By Misty Kirby
Heights, shot needles, spiders and snakes tend to be common fears among most people.
However, for seniors, bugs and reptiles are the least of their concerns. One of the happiest moments in a student”s career, graduation, is also one of the most feared times in a young persons life.
Entering the “real world” is often more overwhelming than students may first suspect.
As a freshman, the most pressing decisions are centered around what to do on a Friday night and how to comfortably live in an 8 X 8ft. dorm room.
However, seniors face much larger decisions such as where to live, what company to work for and which job offer to accept.
Among seniors, the most common fear tends to be finding a job.
After spending four grueling years studying late at night, writing term papers 30 minutes before they were due, participating in study groups and cramming for finals, it seems deserving that each senior land a high paying job at the company of their dreams, right? Wrong?
As those graduating are now expected to enter the workforce, many wonder where they are headed.
“In the back of my mind I have always worried about getting a good job,” Jason McCoy, 25, a senior majoring in English, from Puyallup, Wash. said. “Now, that I am graduating that fear is now a reality. I wonder where I am going to work and if I can actually get a job doing what I love.”
Although many seniors worry about finding a job, several other concerns are prominent.
“I am afraid as soon as I graduate the economy will go down the tubes and I will have to sale apples on the side of the road,” Brooke McCoy,22, a senior majoring in public relations, from Dothan, Ala. said.
“I am afraid I will lose all structure and motivation in my life now that I am done with school,” Mandy Watkins,22, a senior majoring in English, from Antioch Calif. said.
Seniors often admit that their fears of graduating have drastically changed since their freshman year.
“I have become more confident in myself throughout the last four years,” Kristina Weston, 21, a senior majoring in history teaching, from Vacaville, Calif. said. ” Even though I am worried about getting a job I have more faith in my skills.”
