Post Grad Life
Graduation is supposed to be this exciting point in life because you’re officially done with your college career and supposedly ready to embark on life as an adult. Well, that wasn’t the case for me. I was ready to be done with college, yes, but I had no idea where to go from there.I deliberately decided to wait to apply to physical therapy school because I wanted a chance to raise my GPA. Although I walked in December 2015, I didn’t receive my degree until May 2016.
A month or so before my anticipated graduation date of December, I decided to meet with my counselor to make sure everything was ready for me to graduate.To my surprise, she told me that I was missing one class, and that I could not graduate with my degree until I take this class. Originally, I was registered to take physics at NIU, but after all of the terrible reviews I heard, I decided that I was not going to put myself through that type of exhaustion my last semester on campus. I withdrew from the class and registered to take it in the spring at a community college near my home. I was unaware that the class would become the barrier between me and my degree. I made the executive decision to still walk in December because I did not want to stay in Dekalb for one class and potentially receive a low grade. I’ve never shared this with anyone because I was embarrassed that I walked without officially graduating. I’m sharing this now because when I took that class at the community college, I received a B. It was the best decision for me because that class was used in calculating my GPA for physical therapy schools. If I would’ve stayed, I know for sure I wouldn’t have gotten a B.
Only a few days after my graduation, I was offered a position as a teachers assistant in Chicago. This was a complete 180 from what I was looking for, but it was a job and I had to do what needed to be done. Around this time, I didn’t have a car because the car I had for 6 years was no longer able to drive, so we donated it to the junkyard. I’m from the south suburbs of Chicago, so my next obstacle became figuring out how I would get to work and school everyday. Frustrated, I started to look at different options and called around to family members to see if there was an extra car I could borrow in the meantime. I was fortunate enough to have my grandfather who allowed me to borrow his car on the weekday so I could make it to work on time but, no car on the weekends.
So here I was car-less, in a job unrelated to my career path, and also degree-less.
Life after graduation is great, right?
Well, I did pull it together a little bit. After the school year ended I decided that I could no longer work somewhere that did not align with my passion and goals. I applied for other jobs that were more health related, and finally heard back on a position as a Rehabilitation Aide. It was the job I wanted for over a year, but the position available was part time with a 10.50/hr wage. I knew that with all of my bills and life expenses, it would be difficult to make a living off that wage. I, however, didn’t mind because the setting was exactly what I needed and I would be working side by side with Physical therapists. So I overlooked the pay,saw a great opportunity, and took it.
I dedicate this post to my grandfather for lending me his car for those 3months. Because of this, I was able to save some money to buy my own car. Thank you for the help in my time of need, I love you!