The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/graduating/)
had never known so much suffering that year — it was like I could not trust the world to be kind or safe, and I could not trust myself to feel safe and treat myself with kindness. I write this because I know that I am not alone in my suffering.
I graduated from Cornell with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering in 2016. Not only did I graduate without a job offer, but I never even had an interview. I certainly applied to plenty of jobs and I went to all the career fairs. Overall I think I had a relatively normal and generally positive experience at Cornell. I joined the marching band and the bread club, where I made lifelong friends.
Coming into this semester I’m confronted even more frequently with the dreaded question of “what’s next?”
When the universe wants to tell you something, it will tell you a few times. I take the same attitude with phone calls. Unless you call a few times or leave a voicemail, I’m not calling back. Late last night, when I was falling asleep to an episode of S-Town, I realized that I’ve been learning the same lesson for about a year. I will graduate in almost exactly a month, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the lack of despair I feel about that fact.