Anyone else suffering from Post College Depression?

[Celadus]

It's been a long time. I've come a long way. I remember typing on this very website when I was an extremely clueless freshman with no social skills. That's changed a lot, I have friends and I can have any girl I choose.

I have gotten good at college but I plan on being an entrepreneur and relying on myself a lot. I haev a feeling I am going to be lonely and I'm starting to think the real world is going to be rough. I like getting to know girls before I date them and being in a big city will make that tough.

Anyone else getting ready to graduate and going through a rough phase? Anyone remember what it was like? Any tips on how to get through it?

Thanks
Celadus

 

[seagull]

I graduated four years ago and still miss those days. Being in the workforce full time hanging around a load of miserable 40-50 year olds doesn't quite compare to being around friendly and fun loving young hotties and blokes who like to party.

The only way you will get over this is if you do something that you enjoy that makes you forget about the college years. But in the real world of working, that's not an easy thing to do and few of us actually achieve this!

 

[RedPill]

Welcome to reality! Here you will find things are different than the school days. You actually have to work full-time, doing something economically productive. No more 15 hour work weeks at the restaurant. Often that means getting up early and not staying up until 4 am. It also means that you can't wake up with 4 hours of sleep after a thursday night of getting crunk with your friends and slither into work... unless of course you work at a gas station. On top of that, YOU are responsible for everything that happens to you. It's your reality to create - there's no more course cirriculum dictating what your next move is.

Here's some wisdom I've gained since graduating a couple years ago:

1. It's likely that most, if not all of your friends, are clueless children. Yeah they might be popular in college social circles, but they have zero concept of life outside of their mtv-inspired existence. The grown-up world, with no mom and dad to bail them out, will eat them alive for many years.

2. End the roommates era of your life as soon as possible. You will thrive so much better if you have your own place that is free of the dramas and stress associated with having roommates.

3. Man up and get ambitious about your career. The sooner, the better.

4. Be aware of how much hype you're surrounded by, and ignore it. Look at every company offering a job - they're all "a fast paced dynamic environment." Have a healthy dose of skepticism with everything you see, everyone you talk to.

5. Don't be naive. It never ceases to amaze me how many scam artists and people with low integrity there are out there. Many of them do a very good job putting on the illusion of honesty and success. You will run into them, guaranteed. Listen to your gut.

6. Friends are overrated. Change your outlook on them. Your friends aren't the people who live nearby anymore. That's how children make friends. Look at friends more as trusted allies, not as people who show up when there's a keg. When you start to build up your life, you're going to live a lot more of a solitary lifestyle - a big departure from the school years. Get used to it. You won't be hanging out with a crew of people all the time.

7. Be humble. Even a dumb older person has a lot more real-world experience than you do. Don't be afraid of failure, and learn from your mistakes.

8. You are who you're around. If you don't like who you're around, espcially if it's those you work with, move on. Be choosy.

9. Get enough sleep.

10. Hold yourself accountable for your decisions and actions. The only other person who will do so is Mr. Market.

11. Plan your life, don't just let it happen to you. The long-term is so much more important than the short-term.

RedPill

 

[chickenlegs03]

1. It's likely that most, if not all of your friends, are clueless children. Yeah they might be popular in college social circles, but they have zero concept of life outside of their mtv-inspired existence. The grown-up world, with no mom and dad to bail them out, will eat them alive for many years.

I wholeheartedly agree.

I was just thinking about this the other day when I read a post by backbreaker...and he mentioned that most people go to college to get a job. Actually, I think it's because it's a natural step after highschool, everybody does it, so no one cares to think otherwise.

If you look around, you'll see most people treat college like a continuation of highscool.

Perhaps it's because I've wanted to drop out a couple times, and I've already found what I have a passion for in life, that I know it really won't be different for me out of college. Right now, I go to school fulltime, work 20-25hrs/week between classes, and am trying to add a workouts to that schedule. It doesn't leave me much time to have a life...but I've had the "typical college life" before. Last semester was all a blur partying every week and clubs, etc...not sleeping enough, and just doing what other kids do. I got sick and tired of it, and my life was going nowhere. Yeah, I was doing great with girls, but so ****ing what? Girls aren't everything, and now I may not be getting any *****, but my life has more substance, meaning, and direction than it ever has.

Yeah, so most college children have their heads up their asses, I agree.

I never understood why people keep saying life is not as great after school?

Even lots of people keep saying the old days were good, blah blah...I think lots of people have lots of regrets. I guess I never understood these things because I don't live with regrets...live in the moment.

But I guess now that I'm slowly improving myself more and more, I can see how I am becoming more distanced from the typical college student and life...I can see why they say that.

Just ask how many people know what they know what they are doing with their life. Most college students don't...and unfortunately, college is where you should be after you know what you want to do, not before. At least in my opinion.

These are awesome tips as well, as I'm slowly getting the hang of them myself:

3. Man up and get ambitious about your career. The sooner, the better.

4. Be aware of how much hype you're surrounded by, and ignore it. Look at every company offering a job - they're all "a fast paced dynamic environment." Have a healthy dose of skepticism with everything you see, everyone you talk to.

