Pictured from Left to Right: Former Layout Editor Nicole Alvarez, Former Managing Editor Nicholas Santos and Staff Writer Stephen Skipper. Like most graduates, staff of the Lions’ Pride Newspaper are always able to reflect on their growth throughout their college careers at Saint Leo. Photo Provided by: Nicole Alvarez
Nicole Alvarez – Special to Lions’ Pride
During the final months of my last semester, I thought I had everything planned out. I knew what I was going to get a career in. I knew the companies hiring for my dream jobs. But most importantly, I whole-heartily believed that the job market wouldn’t be too bad.
How I wish I could go back to 2017 and smack some sense into myself. Unfortunately, I don’t have a time machine, but I do have a friend who can tell me all the problems with time travel.
Which brings me to my first point. Be prepared to say goodbye to most of the friends you made while in college.
At the very least, know that hanging out and face-to-face interaction will become severely limited; especially, if you and your friends live in different states entirely.
I have friends that live only 30 minutes away from me and I barely ever see them. Except, that’s mostly because we’re all working terrible part-time hours or exhausting full-time jobs.
Speaking of jobs and segueing into talking about the job market, have prospective interviews lined up before you graduate.
I made the silly mistake of not job hunting as extensively as I should have. I also made the mistake of deciding on a career with little to no job opportunities in the area where I live.
Now, I’m working as a freelance content writer, which basically translates as writing articles from the comfort of my home. Sounds nice, right? No.
Unless you’re an expert in your field, freelance opportunities won’t pay a lot, and you’ll be living from project to project. Entry-level freelance jobs aren’t always work-at-home types either. I just got lucky after, oh, six months of looking for anything and everything related to writing or editing while working a data-entry job.
You’ll probably have to go through several interviews before you find the job that you’re willing to do for the salary you can work with.
Of course, the reason why I’m working freelance from home is because of an unexpected family obligation.
I love my family, but when I had finally worked up the nerve to consider moving for better job opportunities, I was called upon to stay to help take care of a family member in need of major surgery and therapy.
In other words, moving was no longer an option for me.
The moral of this particular story is – don’t waste time on hemming and hawing your way through life. If you know something needs to be done, then do it. And if it involves moving across the country, then start packing. Doors will close if you take too long.
On the bright side, some doors don’t stay closed forever.
Nicholas Santos – Special to Lions’ Pride
While I was a member of the graduating class of 2017 – all of whom graduated ceremonially in April of that year – I had finished my degree requirements one semester early in December of 2016. Finishing early seemed like a prestigious achievement that wasn’t meant for me; honestly, it happened on its own, with the challenges of my outer and inner worlds occupying me as college went on and as I grew as an individual.
As the end of the fall 2016 semester approached, the prospects of graduation began to hit me. The idea of being able to see my family regularly again—my family, which I had, for the past three years, been able to see only during the occasional long weekend or break—made me very happy. Outside of that, however, I knew that I would have been (and already was) devastated by what I was required to leave behind: the friends, mentors and family I had developed at Saint Leo, my home away from home. I had left close people behind twice before in my life; when I moved to Florida from New York in 2005, I left behind countless family members and my best friend, and when I graduated from high school in 2013, I left behind even more friends. As such, I thought I would be used to it again. Unfortunately, however, that wasn’t the case, and I found that the months leading up to my graduation were some of the toughest I’d ever had to endure following my undergraduate career. The one thing I wish I knew when I graduated? I wish I knew how painful leaving everyone—everything—from Saint Leo so early was truly going to be.
Moving on and growing up are parts of life—that was something I taught myself to accept after moving to Florida. Yet, moving away from Saint Leo, a place I learned to call my own, offered many challenges I wasn’t yet ready to face. From searching for a job, to applying to grad school and finally to dealing with losing the sense of purpose I had once had so recently, everything had, over time, manifested into an eventual realization: adulthood was on its way, and fast. I had to learn to look upon myself to find purpose and happiness – to this day; this is still something I am fighting for. Although I am grateful for such an experience, I can’t help but wonder: perhaps knowing beforehand would have made the battle that much easier.
