No one tells you that you’ll end up crying on the floor of your apartment because you’re overwhelmed and frustrated at setting up your own Internet.
No one tells you that you will make purchases based on when rent is due. Or when you get your next paycheck.
No one tells you that you will feel terribly lonely at sporadic times.
No one tells you that you’ll question your decision about your job, city, or apartment. Often.
No one tells you what it’s like to be the bottom of the corporate ladder and how you’ll feel both inadequate and confident in what you can offer – at the same time.
No one tells you how you’ll have to figure out how to get around a city, whether it’s by car, train, bus, or walking.
No one tells you that you’ll walk past multiple homeless people on your way to work each day (for those of us who live in a big city).
No one tells you how it feels to walk into a church alone and walk out alone, wondering if you’ll make friends.
No one tells you how many weddings you’ll be invited to and how it will make you wonder if you’re on a completely different life track than others.
No one tells you how overwhelming it is to have no idea what’s next or if what you’re currently doing is right.
No one tells you how normal it is to feel completely unsure of yourself.
No one tells you, because we all feel like we’re the only one.
Well, I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone. I’ve felt all the above and more.
Post-grad life is HARD. Plain and simple. (or rather, it’s simply complicated).
I wish I had a “but here’s why it’s worth it” story, but currently, I don’t.
I don’t because I’m in the midst of post-grad life myself. Since May, I have moved to Chicago, found a place to sublet, started an internship, visited different churches, made friends at work, became connected at a church, explored the city, decided to stay in Chicago, found a roommate, found an apartment, received a job offer, moved into the new apartment and started my job. All in a little over 4 months.
No wonder I feel like a mess sometimes.
No one really prepares you for how the first year out of college is so difficult, exciting, overwhelming, exhilarating, lonely, terrifying, empowering and emotionally unstable.
I’m here to be honest. This year is hard. It hasn’t been easy so far and it won’t remain easy. But it has certainly been an adventure. I have seen God provide for me in ways that blow my mind, and even though I can’t give you the reason why, I do feel confident that I’m supposed to be in Chicago right now. The peace He gives transcends anything I can understand right now. Post-grad life isn’t supposed to be easy — it’s supposed to be an adventure.
While I have no specific encouragement for how to process what it’s like being in our post-college year, I hope that the feeling (and truth) of not being alone serves as that encouragement.
Even if it seems like everyone else is happy and fine (the deception of social media), every single recent graduate deals with the challenges, the loneliness, the ups and downs, the uncertainty, and the questioning of these years after college.
You are not alone.
You are not alone, I promise you’re not alone.
I am closer than the breath you’re breathing in.
You’re 24 don’t deny it, You’re 24 don’t try and hide it. Maybe your 24, you say you don’t know who you are, but right now you know more than you have ever known before.
You are not alone, I promise you’re not alone.
I am closer than the breath you’re breathing in.
Your eyes have not seen, your ears have not heard, What I have in store for you my dear, what I have in store for you this year.
You’re 24 don’t despise it, You’re 24 don’t try and hide it. Maybe your 24, you say you don’t know who you are, but right now you know more than you have ever known before.
Today you are loved and that’s really all that matters!
The Beauty In Our Brokenness 
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