6. Friends are overrated. Change your outlook on them. Your friends aren't the people who live nearby anymore. That's how children make friends. Look at friends more as trusted allies, not as people who show up when there's a keg. When you start to build up your life, you're going to live a lot more of a solitary lifestyle - a big departure from the school years. Get used to it. You won't be hanging out with a crew of people all the time.

7. Be humble. Even a dumb older person has a lot more real-world experience than you do. Don't be afraid of failure, and learn from your mistakes.

8. You are who you're around. If you don't like who you're around, espcially if it's those you work with, move on. Be choosy.

9. Get enough sleep.

10. Hold yourself accountable for your decisions and actions. The only other person who will do so is Mr. Market.

11. Plan your life, don't just let it happen to you. The long-term is so much more important than the short-term.

 

[chickenlegs03]

ACTIONS, not words. It doesn't matter whether we're talking women or people in general. Watch what people DO, not what they say. Actions are the best indicator of reliability and the best predictor of future behavior.

by the way, that's an awesome signature...I've been noticing how true that is lately.

I've talked to lots of people, and it's funny because sometimes I run into someone and think that 'wow, this guy/girl is actually on the same track in their life as me!'

them: yeah, I want to get into real estate and start my own company too!
me: I'm thinking about it, maybe 5-10years down the road *being modest and realistic - because I don't like to talk about things much before doing them*

But, half the other time, they talk about the new cars and things they're taking out loans to buy, or buying on credit. All they do is spend spend spend all the time on things they don't need at all. Well, if you keep doing that, you will get nowhere!

I think it was backbreaker who said people think about getting rich one second or in shape, then the next they go back to wacking off...you can't do that, you'll get nowhere. You have to get off your ass and make things happen. And starting to do them, I've begun to realize it's not easy, but it's not as hard as lazy people make you think it is either.

It's crazy because I have yet to meet one other person like myself. Everytime I meet someone like that, at first I'm like, "wow, you actually read Rich Dad too!" But I've yet to meet someone who actually did **** about reading the book...most people just don't take action.

I've met a few...actually one. And I remember who he is...and you know what, he also has found his passion in life. He knows what he's doing, and is thinking of his financial future.

How many 21 year olds do you know that have an IRA, and are contemplating whether they should convert to a ROTH? Not many. Not many 25-30 year olds have IRAs, let alone 21 year olds.

I agree...most people are just talk. You think it's an over exaggeration until you get out in the real world, and see for yourself that it's not...

 

[comic_relief]

i like this

comic_relief

 

[Julian]

I only went to college for 1 semester....


however i do have post highschool depression still and im almost 21.

I have become accustomed to the grown up solitary lifestyle, as i am living it currently. However there is some solid advice in this thread...I have my goals that I am pursuing and its something everyone needs to have.

 

[Scrumtulescence]

College absolutely sucked for me in every conceivable way, and now that I'm out of it and looking for a job with no training, knowledge or experience that will help me in my career life, and absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life and no desire at all for a 8-5 cubicle job, I feel completely and utterly lost. And I wish I could go back to college and make up for everything I missed out on, but I can't. So yeah, you could say I definitely have "post college depression". And to think my parents were the ones who pushed me into finishing college despite having no clue as to what I wanted to major in. Now it was all for nothing, and they're out tens of thousands of dollars. I'm sure they're happy!

 

[twilight]

I wish I would have had advice like you get here upon graduating college...The first 3 or 4 years after college were probably the loneliest ever in my entire life. I struggled with women, and making solid friendships in a new city where I knew nobody. Having a tight circle in HS and college, I'd never struggled with making friends or with women before. It had been effortless for me my whole life until I hit the "real world"...but it was for the best because it helped me grow-up, work on myself, and change my life for the better. So yes, for 3 or 4 years after college I suffered heavily from post-college depression. But since I started working on myself about a year and a half ago, I've never felt better!

 

[DrMetallica]

I wince when I think of post-degree life. For the most part, university has been a blissful dream. I have enough credits to graduate a semester early and study/take the CPA, but why? This is too fun.

 

[Freewheelin Frank]

I went through a post-High School depression because I had to leave all my friends behind, and I was going to a community college in a town where I didn't go to high school, so I had very little luck making friends there as most people already had their cliques and friends.

I had built up status in high school, had friends, and was fairly popular(although I didn't date). They even put my fat ass on Prom court(I think I may be the only fat guy in history on Prom court who wasn't also a football player). Then I had to leave it and this new place noone knew who I was or cared, I had no status. It was like starting back at zero I was a "fish" once more.

 

[Scrumtulescence]

I wince when I think of post-degree life. For the most part, university has been a blissful dream. I have enough credits to graduate a semester early and study/take the CPA, but why? This is too fun.

man I wish college was like that for me. :|

 

[Freewheelin Frank]

man I wish college was like that for me. :|

Me too. I'm not attending right now because I changed majors(from English to Culinary Arts) and they don't offer my new major here(I'm moving), but I did go last semester and it SUUUUUUUCKED. My senior year of High school was a LOT better.

 

[SELF-MASTERY]

I'm thinking about going back and getting a real degree in something that is useful.