3 Things to do After you Graduate

Hello to my dedicated mentors and deserving leaders for the last three years — I’m talking to you, seniors. After four years of seven-hour days, the end is finally in sight and you’re moving on to bigger (and hopefully better) things. And for many of you, that means one thing: moving out.

Now, you have three months of freedom to take advantage of before you have to adapt to life in shoebox (more commonly referred to as a miniature bedroom), and I don’t want you to let your last few months at home go to waste.

So if you’re looking for a little guidance on how to spend your summer, I asked some of the people who know your position a little too well a question: What is one thing you wished you would have done before you moved out? Here’s some advice from last year’s graduates — who were in your gowns and caps just 12 months go.

Take a trip with friends

I know thousands of dollar signs flash into your head as soon as you see the word “trip,” but this doesn’t need to be $400 flight to a 5-star resort in Cancun. Even if it’s just an hour drive to camp out overnight at Rock Creek Campground at Perry Lake, this is the perfect way to prove to your parents and yourself that you can make it on your own. Plus, it might be one of the last opportunities you have to get your friend group together for a windows-down drive blasting “Year 3000” by the Jonas Brothers.

The process of planning a trip, saving up money and dealing with whatever else might come up gives you some real world experience before officially leaving the nest. Whether it’s keeping raccoons away from your food supply or getting lost in a foreign country, you’ll have to learn to adapt to the chaos of the real world.

The best part of this plan is that you have endless opportunities to make it your own. If your friends are the outdoors-y kind, you can camp out at a lake, go canoeing, hike around the surrounding flora, rope-swing into the water or just hammock from the trees.

If you’re looking for an adventure, you can take a road trip across the Midwest, staying overnight in whatever motels you come across, or staying up until 6 a.m. to watch the sunrise.

And if you’re looking for one last splurge before you’re forced to adapt to a Ramen-noodle-every-night budget, you can book a couple plane tickets to Florida and stay a few days in a nice hotel, tanning together by the pool and drinking your (virgin) Piña Coladas.

Whatever you wind up doing, you’ll leave with unmatched memories and independence that will stay with you for years.

Be open to your classmates who you don’t know very well

Whether you like it or not, the fact of the matter is you (or at least many of your classmates) are leaving in a few months. Chances are, you’ll never see some of them ever again. So you should make the most of the time you have left and open yourself up to the people who have sat next to you every day for years, but you’ve never bonded with — in other words, talk to new people.

It’s easy to limit yourself to those five friends in that go-to group chat who you run to when looking for a partner or someone to sit with at lunch, and you should definitely enjoy the limited time you have left with them over the summer.

This is your last chance to leave a positive impression on your classmates. You’re about to leave, so you finally have nothing to lose from going out of the way to be kind. Even if it goes poorly, you don’t have to worry about seeing their face every day in your English class.

While it may feel like it (especially in high school), people aren’t defined by their friends, hobbies or circumstances. And once you graduate, everyone gets a clean slate. You’re all in the same position: embarking on a brand new path. It doesn’t matter who you were friends with or what you were involving in during high school — now you’re a graduate.

So if you see the girl who sat behind you in U.S. History at Hen House, don’t just walk by her. Start up a conversation about what their plans are for next year or that one teacher that nobody ever liked. You both know of each other, so take you last chance to actually get to know each other.

Plan a family outing

Moving out is as much of a transition for your parents and siblings as it is for you. But don’t fall into the trap of putting as much distance as you can between yourself and your family to make the move easier. These people have been with you for 18 years, so you can give them at least an afternoon.

Take the initiative to plan some kind of family outing that everyone can enjoy. Whether it’s biking an unfamiliar trail at Indian Creek, a dress-up dinner at the Melting Pot or just a potluck picnic at Loose Park, you should have a family bonding experience that everyone will love. Every family is slightly different, so find something that works for yours. Just putting in the effort to come up with an idea and make a plan for everyone will prove that they matter to you.

Even on the nights you’ve been most annoyed with them, they have forgiven you for slamming the door in their face and locking yourself in your room instead of coming to dinner. They have created a place where you can come home to — and if they haven’t, then take the opportunity to make amends. No matter what problems you’ve had with them, they’re still your family. During your breaks from school, they will be the ones you’re coming back home to, so now is the time to make sure your bond is as strong as it can be. 

Don’t give your family a reason to worry that your relationship will fade when you’re more than a few rooms away. Leaving them with a special memory will reassure them that your relationship will remain strong — even if it’s only over Facetime while you’re miles away from each other.