Readers Respond: Got the Graduation Blues?

Note that this form is not for asking questions or replying to another user. Instead, think of it as your own article on how you felt after graduating and whether you experienced the graduation blues. Share Your Experience

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Grad blues? Definitely. They've started already, and I haven't even finished my exams yet. I've suffered from anxiety for many years and I feel like it's threatening to overwhelm me now, and I keep thinking 'what next? where to now?' I'll be graduating from law but with no real passion for being a lawyer, and I have the rather silly wish that I could just be at uni forever, spending time with friends, working hard some of the time to get through my assessments but just.. comfortably floating along. Things are starting to feel very real now, as though the veil's been pulled back and I see a rather scary, chaotic world in which I'll have to find my way. I don't have much of a support network so I feel kind of lonely and apprehensive about venturing into unchartered waters and new terrain. After four years of familiarity and 'safety' at uni.. I'm definitely going to miss it. :-(

—Guest Flora

Post graduate blues

I thought I was alone in feeling this! when I upped and left my small, drab northern English hometown to study in the city it felt like a breathe of fresh air! I felt one step closer to reaching my dreams (to travel the world and settle overseas) however on graduation day, it wasn't happiness, accomplishment and relief I felt but nerves, worry and anxiety. I knew in order to get started anywhere I'd have to move back to the hometown I wanted to escape so badly. six months later, I'm still stuck in this godawful town, unemployed and can't even get a job in a local pub or cafe. This isn't what I had in mind and with every day I spend here I slowly feel my travel dreams slipping away...

—Guest Jay

Depressed too!

Phew, I thought I was the only one depressed after graduation! I finished my M.S. in engineering earlier this year. After a long time waiting, I have two good job offers in hand - one of them in my dream location. I packed my bags, and have already moved in anticipation. The first few days here I felt excited beyond belief. But now I'm depressed. The last few days, I've had trouble sleeping. I wake up in the middle of the night, and start fretting over my new direction in life. Then I get this thing in my stomach, and I just lie there fretting over my new direction. Today, I drove for hours, all the way back to my previous apartment. Then I just parked in some shopping plaza and stood there, staring at the Lowes in front of me mulling over and over whether I'm taking the right steps in life. Suddenly, this new job in this amazing location scare me. And my crappy old apartment seems so amazing. I'm afraid to leave my old self behind, and can't shake off this anxiety. This sucks.

—Guest Tony

I am sad too

I just graduated with an A+ average from my grad school. I thought I would be extremely happy, but my happiness only lasted 30 second after my thesis presentation. I used to spend over 10 hours in university every day and study all the time, and now I miss it. I am trying to find another position in a good university, but so far could not find anything. I keep telling people that I feel super depressed, but no one seems to believe me, they think I should be dancing and partying all day long now! At least now I know I am not the only person.

—Guest Sad scientist

Sad and feeling silly

I have been down in the dumps because I miss school. It is crazy because toward the end I kept saying I can not wait to be done with school. Now I am done and I feel like I lost a friend. I am proud of myself but sad. Though it does feel good not to be the only one.

—Guest Anyse

I've got the blues too.

I just finished my last class and am about to walk the stage in a month. I accomplished much in extracurricular activities, my professors, family, and friends are proud of me, I graduated with no debt, and I'm engaged. You'd think that I should be happy with this, right? For some reason, I feel as though a dark cloud is following me around. I feel depressed as though I didn't work hard enough and I don't deserve this. I also feel scared because I've applied to numerous jobs and I'm graduating into a "high-demand" field, but I get no call-backs. At first, I felt abnormal once I cried after turning in my last exam ever. It's now actually encouraging that I'm not alone in this. So, reading others' experiences helps. It also helps for me to make goals to improve myself whether physically or professionally. Good luck!

—Guest GuestAngel

Graduation Blues

I thought I was the only one left with these feelings of disappointment after I graduated college. I graduated at the top of my class ,but I have yet to find employment(over 6 months and counting). I feel somewhat let down by the outcome of this experience. Now I am back to applying to minimum wage service level jobs(nothing wrong with these types of jobs, but I just thought having a degree meant I wouldn't have to go back to them).

—Guest Confused Grad

2 marks short of my goal

I agree, I am suffering from lethargy and anixety since the final hand in. I received my mark today which was two marks away from a first. I feel that the target I set for myself was not out of reach but I didn't quite 'cut-the-mustard' in the end. I was a mature student with a child and a business when I started the course, a large portion of my clients left when I started my course and now I am finding it very difficult to find new ones in the current economic climate (2011). I also cannot apply for graduate training schemes because I am pregnant, which also hindered my work towards the end of the degree beacuse I was very tired and sick. I'm also filing for bankruptcy soon. I am someone who suffers from periods of depression so I'll just have to get through it like every other time. I've also developed an aversion to music creation and wonder if I should give up music altogether very frequently and have done since the middle of my degree. So yes, graduation blues.

