When my best friend drove back to our alma mater for my graduation, the advice she had for me was, “Reject your diploma!  Stay in college forever!  The real world sucks!”  She drove 10 hours in one day to tell me that and to give me a hug.  I needed both.

Calling the two or three years after college a wasteland is total melodrama, I know, but strong words are necessary to speak through the hubris and idealism we seem to receive with our diplomas.

And my goal in talking about it is not to be cynical or to deflate egos, but to somehow insert breathing room into this life-stage, to let you know that it’s okay to fail – that difficulty, disillusionment, and failure aren’t singular to your experience.  You’re in good company, and you should not be ashamed to talk about these things.