
Ok, so am I the only one that is in disbelief that MAY is NEXT WEEK? This means that SUMMER is literally just around the corner! I am pretty sure this has been the fastest spring semester yet.
As excited and ready as most of us are, I bet there are some girls/ladies out there who are realizing that EVERYTHING is about to CHANGE. Whether your graduating high school or graduating college those are MAJOR TRANSITIONS taking place. So I wanted to take a minute and address some THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT TRANSITION.
1. It's EMOTIONAL
When we think of transitioning or changing we don't realize or acknowledge the VAST emotions that come with it. Obviously there is SO MUCH EXCITEMENT, especially if it is a transition that we have been planning for. However, there are going to be moments of sadness and even fear and THAT IS OK. The truth is as 'prepared' as you may feel that doesn't neglect the fact that BIG transitions are going to bring up BIG emotions.
The following things are some of the harder places to transition:
FRIENDS: your friend group will shift, and you may not stay super close to all the friends that you currently have.
LOCATION: a lot of those graduating go away from their hometown, or where they have just invested 4 years. Changing locations can be scary and somewhat overwhelming.
RESPONSIBILITIES: all of the sudden you won't have parents or teachers or professors holding you accountable, which may be a big change for some. You may feel alone which will take some getting used to.
So all this to say that transition is going to be emotional, and we need to make sure that we give ourselves permission to feel those emotions GOOD AND BAD. We can't ignore or sweep to the side the negative emotions because we don't want to deal with them. Negative emotions tend to always come back, and when they do they are harder to handle.
2. It's DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE
So I see or hear this a lot, 'well all my friends are heading off to college and I am taking a gap year.' Or 'my classmates have jobs lined up and I am not sure what life looks like after I graduate.' When I hear that come from the girls I talk too it almost sounds like they are so disappointed in themselves and that they feel like failures because their plans don't match-up with their peers.
I think there is an unspoken pressure to have your transition look like your peers, and guess what.....YOUR TRANSITION WILL NOT LOOK LIKE OTHERS AND THAT IS OK! We have to learn to take off that pressure to line our plans up with those around us.
REMBER THESE THINGS:
gap years don't equate to failure
no job lined up doesn't equate to failure
unsure of plans doesn't equate to failure
Did you ever consider that our transitions don't always look the same, because WE ARE NOT CREATED THE SAME? Some people do better with a gap year, so they can figure out whats next. Some people do well going right into college because they know if they don't they won't ever go. It really is different for everyone.
Transition will not look the same across the board, so we need to stop basing ours like it does.
3. It's something to be EMBRACED
Lastly I want to remind you that transition is something to be EMBRACED. I know I talked about how scary it is and overwhelming it can be, which is still true. However, I believe when we embrace the WHAT'S NEXT it makes it easier to THRIVE. We can get out of the just survival mode when we learn to embrace the new season that we are in.
I often find that if we try to stay in the mentality of WHAT WAS we almost always miss out on the EXCITING WHAT IS. So instead of rejecting or prolonging the transition, go ahead and EMBRACE IT. Embrace the newness and the excitement, despite of the fear of it all.
GIRL: YOU are meant to CHANGE THE WORLD so don't let the fear and resistance of transition stop you.
UNTIL NEXT TIME LADIES
Anastasia Brokas