Friends, I graduated.
I sat in my living room in the early afternoon of May 22, 2021, wearing my brother’s graduation cap, watching my classmates walk across the stage on a livestream. I stood up and evened out the cords around my neck as they finally called the names of the virtual graduates, standing proudly next to the tv as my mom took a video and they called my name.
Friends, I’m not sure if it feels real, but I graduated.
So… What’s next?
Great question. Maybe you got a bit of a clue from the fact that I have this blog and studied economics (and entrepreneurship), but, fun fact: I have a lot of interests. Not only interests, but interests in a number of industries that I have a bit of experience in. First, I’ll answer some questions you be wondering…
Do you have a 9-to-5?
No. Right now, I don’t have a 9-to-5 job and I’m fortunate to be in a position where I’m able to live at home for a bit while I decompress from a pretty hectic and stressful four years of higher education and figure out my next steps (career and otherwise).
Are you going to grad school?
Not right now. Getting through this last semester as a remote student when my school was hybrid while I was trying to recover from a heart procedure I had back in December was no joke. It was a lot, at times it was too much, and as much as I love education and learning, it’s time I take a break. I spent my first two summers of college taking classes, and the summer of 2020 trying to prep for the heart procedure and be ready for whenever the doctors called to reschedule (it was originally supposed to take place in early June 2020 and I had set aside the summer for recovery, but then, pandemic).
Basically, what I’m trying to say is that I never really took a break – my off time was spent trying to recover from pushing myself over the course of the semesters and doing more intense treatments that I couldn’t balance with the physical demands of school. I’ve always said if I went the grad school route I don’t see myself stopping until I come out with a Ph.D.
While I don’t know what the future holds and I would still really like to pursue a Ph.D., now is not the time for that. I need a break from education to step back and give myself the opportunity to reevaluate if more education is what I want, and ultimately what value it would bring to my life in the long term… that may be the economics degree talking.
Long Story Short:
Grad school is a maybe, just not right now. I may not know what I want to do or what I’m going to do, but I’m not going to get another degree just to put off having to figure it out. For me, that isn’t a good enough reason to pursue that level of investment. It’s time to reacquaint myself with who I am without that ‘student’ identity to fall back on.
What industry do you want to work in?
Another great question, and as I hinted earlier, right now there isn’t anything I feel particularly locked into.
That’s the thing about economics – it applies to everything. Every industry needs economists. Every industry, and in my opinion, every company, would benefit from having someone on hand who can understand micro and macro trends and their implications on consumer behavior, quantitatively and qualitatively.
I love economics. I really, truly do. There’s a reason it was my chosen field of study – I love numbers and I love how economics allows me to use numbers to tell a story while forcing me to think critically. No matter where I end up or what I end up doing, I will be using my degree.
With that said…
Something that was really important to me in college was using my electives to gain experiences and skills.
I have a minor in entrepreneurship. I took accounting (financial and managerial) for fun, and because I view it as a valuable life skill. The knowledge I gained from those two classes will only stand to benefit me in the future.
I took a class in graphic design, pop culture, building a freelance business, audio storytelling, podcasting, I even took a class on book marketing and promotion! All of these classes exposed me to new concepts and different industries. I never would have thought I’d graduate with a degree in economics and experience in book publishing, but that’s exactly what happened.
And that doesn’t even begin to touch on the various fields within economics that I was able to study, or the things I did outside of the classroom. It was a busy four years! But I’ll save a grand overview of what my economics degree actually looked like and what I learned from the courses I took, as well as my involvement and experiences outside the classroom for another post.
What are you doing right now?
Well, if you’ve read my reflection and overview of my final semester, you know that things didn’t go as planned. Because I had no idea how hard of a time my body was going to have recovering from my heart procedure, my health ultimately suffered. The volume of work this past semester was also the greatest of my degree, and the stress of busy work on top of health complications hasn’t put me in the best place.
But hey, I’m self-aware.
And friends, now, without the stress of any sort of work or school or deadlines, as I try to sort out some question marks that have arisen with doctors and pursue some more answers (because life with chronic illness is never dull), I’m taking the summer to invest in myself in a way that I’ve never had the opportunity to. It’s no secret that health is wealth, so I’m working with my doctors and physical therapist to not just be able to exist and try to function day-to-day, but properly recover from this heart procedure, build up the strength I lost over the past six months, find answers to and hopefully treat the symptoms that I’ve been brushing under the rug lately because there simply wasn’t enough time in the day to do it all, and maybe even try a few of those more intensive treatments that I always told my doctors would have to wait until I wasn’t in school.
I’m taking care of myself now to set future Peyton up for success.
This season of life is all about setting a foundation and literally building the strength my body needs to function better. That is where all of my energy is going, and friends, just four weeks out from graduation, I’m already seeing the results of the work I’ve been putting in. I’m working my butt off, and it’s worth it. Some might call it controlling the controllable.
There are things I want to be able to do that I know are achievable – so I’m doing something about it.
What is going to happen to the blog now that you’ve finished your degree?
Oh, friends. I’ve asked myself this a lot over the past few months, and the answer I’ve settled on is this: I still have so much to share with you.
I have over 300 blog posts in my drafts. Some that I never got around to editing, some that are just missing an intro or a conclusion, and some that are just outlined thoughts that need to be fleshed out. It’s no secret that managing chronic illness while being a full-time college student can be exhausting, especially with a job like I had as a Resident Assistant.
The college content will continue, from the posts about dorm shopping and money tips to managing classes and academics. Don’t worry about certain things becoming outdated – my siblings are still in college and love to consult with me when it comes to things like dorm decor and the latest must-haves. I also carefully documented everything I did as an RA, from door decs to bulletin boards to hall events, so that when the time came I would be able to share tutorials, ideas, and resources with you. That series will begin later this year!
Aside from higher education (and education in general), there will be more content about navigating life as a young adult right now in this weird pandemic limbo. I did a lot of documenting everyday life in 2020, and that’s something that I now feel lucky to have and hope to do more of. Being a chronically ill young adult presents its own unique set of challenges, but if one thing is for certain, it’s that every day is an adventure.
I don’t know what life will look like come January, and there’s a magic to that.
I’ve decided to embrace it. I’m open to opportunity, whatever may come my way. I have a few projects planned, but I really am trying to take life day by day. Of course, if any big changes come along, friends, I’ll let you know all about them. For now, I’ll just take each day as it comes.
If there are any blog posts you’d like to see, specific topics you would like me to address, or ideas you may have for Patience and Pajamas, I would love to hear from you! You can leave a comment below, send me an email to peyton@patienceandpajamas.com, or reach out on Instagram (@andpajamas).
