Life After College
YOU GUYS, I GRADUATED THREE YEARS AGO TODAY! Time has definitely flown by. Thinking back, I remember feeling like my entire academic career had led up to this very moment, I mean hadn’t it? This is what the world had convinced me that I needed to do in order to be successful: you go to school, you get a degree, you get a job…. Realistically, it sucks the way society tells us what we need to do, or who we need to be in order to succeed, but also, I am really grateful for my accomplishments and perseverance since my time at Texas State! To be honest I didn’t even know if I was going to have a job after graduation. Back in 2015, my apartment lease was ending, I hadn’t found a job anywhere in Texas (didn’t apply outside of the state for many reasons) and I was honestly getting ready to move back to San Antonio with my family. About a few weeks before my lease in San Marcos was over, I got a call from Target that I got the job, I would then be the new Visual Merchandising Team Lead (aka manager)–and I took it! A few months into my position, I knew it wasn’t for me. I started job hunting for social media and marketing roles, and landed a position at Facebook Austin as a Risk Analyst on a contract. After my two year contract was over with Facebook, I moved to Indeed as a full time employee. WOO! WOO!
And here I am today, a brown boy from San Antonio, Texas, first generation college student, first family member to move away from my hometown–I couldn’t be more proud of myself and my mom for all the sacrifices she’s made for me to get where I am today. Thanks madre!
LIFE HACKS + LESSONS
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FINDING MY VOICE
- Post-graduation, I started using my voice, asking more questions and saying “no” unapologetically and when necessary. I was never the person to raise my hand and ask a question or give an answer freely, but finally at the age of 26, I feel more confident doing so!
- When I first started blogging last May, I was overwhelmed by the amount of emails and notifications I was receiving! 12 months down the road and I feel a lot better about responding and communicating with PR companies, brands, other influencers, my followers, etc. Basically, I’ve learned when you do something over and over and over, you eventually will master it.
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YOUR DEGREE PROBABLY WONT MATCH YOUR PROFESSION
- Unless you are majoring in a hard science, you probably won’t get a job that exactly aligns with your degree plan.
- Unless you’re going to grad school your degree isn’t going to dictate your profession. Like with me, I have a bachelor of science in fashion merchandising and I’m working for a corporate tech company as an analyst in the engineering department.
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THE BEST YEARS
- College really was the best years of my life! I learned to work under pressure, made the best of friends and I developed a fierceeee work ethic.
- Jumping from class to class really helped me learn how to juggle multiple responsibilities at one time.
- I regret not taking advantage of the student recreation center (of which came out of my tuition every semester) and taking time to enjoy the San Marcos river more often.
- Chimy’s! Enough said! 😉
- Overall, my experience at Texas State was a rollercoaster of a journey and I wouldn’t trade it for a single penny! I absolutely love my degree, my lifelong friends that came out of it, the gorgeous campus and the professors here really go above and beyond to see you succeed–hey Ms. Fluker!
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UP YOURSELF
- Don’t be shy to show off your strengths, because if you don’t do this for yourself, nobody else will! If you’re good at something, share it with the world!
- One thing I feel that helps me with meetings and events is my punctuality. I am always the first or one of the firsts, to show up to an event or a family gathering–it shows a lot about your character and helps people take you more seriously.
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VACATIONS DON’T EXIST
- Summer vacations? What are those! As an adult you have to make time for yourself and take initiative to go explore a new town! So hop on the plane and never turn back (kidding) because off-days really don’t exist post-graduation.
