School’s Out Forever!
Not long ago, I saw a video on Instagram, by exactlyrelated. In it, a young woman is talking to two older women, It is obvious that they are at work, in a conference room.The younger woman says to the others, “I guess I’ll see you in September! Have a great summer!”. And the others say, “What’s up? Are you going somewhere?” She says ”It’s June 30th, it’s time for summer vacation!” They respond, “Yeah, we don’t have summer vacation here. This is your job.”
Now, part of the joke is about those clueless young people, recent graduates, so pampered and coddled. Now that you’re an adult, all you have to look forward to is retirement. Welcome to the rat race, you poor kids. But also, we can relate because many of us had that stomach sinking feeling when we finally land our first “real” job (Yay!) only to discover that instead of having the summers off, you get a total of 2 weeks vacation a year.
Most parents want their children to be able to support themselves and have fulfilling work lives, doing something that they at least like doing. Getting a college degree is one of the best ways accomplish the goals of getting more well paid and interesting work. And for many, this straightforward calculation works efficiently. They study in a field they personally have both the talent for and the interest in. Shortly after or even just before, they find an entry level position in that field and off they go. Or they choose to continue their education into graduate school and stay in academia.
But for many people who attend a 4 year college immediately after high school, this will be the first time they’ve stepped off the expected educational path they started in kindergarten. From this point on, their life path will follow a direction of their own choosing. There are so many options, none of them objectively better than others. There are many ways to live a fulfilling life and each life unfolds in its own unique way. It can be an exciting time but also terrifying.
Graduating from college may symbolically mark the end of childhood and dependency and the beginning of adulthood. And in the old days, people transitioned directly from high school into full-time work, marriage, and parenthood in their very early twenties. However, beginning in the 1960s, due to many cultural changes, young people started staying in school longer and delaying marriage and parenthood. It is now understood that the ages between 18 and 29 are a phase unto themselves, called Emerging Adulthood, which was identified by psychologist Jeffrey Arnette in 2000.
There is now a greater understanding of the transitional nature of the period between childhood and adulthood. College is just one part of this period of self discovery. It’s normal for young college graduates to still feel “in between” and to occupied with deciding who they are and what they want their life to be like. This phase of life is highly varied between individuals and many young people still need support as they navigate this complicated period of their lives.