sat in my inbox, I took a deep breath to see the reality of what I’ve worked so hard for.

And instantly, I felt disappointed.  See, because I have student loans from undergrad, I am very cautious about paying for law school. In order to combat massive amounts of student loans, my goal was to go to law school with the bulk of my expenses paid for or a full-scholarship. Depending on what law school you want to go to, the option of a scholarship could be determined by one to two points. And unfortunately, where I want to be and the amount of money I want is not a reality right now. Talk about a cold hard slap in the face!

With months of dedicated LSAT studying behind me, I feel discouraged. If money wasn’t an issue, I would just dust myself off, suck it up, take the test again and not worry about the outcome or the prospective costs. However, money to pay for school is the end-all-be-all for me right now (you know, unless I win the lottery or the Publisher’s Clearing House comes to my place with a big check and balloons). It sucks, but hey, a girl has to look at the big picture and consider everything.

A lot of people feel the liberty to say “told you so” to me right now. However, feeling a setback from the score doesn’t surprise me like some may think. My goals and scholarship options were set very high. I went into this knowing the very specific set scores for different schools and what it would take to get the money I need. Trust me, it’s been on my mind for months.

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Everyone has a story. And while my post-grad journey has so far revolved around moving to California, interning, working odd jobs here and there, and studying for the LSAT to attend law school next year, I know that my story isn’t a typical after-college route. In fact, I don’t think there is a typical after-college route, which is why life after college is so exciting and so scary. It varies from person to person and it’s difficult for every individual post-grad to gauge their success when there’s nothing to compare it to.

Sometimes I like to pretend that I’m living a different post-grad life than I am. I even sometimes think about marketing post-grad stories to Bravo or MTV because everyone I know seems to have their own story. Some lives are more stressful than others, and some are boring. Some people are still strictly obsessed with college and continue to spend the majority of their new existence going back. Some post-grads are completely different than a year ago.

But they are all interesting in their own right.

I know my personal experience, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking and wondering about other post-grad scenarios. For example: Read More »

If you Google “Post-Grad,” a lot of articles come up about suffering from depression once you graduate college. And yes, I will say that it can be depressing at times, but really — it’s not so bad. Although the last six months have gone by incredibly fast, I have learned a lot when it comes to adjusting to life outside of college.

So, here’s the ultimate post-grad survival kit (or at least what I’ve figured out over the last six months):

1. Stay Busy – Keep your ass moving at all times. Don’t hang out on the couch day after day, keep busy – whether it’s working a job, interning, or taking pottery classes.  Do anything that will keep you busy. I’ve thrown myself into the LSAT, and trust me, it’s kept me occupied. Who knows how I’ll feel once my LSAT journey is over, but for now … it’s what I do to keep busy. Busy leaves little room to do #2.

2. Don’t reminisce too much – If you do nothing but think about college, you’re going to do nothing but miss college. Avoid this as much as you can. If something comes up in conversation, talk about it, but don’t sit in your room and look at pictures from your sophomore year every night. It’s okay to admit that college was one of the best times of your life, but it’s not okay to let that ‘best time of your life’ define the rest of your life. You should have the attitude that the best is yet to come and college was just a stepping stone. Or yeah, you’ll be depressed like all those articles say. Read More »

While I’m thoroughly enjoying relaxing for the summer (and working…and studying…but when I picture summer in my mind it’s all sand between my toes and margaritas), I can’t help but find myself a little stressed. Okay, really stressed. It doesn’t help that David is anxious beyond belief and totally nervous about taking his GRE next week. I hate seeing him stressed out like this, but even more, I hate that every time I see him preparing for his post-graduate career I have a minor panic attack thinking about mine.

Since I was little, I’ve loved writing. After I picked up that red crayon to write my first story I’ve been hooked. This led to an easy answer to the increasingly meaningful question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Until recently, I always knew I wanted to write; then last September I had a kick-ass media law teacher and decided to be a lawyer. Unfortunately, I realized I didn’t want a law career for the right reasons, and that writing will always be my true passion and calling.

Which leads me to the question staring me in the face whenever David cracks open a practice test: what the hell am I going to do next year? Once David and I started seriously planning our post-grad careers, it seemed relatively easy. We cross referenced every law-school in the country with the program he wants and started narrowing it down from there. We were worried then about both of us getting in and what the most financially realistic places were. If I decide not to go to grad school at all, David can pretty much choose wherever he wants and I’d have to find a job near wherever that is. Read More »

It’s May 26 and I officially have less than three weeks left in my college career. Most of you are already out of school (how’s that going by the way?), but I have twenty more days left. That means twenty more days to stress about my unplanned future before graduation day.

