Excited? Lost? Kind of terrified? If you’re graduating from King’s this semester, you’re bound to have some anxieties about your next steps. But don’t worry — your friends at The Watch are here to help! Here’s our starter pack for all you graduating students to keep in your back pocket and help you transition into the next phase of life, whatever it may be.
That one FYP book:
You know which one. It’s the one FYP book you didn’t sell at the beginning of second year, because you said you were going to read it again with your new, more enlightened brain, but never did. It was probably the Aeneid. Or To the Lighthouse. Maybe even Candide. Definitely one of the fun ones that you could sort of understand without the lecture but would still feel smart and a little pretentious reading. And now you’re free! You’ve got weekends and weekends of free time now, with no assigned readings taking up your mental energy. Surely you’ll brush the dust off that cover, right?
A distant connection:
Don’t know what to do next? Don’t worry! Your friend’s aunt is a big shot at a law firm and might be able to bring up your name once in a casual conversation with their boss to get your foot in the door. And you ran into a politician at a Dal networking event once and spent ten minutes talking about nothing important, so they’re bound to look out for you too. But on a real note, King’s students are everywhere, and they’ll always want to vicariously relive the glory days by listening to your fresh King’s stories. Trust me, you know someone who knows someone.
The return of your childhood bedroom:
Walls still adorned with posters of your embarrassing high school obsession that you didn’t let follow you to university. The twin bed you spent over a decade tucked into. A hallway connecting you to your parents who keep asking what you want to do with your life now. What’s not to love? All of the treasures of your childhood bedroom await you. Except now you’re 22, and it feels like you’ve outgrown your former sanctuary just a bit. But this isn’t a setback! It’s the finale of your hero’s journey — your triumphant return. Take advantage of not paying rent for a while and try not to yell at your parents when they inevitably hit every one of your nerves in quick succession. You can do this!
A really good playlist:
What does that LCD Soundsystem song that everyone is using in their posts lately say? Something about how you’ll spend the next five years trying to be with your friends again? Whether you’re trucking all of your stuff back to your hometown, flying away or sticking around, you’ll need a good soundtrack to close out your time at King’s. Include the songs you brought with you to university as well as the ones you discovered along the way. Loop the one that reminds you of dancing in your apartment with your roommates late at night, with no concern for your downstairs neighbours. You’ll be staring out the window of your car or plane, crying to the happiest of tunes.
An oyster shell:
If you can’t find one in the wild — which you probably can’t — go order a plate of oysters at an overpriced waterfront restaurant you weren’t able to afford on a student budget and snatch a shell off the plate before your server can take them away. Because the world is your oyster! And you know a lot about oysters as a forever Haligonian. Seriously though, you got this. The statues in the library told me so themselves, and they would never lie. So, wherever you go, don’t look back.
