I guess it was ridiculous of me to think that my university lifestyle would continue past my graduation. I mean c'mon. Living with your best friends and living five minutes away from your other closest friends. School as a full-time job. Drinking and partying a ridiculous amount of times per week. Sleeping in. Staying up late. All the while only really worrying about passing this course or submitting that paper. And now, after spending a year overseas living a life completely out of my comfort zone and out of North American reality, here I am trying to get adjusting to "Growing Up". I write it with capitals because it's deemed such an important part of life and whenever someone says "Oh well, you're Growing Up," I just picture that phrase with capital letters.
I never thought working 40 hours a week would be something to become adjusted to, although that's what is happening. I have been up and down, on and off trying to get adjusted to the working life. Up at 6:30am, relying on public transportation (which is a WHOLE other blog altogether), home by 5:00pm, in bed by 10:00pm only to repeat it the next day. Things I never would have thought of before, like going for a walk, a trip the mall, or doing some errands become the weekday excitement. However after almost three months of this routine I am finally beginning to level out and realize "Hey, this is your life for awhile."
I have realized that living away from my university support system is definitely something to adjust to. A part of me knew that once graduation came and we all moved from away from St. Catharines that things would change. We wouldn't see each other as much or talk to each other as much. I have discovered that even though those things are true that I still feel I am as close with my university chums as ever. We make a huge effort to plan weekends and events where people have enough time to book off work, arrange transportation and sort out all the other details. Although I live in Ottawa now and the bulk of my friends are in Toronto I still get to see them about once a month which sometimes isn't enough but it does make that time special and meaningful. I still struggle with the guilt of not being a part of some of my friends daily lives, especially those with drama involving boys/girls/families but I remind myself that I am not responsible for anyone else but myself.
So here I am, 24 years old and Growing Up.
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3 comments:
I so get this and I so want to chuckle too, don't be mad. Growing up is a process my dearest and you have just dipped in a toe...I know I feel like I am STILL WORKING on even though at 36 (for a few more days at least) I am supposed to be done.
Give yourself some slack. You are growing up and it is not necessarily a bad thing. Just don't settle for something that you don't want. It took me way to long to figure that one out.
Use your blog, use your brains, follow you gut, listen to your heart and all will be well.
24 is a funny age - you're not YOUNG-young anymore and yet I remember still feeling so unfinished and unsure. It sounds like you're well on your way.
I was 23 when I got my first BIG GIRL job and I suddenly understood the lyrics "Everybody's working for the weekend." Ah. Yes, the sage wisdom of LoverBoy. Good stuff. The lyrics of "Lovin' Every Minute of It" also got me through some hard times -- which generally also involved an unintentional buzz from all the Aquanet I used back then. But that is a story for another time!
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