Life After College?

From as young as I can remember, some aspect of life revolved around going to college.  I studied, participated in extracurriculars and got involved in community service projects.  When I finally got to college, I did the same thing but without knowing what was next.  We all heard people talk about "life after college," but never fully grasped what that entailed.  At Smith we were told to follow our own path, and I guess that brought me to Laos.  In the end, its all about taking risks and carving out your own niche in the world.  

Most recent graduates I know jumped at the opportunity for their first job (if they were lucky enough to find one) and to settle into their newly found adult life.  Uncertain of what I actually was going to do, I moved back home and nannied for a couple months, which, don't get me wrong, was perfect.  Waiting for the perfect job was something that we were warned about, but in the end, it all paid off.  

As much as moving to Laos is an extreme adventure, there are certainly aspects of the "life after college" that we weren't ready for.  

For starters, after four years of constant work and time management on hyperdrive, its a real shift to walking away when the day is over, only to start again tomorrow.  Granted, if something comes up it will get finished, but overall, the fact that people aren't accessible by email 24/7 is a real change.  

Next, there's the lunch break.  Maybe it's only Laos, but people in the workforce are dedicated the the hour-long respite from mind numbing screen gazing.  In fact, despite the fact that lunch starts promptly at noon, it is unreasonable for me to ask anyone anything after 11:30 as said people are preparing for lunch.  My colleagues think I'm crazy when I work through lunch or don't follow the 12-1 routine. But as I've noted previously, Lao can eat anything, anytime, anywhere.

One of the biggest adjustments to life after college is not being able to see familiar faces on a daily basis.  At school there was the routine of classes and friends hung out regularly.  I realize moving to Laos completely cut me off from any social scene I ever participated in, but friends back home second the feeling that its hard to start over as a working adult.  I've been very lucky to make amazing friends here and start a life from scratch, but if I was home, I know that it would be difficult to work my way into a new environment and assume the responsibilities of adulthood.

In the end, moving to Laos has eased my transition into the "life after college" phase of my life.  In addition to providing challenges and adventures, it has given me more time to think about the future, on which I am more unclear than ever.  We get used to saying stupid one liners such as "when one door closes another one opens," but in reality that's what it's all about.