A Year Out of College: Reflections of a Freshman at Adulting

Photo by Obi Onyeador on Unsplash

I’m at that point in my life, the point where I can no longer say that I just graduated. Spending the last 18 years of my life in school, it is so weird being out of academia. Even weirder is going to this thing called my job. Weirdest: no longer having summer vacation. (I mean how can they spoil you with 18 years of summer vacation and just expect you to adapt…)

This year I was essentially a freshman at adulting. At first — ok even now — I was filled with so many questions.

1. Will I be living the NYC life everyone else seems to be living? I was moving back to NYC, which is home for me, but it’s different now. I am an adult in the city. The last time I actually lived in NYC, I was 18 and defined going out as: going to McDonalds with my friends and buying a McFlurry. Things have changed. I have changed. I want to live the NYC life and that (unfortunately) no longer includes those regular McDonalds outings.
2. Who will be my friends in the city? Coming to NYC meant that I was moving away from what became my home and stayed that way for 4 years: Georgetown University. And the people, my best friends, who made Georgetown feel like home, were all staying in D.C. Who am I going to spend time my weekends with now that all my best friends are not 5 minutes away from me?