Freshman Year of Life | Book Review

My Freshman Year of Life

As of the date of this post, I am 24. I've only been out of undergrad for a year and spent that year in a graduate program and living alone for the first time in my own apartment. That year out on my own, tackling graduate school for the first time was incredibly challenging and helped me grow. It gave me the kick in the pants that I needed to start being a successful writer and taught me how to get crap done. I've always liked a challenge and grad school gave me a nice mountain to climb.

I loved that first year for all that it gave me, but decided by May (for a host of reasons) to leave the program.

It was a frustrating decision. I knew it was the best choice for me, but it also made me feel as if the last year of my life didn't count. It felt like it didn't move me forward. It felt like I'd caused myself to fall even more behind than I'd felt when I graduated undergrad a year late after 5 years of trying to take full loads of coursework and never really getting the hang of it, inevitably dropping a class a month into each semester (that's a story of it's own). I was already behind, and now I was stagnant. Or at least, that's the way it felt.

What I learned recently is that my experience is fairly common. It's easy to forget that everyone struggles as they enter new phases of their life. Everyone struggles period, and change will amp up the struggle that much more.

A few weeks ago I read Freshman Year of Life - I collection of essays conceived by the Mindsumo community - and it gave me a whole new perspective on my life and my progress toward my goals. It was incredibly thought provoking and helpful to me over the last couple of weeks, and in this post, I want to share some of the lessons I walked away with after reading it. I am trying for the life of me to hold onto the new perspective I've gained (not that it's hard to forget because it really hit home).

That perspective is this: we are all on our own timeline. If you do things when you're ready, and slow down when you need to, you're still on your own timeline.

You are not falling behind.

What I learned from the Book

When I learned:
-Pretty much everyone feels like they fudged up their first couple years after college. We're all figuring it out. That's okay.
-Just do it. If you want something, it starts with one small action today.
-Don't dismiss the little things you should be doing - taking care of yourself and pursuing your passion - just because you have a day job or need to find a day job. Hold yourself accountable for your health and your dreams.
-Job listings that claim if you need to be this great "self-starter" are probably trying to hide something. You don't have to settle for something that seems shady, and you don't have to take the first offer just because. Or if you do take the first offer just because, you don't have to stay if something better comes along later on.

Some things I learned about writing:
-Ideas can get muddled and confused very quickly. Sometimes the first idea you get is just a lead in to your real idea. Write anyway. Run with it, and you can totally make it happen.
-You already have what it takes inside of you.
-You can always write a "beginning" later.  
-Short pieces can feel under developed, but they can also pack a punch with just a snapshot. Shoot for a balance.

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Freshman Year of Life is a book I truly needed at this point in my life. If you've read it, leave a comment telling me what you liked about it or learned from it!