Tag Archives: graduation

10 Things We Need Before Graduation (aka AnnE’s Graduation Registry)

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It occurred to me recently that upon entering the Real World I’ll need to be armed with more than my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. So I’ve been soliciting advice from real live grownups (and created some of my own) about what we actually need to function in the real world.

FOR THE HOME:

1. A George Foreman Grill

I make really excellent cereal and Poptarts, but my talents end there, hence this recommendation. A George Foreman Grill has you covered for everything from a panini to chicken breasts, and BONUS, it’s really easy to clean.

George Foreman Grill

2. A rice maker

Rice is delicious, cheap, great with absolutely any dish, and really easy to make perfectly once you have one of these gizmos. Much adult. Very grownup.

rice cooker

3. A crockpot

Did you know you can just put food in a crockpot in the morning and when you get home you have a meal?! THAT IS SO COOL. This totally feels like cheating at adulthood, but I’m ok with that.

crockpot

4. A refined taste in alcohol

When attending a Happy Hour or cocktail party at work, it will no longer be appropriate to request vodka and Redbull, vodka and whatever-Crystal-Light-package-you-have-on-hand, vodka shots with orange juice chasers, or Natty Light. Put the “adult” back in “adult beverages” and learn to order something like a boring glass of wine and refrain from openly gagging when drinking a Manhattan.

5. Renter’s Insurance

This advice comes from one of CP&R’s own career counselors, Lesley Bonds, who watched the ceiling of her apartment fall down onto everything she owned because of a broken water heater in the apartment above her. She spent the next few months on friends’ couches until her apartment was repaired and had to pay for all of it herself. Needless to say, she highly recommends renter’s insurance.

6. Laundry know-how

Yes, this was supposed to be something we learned in college, but we didn’t. So, here’s how to fold a fitted sheet, here’s how to know what spin cycle and temperature to use, and here’s what all of those mysterious symbols on your tags mean.

FOR YOUR CAREER:

7. Financial knowledge

This requirement breaks down into 3 sections: budgeting, investing, and saving. We need to learn to budget because allegedly part of this whole career-thing is that someone is going to give us money every 2 weeks or so, meaning, we’ll need to start keeping track of how we spend it. Here’s a helpful guide for learning to budget (and another) (and another)! As for investing, it may not be as essential as budgeting, but knowledge of the stock market does seem to be one of the topics that is important at boring grownup dinner parties, so we should probably learn about it. (Here are a few other reasons investing might be important, in case you aren’t convinced.) Which brings me to the hard one: saving. As I said, money is going to be put into our account EVERY MONTH. THAT’S SO EXCITING, but according to my budget, I can’t spend all of it on ice cream and Golden Oreos… A lot of that salary is going to need to be saved for future expenditures like vacations and houses, but also for more prudent investments like retirement. This seems like a lot, but we still have 2 months and CP&R regularly hosts finance workshops that I highly recommend!

8. A baby lamb voice

If you aren’t lucky enough to know Grace Ditsworth, this title might not immediately make sense, so I’ll explain: Grace has a voice that can calm any pushy employer, annoyed parent, or overwhelmed student and quickly convince them that everything really will be ok. This voice will be absolutely necessary in any stressful work environment, airline confusion, and family engagements. DO NOT graduate without it. So far, I don’t have any references for how to attain it, but I’m hoping that Grace will teach an EPP class on it soon.

9. An (Updated) LinkedIn Profile

There’s much debate about this, so let me start of by saying, Pre-Med Students: no, I’m not talking to you; please don’t get frustrated with me. Everyone else, why not make one while you can still get help from Valinda Lee (Assistant Director of CP&R and Scripps’ Unofficial LinkedIn Master)? Pros: more and more people are using it these days; networking becomes super easy; and (my favorite part) there’s no one page limit! Cons: yet another thing to do.

FOR GENERAL SURVIVAL:

10. Bravery.

Let’s face it, there’s a theme to my blogs this semester: THE REAL WORLD IS SCARY. We’re leaving our very comfortable Claremont bubble and aren’t really sure about what’s ahead. But, as Rory not-so-eloquently states in the penultimate episode of Gilmore Girls, “There are a just a lot of things right now in my life that are undecided. And that used to scare me but now I kinda like the idea that it’s just all kind of… wide open.” So we’ll need to be brave and gain a sense of adventure.

 

… while keeping our parents on speed-dial and remembering that we can continue to make appointments with CP&R even after graduation.

Behind every great Scrippsie…

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On my second full day at Scripps, I stood outside of Clark hugging my mom and choking back tears. She was heading to the airport to fly back to Missouri and I was SO NOT READY for this reality check. I was homesick, my roommate was weird, my dorm was a labyrinth, my professors were intimidating, and I couldn’t remember anyone’s name. Yet, in a random moment of wisdom, I told my mom, “I can’t wait for 3 weeks from now.” I figured in 3 weeks homesickness would’ve worn off, my roommate’s weirdness would be less obvious, I’d be able to navigate my dorm, my professors would seem friendlier, and names would get easier.

