Dear Freshman. I’m Your Future

Real advice from a 2020 college graduate.

Freshman student. Courtesy of Element5 from Unsplash.

Dear Freshman. It’s me, Future You.

We last spoke in the summer of 2016. You snuck your way into California Polytechnic State University, nestled in the small city of San Luis Obispo. It was green, the town awash with small gardens and cheerful storefronts.

Four years later, and you haven’t forgotten the smell of bubblegum alley.

A view of Bubblegum Alley. Image courtesy of Unsplash.

You remember the ripe scent of thousands of pieces of gum left to linger in an old alleyway. Gross. But your Freshman orientation leaders seemed proud of it, that pungent piece of your quaint town’s history.

You learned some lessons about higher education. Picked up tricks. You did a good job, but you could do so much better.

Here’s how.

Set a Goal.

Write down one or two goals. That’s it. Image courtesy of Unsplash.

You thought graduating with a B.A. in English was enough. For...a tutoring gig? Sure. A graduate education? Absolutely.

Why?

You don’t want either of those things. You want to be a writer, maybe an editor, and you want to work with novels.

You pivot. You pick up extra classes to earn a certificate in professional and technical communication. Your schedule becomes packed. You’re overloaded. By the time you graduate with a degree, you’ve spent your entire senior year preparing for a job in a highly-competitive industry that favors Masters degrees over Bachelors.

Set a goal beyond graduation.

It’s okay if it’s vague. “I want to work in publishing.” “I want to earn my Masters.” Perfect. It’s that easy.

There are lots of benefits to setting goals, according to Science. They make choices easy. The more specific your goals, the easier choices become. Set goals.

Intern Early.

Intern early. Photo by Free To Use Sounds on Unsplash.

You think this stuff is for seniors. You wait until your summer senior year to apply, but applications are hard. They take time. Especially the good ones.

It’s scary to apply early — you would know. You took that unpaid internship working at the front desk of an Ayres hotel because you wanted to know what having a ‘real job’ feels like. You didn’t have a goal, so you weren’t picky about where you interned.

Have a goal.

Choose one from dozens of copywriting /copyediting internships posted by companies who want interns like you — ambitious, go-getters, curious.

Intern early. You won’t regret it when you get that ‘real job’ after college, the one that asks about your previous experience working as an ABC for company XYZ.

Wondering where to apply? Google Careers is my go-to job-hunting platform — the search engine provides direct links to job opportunities spread out across dozens of job sites. I use the Canva easy-design platform to create simple, elegant resumes that stand out.

Do All The Things.

Say yes. Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

I’m talking about those things you look at and think, “Can I do that?” The sheer amount of Things You Can Do that get tossed at you like frisbees during an Ultimate Frisbee match is mind-boggling. The trick is actually doing them.

When the English club president asks you to be Secretary during senior year, do it. When your favorite roommate asks you to take a risk on a trustworthy group of guys, say yes. When you receive an application for an editorial spot at an award-winning publication, apply.

Here’s what happens when you say, “No, that’s scary.” Or, “I don’t want to be a burden.” Or the classic, “I’m busy.”

You give up the Secretary position because you’re scared of letting people down.

You decline your roommate’s offer to stay roommates because you’re convinced he could do better than you. You get teary-eyed when he leaves, and you promise to keep in touch. You do, but it’s a pale shadow of your former relationship. Life goes on.

You refrain from applying for the editorial position because you don’t feel like putting in the effort. One of your best friends applies, and you’re thrilled when she gets the position. That year, you struggle to fill your resume with relevant job experience. You wish you’d applied for a position, but the year is ending, and it’s graduation time. You’re fresh out of second-chances.

Remember, Do All The Things. It’s not the things you did do that you’ll regret — it’s the things you didn’t.

Having a goal makes sifting through your options simple. Having an internship early on gives you the confidence to try new things. Doing things gets you to where you want to be.

I know that if you follow these three pieces of advice, you’ll do fine. Better than fine, actually. Because you’ll know where you're going, you’ll go early, and you won’t regret a thing. You won’t catch yourself wandering aimlessly through a sticky bubblegum alley — you’ll walk an open road.

Thanks for reading this letter. You’re an optimistic, intelligent, amazing human being with lots of choices to make. Be confident. I believe in you.

All the best,

Future You, college grad.