One minute you’re attending O-week parties and getting lost on campus, next minute you’re stress-eating chocolate trying to complete your final assessments and cram for your last exams ever.

The end of your university days creep up on you until all of a sudden you’re staring into the unknown abyss of life, having the same question asked by each and every one of your relatives; “So, what are you going to do now?” *Stress eats*

I believe this is the quarter-life crisis they warned us about. Those who have come before us have all turned out okay, or at least they seem to have, so no doubt we can handle it too… Or, you know, pretend to handle it.

Look At All Of The Options

One of the most daunting things about graduating is that, thus far, we’ve spent the majority of our lives in educational institutions. Now it’s the end of our uni days and the last time we will ever have to be confined by classroom desks and grades. Hello sweet, sweet freedom.

Instead of viewing graduation as something daunting, try and turn that attitude around to see it for the boundless opportunities that it offers. You can do anything that you want.

Narrow It Down

I know for some people that this is far from reassuring. How are you supposed to find one thing out of an infinite amount of things?

Take a look back at your education. What were the things you enjoyed the most? What did you not fail at? Perhaps you’ve completed your degree for the sake of it and realised you’re not interested in that field at all. If you had your time again, what would you choose to do?

Follow your interests, or make a list of all the subject areas you studied at university and cross out the ones you didn’t like, and at least have a certain field in mind to ease the stress of the job hunt.

Take A Break

The pressure of graduating can sometimes be a bit too much to handle. You feel like as soon as you’re finished your last class, you need to have a formulated plan in mind and have already secured a full-time position.

If you’re not feeling that you 100 per cent know what you want to do, utilise this time to have a well-deserved break. You might treat yourself to an overseas adventure or simply spend a few months working a casual job. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to do a yoga retreat or watch all ten seasons of Friends.

Give your brain some time out from over-thinking and just remember that, while everybody else might be asking what you’re plans are immediately, it’s OK if you don’t know immediately.

Have Fun 

It can be super easy to get caught up in your graduation crisis and delve into a pattern of spending your days trolling through job sites and adding small updates to your LinkedIn profile. Stop to congratulate yourself for this huge milestone – you’re graduated, baby!

Go out partying, go to a festival, book that tour overseas and enjoy the summer like you would if you were still a uni student. Do things for yourself, and if you’d rather travel than get a full-time job then start packing your bags.

You’ve worked hard to get where you are – life’s too short to waste time doing things you don’t want to.

(Lead image: Pitch Perfect/Brownstone Productions)