“Off the hill, into the world”
That’s the senior class gift motto this year. As you may already know being on campus means being “on the hill”, and the time to go “off the hill” is approaching really fast. What will life be like after WPI? This thought often crosses my mind now that its almost time to leave here. As of right now, I don’t really know exactly. Two differents scenarios play in my head. 1) if i go to grad school.. not much would change, but 2) if I begin work then I will definitely have more time on my hands to other things than homework, studying, and all the other school things that I have been used to for the past 16 years of my life.
I kind of like the second scenario much better than the first. I would love to have a schedule in which I focus on work stuff from 9-5, and then get time to focus on me doing non stressful things for the rest of the day. Another aspect I like about that lifestyle is the aspect of actually having money! What a nice change that would be. Now, knowing myself… I know it will be easy for me to spend a lot of the money quickly, simply for the reason that I am getting it. However, after attending the “Life After WPI Panel” that the CDC held on April 6th, I know not to do that. Instead, I should be conscious about budgeting, and saving. One of the tips I learned by going to the panel was that in the beginning when you start working, that’s the prime time to save as well as the easiest. That’s because as college students, we’re used to living like misers, so whats a few more years. Atleast until the student loans are all paid off. Even then though, the money that you have left after all the bills, and money that was set aside for fun, the rest should be saved. It’s recommended to have 3-6 months worth of saving. This way, if something happens to your job, you have money for a while to fall back on.
As much as I can’t wait to experience the 9-5 lifestyle, I am also aware that I will somewhat miss the student life. Things that get taken for granted now, such as being able to walk 5 mins to hang out with friends, or not having to worry about bills, will be missed. Keeping in touch with friends will require more work. You might have to constantly email your friends to hang out, instead of just bumping into them on campus. You might have to drive an hour to see them for 2 hours, instead of walking 5 mins and possibly sleeping over the night. In short, keeping in touch with friends will require more planning after graduation. This might not be the case for everyone, but most will experience this. Also, once you are independent and able to support yourself, there will be more bills and more expenses to keep track of and worry about. Gone will be the days when you will only be paying the apartment rent and utiilities bills. Payments for your car, phone, health will most likely be added on top of that. In short, more responsibilities. BUT that won’t be too bad once you get used to it. And, if you think about it… yeah there could be a bit more stress, but you also have the money to do things that could alleviate that stress. Things such as going to the spa!!
Anyways, I shouldn’t really get too far ahead of myself right now since I don’t really know what kind of lifestyle I will be having. For all I know, it might not even be one of the two I rambled on about. Lets seeeeeeeee.