—Guest Akai

Graduation Blues

I am experiencing the graduation blues and find it helpful to read about other recent graduate’s journey. I had many life changes while in school, my fiancé and I broke up (he was cheating on me) and friendships changed due to my relocation for schooling. I look back on my college experience and have many regrets. This has added to my depression upon graduating. While I have a life changing job already lined up, I feel empty and alone, as though don’t have anyone to share my success with. This is the most painful part of my experience. I try to stay positive and be proud of what I accomplished, but there are the good days and bad days. Soon I will be working in my new position and I anticipate feeling better. In the mean time I have made an appointment to see a counselor and would recommend the same to others who are experiencing signs of depression for more than 2 weeks. It’s important to seek help as soon as possible so that you can have the support you need in order to be successful

—Guest Jennifer

i thought grad would be fun

....when my fiancee and i talked about graduation, it was mostly about the emotional aspects of it. I had made such a big deal out of walking with fellow students and getting that degree, but when i was up there all i wanted was for it to be over. I was left with nothing but questions, and disappointment. How could something i struggled so hard to attain be so obsolete. I see my degree/diploma sitting on the table in my kitchen and instead of feeling elated i feel like its just another piece of stupid paper. The worst part is people tell me, "congrat", and i cant seem to respond with anything but an embarassed thank you or complaints.

—Guest guestgirl

Graduation Blues

Yes, I felt two things, namely, dread and sheer, unmitigated fear in the lead-up to graduation. I remember thinking that I had just completed a Bachelor degree in an area that definitely was not for me, and was worrying about my next "step" in life; I had no idea what I wanted to do. I had no career plans or goals- I just felt incredibly lost and confused. On the day of my graduation- at two o'clock in the morning- I had a huge panic attack. I remember pacing my room, struggling to breath and crying- I was so scared. I kept thinking "what next? what next?" I should probably mention that have a history of depression, which I had been slowly clawing out of, but with graduation looming, I felt the Black Dog howling again.

—Lillian13325

blues indeed

I thought after graduating from a top-tier MBA school with awesome job offer in hand that I would be so elated. Instead I felt that I somehow hadn't worked hard enough and didn't deserve it and that all the $$ I had paid for the program was wasted. Probably didn't help that my family didn't attend my graduation (except for my mother who complained the entire time!). Maybe you need people around to help celebrate the achievement and remind you of all the hard work.

—Guest Kathryn

Boy do I have the blues

I have just finished a second graduate degree and am job searching. After returning to school to launch a new career, with three children, a husband who travels, and a part time job, you would think I would be ecstatic. There were times that I didn’t think I was going make it and now I have; but I don’t feel motivated at all to do a thing!! I just want to sleep and not have to clean my house and fix everything that I didn't get done while I was in school. Knowing that a lot of it is just a transitional stage helps. Life moves on.

—Guest graduate

Depression After Master's Degree

It's good to read that other people experience some depression or "blues" after graduation. I thought I was alone! I've been feeling such a let-down after I finished my graduate program. While I was studying, everybody was so proud of me but now that's suddenly over. And when I was in school I felt like I was in control... I worked hard and I got good grades. But now that I'm done with school I have to look for a second job to supplement my teaching job and I can't find anything. That's depressing!

—Guest Jen

grad blues

I graduated in May and have been experiencing a pretty bad case of graduation blues. Its not just that you reach your goal and experience somewhat of a let down but you move away from the friends you've made over the past four years and have to start over. All my friends live 50 miles away and with work schedules and such...I'm lucky if I get to see friends once a month. And during this time I just seem to get more and more depressed. I feel lonely and although everyone says that it'll eventually get better...there are days when I just don't believe it. I thought college was a step toward the dream job but right now I don't know how I feel about it.

—Guest sarah

The Blues, Indeed

Yes, I've got 'em. Suddenly it was over and there was only the proverbial "deafening silence." The mention of having taken a degree at two recent job interviews yielded responses of seeming aversion. I suspect that these potential employers do not wish to pay extra for a college grad. I am considering graduate school, but costs haven risen and keep rising. The amounts of money now required are staggering while the potential for earning enough to justify the investment is disintegrating. I was congratulated with the words ". . .the end of one road and the beginning of a highway. . ." I couldn't help but feel that it was not the road that has ended but the vehicle I was riding on. Now there is silence and a great deal of time in which to take stock. By the looks of the American nation in the 21st century, it is the military career that holds promise, not the academic one. We have become Sparta, not Athens. Yes, you could call this "the blues."

—Zeugitai