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After sitting down and discussing the timeline for the rest of my internship with Stephanie A. Lloyd and Radiant Veracity, we’ve decided to keep going through the middle of December. Until then, I’ve made it my goal to post one guest blog entry every week, maintain social media updates and aggregate Stephanie’s online content to help with publishing a book(s) in the future.
This post is all about being a recent college graduate living at home with your parents—a very relatable situation, seeing as a hefty majority of 2009 graduates are in the exact same position.
Read the full entry below, or see the original post here.
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TALES OF A POST-GRAD INTERN
Home Is Where You Hang Your Hat, Not Your Diploma
I read an article in CNN Money, which cited 80% of 2009 college graduates going straight back home to live with their parents. I’m one of these “boomerang kids;” we moved over our tassels then moved right back home to mom and pop. It’s not an ideal position, but I haven’t lost my pride… yet.
THE PERKS
- Saving money. Obviously, the free rent is a big plus, but I’ve recently realized just how much money I’m saving at home. It’s the little things; stamps, printer paper and ink, toothpaste, laundry detergent and toilet paper are all available to me at no cost. Those necessities are well stocked in an established home.
- Company. Even if you considered yourself pretty independent in college, you likely had roommates. It’s a completely different experience to live alone. I’ve known several people who tried and couldn’t take the solitude. Mom and dad may not be the perfect roommates, but I always have someone around to talk to and don’t have to be paranoid at night.
- Home cooking. I don’t eat at home every night, but having (southern) family meals available to me is another big money saver. Better than that, I get a nutritious meal (as opposed to all those Hot Pockets I was eating between classes), which helps me stay healthy. Illness is not conducive to productivity.
THE BUMMERS
- Feelings of shame. I’m not sure about the rest of you, but to me, there’s something a little depressing about a large, elegant diploma frame hanging in your childhood bedroom next to that “Most Likely to Succeed” plaque from high school and a pile of neglected Beanie Babies. I refuse to endure that kind of torture. My diploma has two options: my new apartment or my corner office.
- No privacy. In college, I became very accustomed to doing things my way and in my own time. Back at home, I’ve reverted back to disclosing my daily schedule and hoping for parental approval. You know what it’s like—checking in on your way home, letting your parents know if you’ll be out “too late.” Though they have lightened up a bit since high school, my parents know where I am almost all the time. It’s not the worst thing that could happen, but it’s not adulthood.
- Financial dependence. When someone has a financial stake in your actions, they have an opinion on everything. There’s nothing wrong with that in principle, but when mom tells me I can’t buy a Brita Pitcher with the money I earned, it does become a bit irritating. Parents seem to think you want to mooch off them your whole life. Incorrect! I would genuinely love to take over all my bills (and I’m making progress), but like most things in my life right now, it’s going to take time.
- The commute. Depending on where you find a place, this could be an issue regardless. For me, driving from my home in the suburbs into the city of Atlanta for work has done quite a number on my gas bill (not to mention my sanity in the midst of Atlanta rush hour).
THE SOLUTION
- Keep yourself busy. I have made it illogical to think of myself as a failure because I am constantly working both at my day job and on numerous freelance projects. Living with my parents doesn’t seem so shameful if I’m a contributing member of society.
- Set goals. Whether it’s finding an affordable apartment by November or saving up for an exercise machine, have something to work toward. Short-term, attainable goals are the best way to keep from feeling stagnant.
- Talk it out. After a few arguments, my parents and I sat down and had a little chat about my difficulty dealing with being back under their wing. We came up with a way to live compatibly in a way that meets their needs but still gives me space and relative independence.
- Remember, it’s only temporary. It’s hard to keep this in mind, especially when “temporary” remains an undefined span of time. Make moving out a priority. Don’t rush into it, but make sure it’s a long-term goal supported by your short-term decisions.
The transition has been difficult, but it helps to know a large majority of my peers are right here with me, searching for a place to hang that new diploma.
[To learn more about my post-grad exploits, visit my Web site.]
I have been conscripted to work on some graphics for a secret new project coming from Heather Huhman over at Come Recommended.
Heather actually contacted me via Twitter after reading my guest post on Radiant Veracity about the logo design process. I’m finding out just how much it helps to have your name (and your work) out there for people to view and engage with.
Since it is a very secret mission I have been assigned, I cannot divulge details at present. But get excited, Gen Y, because Heather’s got some interesting ideas cooking!
More to come…
As our first (and ongoing) project as interns for Stephanie A. Lloyd Radiant Veracity, Stephanie Perrett and I will be chronicling our internship experience in a regular blog series on the RV site.
Our first post is up, which deals with our back story, having known each other for two years before landing the same internship via Twitter.
Read the full text below, or see the original post here.
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TALES OF A POST-GRAD INTERN
The Beginning: An Unlikely Friendship
Introducing two new members of the Radiant Veracity team: Stephanie Perrett and Beth Farrar (from left to right) are currently working with Stephanie Lloyd as two of three communications interns. One of their weekly intern assignments is to chronicle their experiences as a regular blog series on Radiant Veracity. As recent college graduates and active job seekers, topics will range from how they met (they’ve been friends for two years) to their weekly assignments, victories and struggles.
Without sounding too much like a Harlequin romance novel, our story is quite serendipitous. Both 20-year-old journalism students at the University of Georgia, it took a nine-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean, followed by a two-hour bus ride from hell through the English countryside (a story for another time) for us to meet.
As rising juniors at UGA, we both found ourselves in a period of transition. For different reasons, we were each motivated to spend the summer of 2007 studying at the University of Oxford, thousands of miles away from Athens, Ga.
Eager to meet new people, Beth was among the first to apply for the Oxford study abroad program. The year had gotten off to a rough start, and the idea of expanding her comfort zone seemed the perfect antidote. With no inhibitions, Beth immediately began packing her 72-pound suitcase for the six-week sojourn.
Much more hesitant about the prospect of spending the summer somewhere so foreign – both literally and figuratively – Stephanie was one of the last students to apply for the trip. A mere four months before summer classes at Oxford began, she took an e-mail stating there had been last-minute openings in the program as a sign to throw all anxieties to the wind and leap into the unknown.
Upon our arrival at Oxford, we found ourselves decompressing from the long journey in a huddled common room, making small talk with a group of strangers who couldn’t have been more different from each other. The eight people in the room that night forged an unlikely bond that would continue throughout their college years and beyond. If we hadn’t been willing to take a leap of faith in to this unfamiliar territory, it is unlikely that we would have become friends at all, we would not be working at Radiant Veracity together and this romance would have never been written.
Moral of the Story: Take advantage of every opportunity. Consider studying abroad (trust us – it’s the experience of a lifetime!). Expand your horizons. Venture outside your comfort zone. Embrace new people (even if they appear to be very different from you). Stay in touch with old friends because you never know – they could be become your co-worker one day.
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We have quite a few more entries already scheduled, so keep checking back on Radiant Veracity as the “Tales of a Post-Grad Intern” continue to emerge!
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