Like many of you recent grads or soon to be college grads, I do not have a job lined up. In this economy jobs aren’t as flourishing as Lindsay Lohan’s alcohol problem and therefore neither is a recent grad’s income. A lack of income can present a problem when your funds have to be spent on rent and insurance rather than Natty Light and late night fast food. I am included in this fund-deficient category. Sure, I have some cashmonay saved up… but not enough to sustain three months worth of rent in New York City.

So after some debate and inner turmoil, I have decided to move back in with my parents. This is a desperate act and the last option I wanted to choose, but with no job and no income, it wasn’t a choice at all. So back to Mom and Dad’s I go.

It’s going to be a major transition, yes, and probably not the most exciting prospect after having total freedom for 4 years, but maybe it’s not the worst thing, either. I mean, at least you know the bathroom floors are clean, right? Read More »

In high school I was a boyfriend kind of girl. I was never single for long, but instead jumped from guy to guy. I went through every relationship possible. I was in love, I was out of love, I was in lust, I was in good relationships and in not so good relationships. I dated guys that treated me like I was everything, and guys that treated me like I was nothing.

Regardless, I was never really single. So when I came to college, I wanted things to be different. I didn’t want to be tied down in a relationship or be known as some guy’s girlfriend. Instead, I wanted to be independent and on my own (and I also wanted to have a lot of fun). And in the four years that I’ve been at college, I’ve been able to be and do all of those things.

Unlike a lot of people, I have never seriously dated anyone or had a boyfriend in college. Read More »

Over the past few months, I’ve written a lot about how nervous I am to graduate, to leave college for good, and enter the real world. I’ve felt scared, nervous, anxious, and every other emotion that comes naturally to a graduating senior.

I’ve stressed about my lack of job, the economy, and how the heck I am going to figure out things like insurance, paying bills, and not drinking on Sunday nights. But despite all my reservations about leaving the wonderful world of college behind, I’m also really, really, fantastically excited to graduate.

Like many of you, I’ve had the best time over the past four years. I literally cannot imagine my life any differently. When I was a senior in high school, leaving my comfort zone for a college over 2,000 miles across the country was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. But it was also the best decision I’ve ever made. I knew no one and had no friends. But four years later, I’ve found a network of teachers, mentors, and peers that have helped me grow into the person I want to be. Who knows what my life would be like without the people I’ve met or the experiences I’ve had here in college? Read More »

Finally, after weeks of late nights, early mornings, and far too many Doritos, I can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, I’ve got to get through a few more exams, sell my books, pack up my life and make the big trek home, but at least I know the end (and a margarita on the front lawn) is near. And that feels good.

You know what else feels good? Well, besides these delicious t-shirt sheets on an unseasonably cold May morning…. Taking a break from my textbooks and flashcards and thinking about something that won’t be written in a Blue Book in the near future.

So let us get to this week’s Would You Rather….. Think, vote, share. Then return to your regularly scheduled cram sesh. Read More »

I’ve always believed that change is a good thing. It can take you out of your comfort zone and introduce you to new people, new places, and new experiences that you would never have known otherwise. I’m all for change, really I am,  just not when that change removes me from my carefree lifestyle of afternoon classes, friends, parties, and little to no responsibilities.

Everyone says that college is the best four years of your life and now, with only a few short weeks left of it, it’s finally starting to sink in. I wake up in the morning (feeling like P. Diddy) without the sound of an alarm, go to a class or two, and just hang out all day with my friends. I do what I want, when I want, and besides a few participation points deducted from my grade when I’ve been too hungover/lazy to go to class, there’s been very few repercussions.

Sure, I’ve definitely had some stressful times in college, like when I pulled three all-nighters in a row so I could finish my final project or that time I forgot about a midterm exam. But in the grand scheme of things, college life has been awesome. Actually, awesome doesn’t even begin to describe it. I’m not sure there’s even a word. It’s been….rad? Read More »

Ho.ly Sh*t

Today, I was walking across campus on the way to my last class before Spring Break (CABO, HERE I COME!) and I had a HOLY SH*T moment. You know, one of those defining moments when reality slaps you hard across the face prompting you to stop dead in your tracks and scream HOLY SH*T.

Well, today reality slapped me with the inevitable fact that I am graduating from college in three months. Three short, tiny, baby-like months.

After having a minor panic attack, I started to think about what this really means to me and probably to all seniors out there. As cliché as it sounds, this really is the beginning of the end. Unless you’re sticking around for an extra semester (aka: for one more football season), college is practically over.

This is the end (or slow decline, I should say) of all things that aren’t socially acceptable outside in the real world: keg stands, aggressive day drinking, an affinity for theme parties, fast metabolisms, sleeping till noon, and – occasionally the college staple – the walk of shame (or the stride of pride, depending on how you look at it). Read More »