You might be wondering why I’m telling a story from 3+ years ago? Well, I’ve thought about that moment many times over the past week. Scripps started out as this scary foreign place and some time between that hug with my mom and right now, it became my home. (In case you were wondering, it may have taken more than 3 weeks…)

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Yeah, that’s cheesy, and I’m only kind of sorry about the sappiness, because it’s what you get for reading a blog by a second semester senior.

College is an odd place where friends, family, academics, and work merge; and it’s really quite hard to separate them. Sometimes it’s awkward, like when your professor sees your running to the dining hall in your PJs because you’re about to miss breakfast or when you’re hanging out in Seal Court with your significant other and your boss walks by… But other times it’s really great.

Last week was full of reminders of the “really great.”

It’s the time of year where seniors have to start making really terrifying decisions and I can’t imagine making them without the support of the amazing people here. The weird roommate from first year is still the one who gives me pep talks when I stop believing in myself. Those people whose names I couldn’t keep track of on that first day are some of the same people I eat lunch with twice a week. I call many professors by their first names and I know to make a beeline to the FGSS office when I need advice and perspectives. I spend inordinate amounts of time in CP&R, an office that could seem scary, yet all of the staff members manage to navigate their roles as my bosses and advisors, while also being the most supportive and empowering friends/mentors I could have hoped to have.

As for the other scary aspects, I now get homesick when I leave Scripps. And in regards to the dorms, I can safely maneuver through most of them. (Though I have yet to discover where Dorsey begins and Browning ends.)

So much has changed since that second day when I hugged my mom goodbye. I gained a home, a sense of independence, and a new type of family. As awkward as it can be to merge all my worlds, it’s hard to imagine life without the weird roommate living just feet from me, or the long lunches (that consist of mostly ice cream) with my friends, or the constant inspiration I get from the CP&R staff.

I know that all of these people, and more, helped get me to where I am today and they’ll help me make it to the finish line so I can walk down Elm Tree Lawn in my green robe. So I guess I’m writing this sappy post to make sure they know that I appreciate absolutely everything they’ve done, and because even after I’m holding my diploma I don’t want to imagine my life without them.

Why It’s Ok to Freak Out About Graduation

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Today I got a text message about a bachelorette party that sent me into existential-crisis-panic-mode. I’m pretty sure this is not a normal reaction to such a text. (FYI: I’m quite excited for this bachelorette party and to be a bridesmaid for one of my best friends.) It was the proposed date of the party that scared me: August 2015.

You know what I should be doing in August? Packing, finishing up an internship, enjoying the last home-cooked meals before I return to dining halls… But not this August. I don’t know what I’ll be doing in August 2015. For the last 16 years of my life August has always meant “BACK TO SCHOOL PREP” until this year.

I know I’m not the only senior who feels this way. In fact, I’ve talked to a different senior every day for the past week about these feelings. However, I’ve spent most of those conversations being the consoling friend assuring them, “You can do this.” “It’s going to work out, no matter what.” “You’ll find something soon!” “Whatever, you were too good for that job anyway.” “Isn’t it kind of fun that the world is full of possibilities?”

Well, friends, I am here to tell you that I think I might’ve been a little too casual with my responses. It’s absolutely terrifying.

But at least red pandas feel it too. (Source: forGIFs.com)

Don’t get me wrong, I still think we can do this (because we have to). It really is going to work out (what other choice do we have?!). We will find the perfect job (and if not, maybe the next one will be it!). You were definitely too good for that job (because you’re brilliant and it’s ridiculous that you didn’t get it). And there are definitely a lot of exciting possibilities (TOO. MANY. CHOICES.).

But we get to be terrified in the process.

I’m realizing that now is an ok time to be terrified, because it’s way better to be scared and confused in a place that feel relatively safe, in a place we can ask for help and guidance. We’re surrounded by resources. We can go cry to a counselor in a CP&R appointment; don’t worry, we all do it and it helps. We can talk to our professors; rumor has it, they do more than just assign readings and grade essays. We can ask around campus about recommendations and connections; apparently this is called “networking” in the Real World, but here it’s called “lunch at Malott while I wear sweats.”

Lastly, we can talk to each other. That’s my favorite option because we all get it. And because it gives us an opportunity to remind each other that we’re going to stick it out together. We’ll be there to help each other begin a new life, just like we did when we met here three and a half years ago. We really can do this, and I think being scared is part of the process.

Figuring It Out. Maybe.

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Sometimes there’s nothing scarier than infinite possibilities. But it’s also terrifying to make decisions that could limit your options down the road. So as I consider how I want to proceed with my post-graduation job search, I’m terrified of limiting myself to certain areas and industries, but I also can’t just magically produce a million resumes and drop them on the desk of every potential employer in the country.

