Tag Archives: alumni

Life After Undergrad: What now?

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Have you ever finished a book or a TV series and then looked up and thought “what do I do now?”. That was the exact thought I had the first day I was able to go right home after work. What do I do with all this free time? Should I start knitting? What is life without college like? I’d been in school for 80% of my 20’s and I got so accustomed to being in that student state of mind that this whole commute and “call it a day” lifestyle was new to me. I decided (like I mentioned in my first post) to start taking better care of me. Cooking at home, getting back into the gym and trying to focus on the plus and not the minus.

Meal prepping for me was a whole new world. I’d never been super into cooking or baking so I decided to start simple; chicken, veggies and some brown rice or quinoa. Well, I ended up eating this for about 3 weeks straight for lunch until a co-worker said “Sam, are you on some special diet?” Well, I kind of was the “I have no idea how to cook” diet, but that was a wake up call for me; it was time to try new dishes. So with the help of my best friend, Mariah, I ventured into simple step meal making.

My first creation was chicken tortellini, Alfredo, which, if I do say so myself was delish. Now If you don’t believe me, I also fed this to my mom and co-workers and nobody died–so there’s that. I’m sort of lazy when it comes to cleaning pots and pans but making that was shockingly easy, so the next adventure is going to be pasta salad or penne-vodka– we will see. But this endeavor into cooking is just a sign of the change in times because a year ago instead of wrangling tortellini I’d have been in lecture, or running from work to class. Now I have some time to explore skills and other things that I just never had the time for– and it’s exciting. I look forward to seeing what else comes with this new phase of life and I can’t wait to share it with my readers too!

Life After Undergrad: Finding my new groove

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Hey everyone, if you’re just catching up I’ve changed my blog from “Virtues from Motherhood” to “Life After Undergrad” as I chronicle my transition from college student to full-time working adult. First let me say that I am considering grad school and getting my Masters Degree but I’m still on the fence. Transitioning from a college student routine into one without any school is surprisingly challenging. I thought that I’d be relieved and carefree now that I didn’t have to worry about papers, midterms and passing grades, but truth be told I feel a little lost without it. I got so used to planning my day out and rushing off to class after work while making sure that everything was done and organized.

Now, I wake up and get ready for work but I feel light, there is no bag full of books and notes, there is no folder filled with a syllabus and assignments. It’s just me and my now downsized bag headed off for a brisk 9-5 shift. Last week the spring semester began and I felt a little sad, some of my friends are still there and my siblings are back in class, and then there’s me, headed home at 530. It’s not all bad though, I’ve started meal prepping and trying not to eat out. I also started going back to the gym and trying to take better care of myself. While I was in school I was on the go for 15 hours a day so eating right and exercising took a back seat.

Now as I try to get into the groove of things I try to keep a positive mindset. I’ve made a habit of pointing out the positives to myself and dealing with and discarding the negative. I’ve learned throughout my college career that attitude is everything and will affect anything you do. I’m not sure what the future holds for me right now but I am excited to find out. Now that I’ve achieved what I thought was impossible I am more confident than ever; I believe in who I am and what I can do. That ability is invaluable, you need to value everything about yourself, no matter where you are.

Virtues from Motherhood: Life after undergrad

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Happy New Year OpenLab! I’m writing my first blog as an official City Tech alumna! If you’ve followed my blog for a while you know my long journey to this point in my life, and how significant this milestone is for me. So, I’m thinking from here on out you’ll know my blog as “Life after Undergrad”.

That being said, I have to be perfectly honest and admit that being a graduate doesn’t feel super different but it does look different. For the first time in nearly ten years I’m not rushing off to class after work and I’m not spending hours on a Sunday afternoon writing papers and studying. It feels like I have all this time I’ve never had before and I’m not always sure what to do with it, but I decided this year I was going to get organized, make a plan and stick to it!

I started by chucking my old planner, as much as I loved it, it was time to start fresh. I ordered a brand new planner with daily goals and to do lists and I set myself some goals and aspirations. First I started with simple stuff, drink more water, do one fun thing for myself a week. Then I tackled my bigger goals, like getting back in shape, and finding a full-time job with my degree. I won’t lie, looking for a job is terrifying because although I know I have the skills and ability I’m jumping into a whole new pond with much bigger fish. I plan to approach job hunting with an open mind and an optimistic spirit and start networking and building my professional contacts.

But enough about me, City Tech! How was your New Year? What are some of your goals and aspirations in 2018, what habits are you trying to break and which ones are you trying to start? Let me know in the comments below!