Dear Undergraduate

Dear Undergraduate,

I know how things are for you right now. You’ve been a part of the education process for the past half-decade and it’s become all you’ve known. Now, you’re at the end of your undergraduate journey and you’re staring the real world in the face. Maybe you’ve worked the same shitty part time job for the past 5 years…maybe you’ve worked a series of crappy jobs in that time. Either way for the first time you’re threatened by actual responsibility. You started on this journey because you wanted to make something of your life, and along the way things have gotten comfortable. Now, change is an option. You hate the status quo, but change is always scary.

And you should be scared. No matter what field you’ve stumbled into, chances are life is hard and this is reflected in your various pursuits. Maybe you’re in danger of failing a required class at midterm. Maybe you’ve gotten rejection letters from a few graduate schools. Maybe you’ve just noticed a major mistake on the resume you’ve sent to half a dozen PIs. Maybe you’ve sent out a few job applications and can’t seem to get a response. Maybe you’re getting burnt out by the four years of constant classes, tests and labs.

These are all scary things. These are all things which everyone goes through, as well. Just because you’ve suffered a few setbacks doesn’t mean that you won’t succeed. Most folks don’t get the first few jobs they interview for. Most folks don’t get accepted to the first few grad schools they apply for. And everybody fucks up a resume every once and awhile.

Look…the universe tends to unfold as it should. Chances are, you’re relatively young and life gives you dozens of chances to start over again if you’ve really screwed things up. If you’re struggling through a difficult class, see if it’s curved or just spend every waking second studying. If you’re worried about your grades, stock up on easy classes next semester or take another semester’s worth of classes if you’re graduating. If your grades are decent, finding a job or internship shouldn’t be terribly difficult. If your first few graduate schools rejected you, keep applying until one clicks. This stuff is far more simple than you’re making it out to be.

Chances are, you’re tending quite a few fires right now and feel like you’re having trouble keeping track of them all. That’s a good thing. The more things you have going on at once, the greater chance something’s going to click and you’ll move onto the next level. Granted, it’s a bit scary but nothing worth doing is without risk.

Remember…you wanted to do this. You wanted to become something more than the manager of a fast-food joint. Maybe you wanted to be a doctor, scientist or lawyer and now that you have to make a life change you’re questioning whether you have the ability to make it.

Guess what?

You can do this. You’ve done it for four or five years already, and you’ve completed phase one of your goals. Granted, it’s just a start but every journey has a first leg. You’re driven…you’ve lasted nearly a half decade already through innumerable crisis and life changes. You’re intelligent…otherwise, your quest would have ended in failure long ago.

But most of all, you’ve got nothing to lose from here on out. You either step up, or keep doing the same thing you’ve been doing all along. Worst case scenario, you keep working the same crappy job you have been for the past few years.

Don’t that fear of change stop you. You’re better than that.

Sincerely,
Cheshire