DISTRESS

I’ve come up with some parameters for my search that won’t necessarily make me feel like I’m eliminating too many good options, but I am still sort of freaking out about eventually having to choose something. Or, you know, not getting any jobs at all. But we’re going to pretend that won’t happen and that something will work out, ok? Ok.

In terms of industries, I’m considering trying to get into the judicial system, either as a clerk in a law office (preferably a government office, but I’m not going to rule out other options); a caseworker in an immigration office, child services office, etc. (whatever I can secure without a Master’s or targeted degree); or a career planning/job services office (that one’s a little random, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot). I’d like to try and do something that will compel me to use my language skills, and it’d be awesome to be in a place where I can attend language classes for cheap (at a local college, for example).

I’m really scattered when it comes to locations. It’d be so great to be near my family and back in my home state. But it’d also be fun to experience a new city–I love Minneapolis/St. Paul and Chicago so much, and Madison, Wisconsin, is a close third. I have good friends in all of those cities, and it’d be great to be close to that network of people I’m close with. I also just found out that my best friend will be moving to Portland after she graduates. I’ve never been to Portland, so moving there without even visiting freaks me out, but my friend and I were basically inseparable during high school, so having her nearby after four years apart would be amazing. It’d also be awesome to follow my sister wherever she decides to go to college in the fall of 2015, but she’s also looking all over the country, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to predict her plans in time to secure a job nearby. My sister and I are super close, and it’d be great to keep each other company as we adjust to post-high school and post-college life.

And then there’s the part of me that just wants to pack up and move to Morocco or New Zealand or something and figure it out.

To Whom It May Concern: I have none of the qualifications required for sheep herding. Please hire me anyway. Love, Em.

And then there’s feasibility of working somewhere. The economy and job market here at home are much better than other places in the country (and in Morocco, for that matter…no clue about New Zealand). But there are more immigration jobs in, say, Minneapolis than there are in a little town somewhere. Then there are things like the cost of living, the availability of public transportation, the safety of the city…all of which will have to be weighed against the money I could make at a job.

This is majorly tricky stuff. But as I start my job search, writing down my priorities and needs has at least given me a framework within which to operate. And as much as I hate having too many possibilities and tough decisions like these, it’s nice to know that no matter what I choose, there will be things I love about wherever I end up.

And, of course, that I can always change my mind.

Looking Forward to New Homes

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Editors note: this post was written before Hurricane Sandy struck. Our thoughts are with our alumnae, Scripps families and the millions of people who are affected by the storm this week.

Lately, whenever I visit somewhere I’ve never been before or haven’t been in a while, I view it with a very certain eye. Once I finish up with my fellowship work, I’m going to get down to business applying to jobs all over the states and in a variety of international cities. So when I spend 5 days in New York City, like I just did for fall break, I’m seeing things and exploring different neighborhoods knowing that I might be drawing on my experience in a year when I’m deciding where to live for my job in New York. I find this incredibly exciting!

Certainly no views like this in Claremont, eh?

I had an absolutely great time in New York with my boyfriend, his family, and number of other friends from CMC. We got to explore much of Manhattan, the West Village, and Brooklyn, where a friend and Scrippsie alum had just moved into a new apartment. It was rejuvenating to be in a city, lights on, lively at all hours, with an infinite number of events and activities every day. It was certainly a sharp contrast to Claremont life and made me miss London, where I studied last fall, dearly. There is so much life within a city and I found myself really looking forward to getting to move to one next year—mastering the public transportation system, picking favorite coffee shops to read in, and starting to regularly check the TimeOut page for different fun cultural things. This weekend I saw posts for a dog Halloween costume parade and a 100-woman drum concert on the subway, among many others.

The crew at a Giants v Redskins game, my first experience with professional football!

Spending time in a big city also helps me clarify what I need to be happy with a living situation. I lived in two places during my time in London: one in a sweet neighborhood and less than a block away from a large lovely park with lots of trees and nature and one in central London across the street from King’s Cross Station, all cement and buses and traffic. I now know that I would be happier living in a more residential area rather than smack in the middle of downtown (luckily I probably wouldn’t be able to afford the latter anyway), and need to have some sort of green place to walk and stretch and small clean air nearby. This is also necessary for me to make a big dream of mine, having a dog, a reality. Of course, wherever I live needs to be close enough to the subway and to buses to make the downtown and other areas easily accessible.

Who wouldn’t want to live across the street from the NY Public Library? It’s such a beautiful building!

What about you, fellow senior Scrippsies? Where do you fantasize getting a job after graduation? Are you thinking of a big city or do you want to live somewhere a little less hectic, loud, and bright? Would you live abroad or are you planning on staying in the States? Have a great week!