It’s been a couple of months since graduation and there’s little to show for it aside from 50+ unanswered job applications, drying flower leis, and a recent binge of Arrested Development. It can’t be just you, right?

Right! Post-grad life isn’t always easy, no matter how on point someone else’s Instagram life may seem.

1. You are not behind in life.

Your early 20s are that “too old not to know better” and “too young to know what you want” phase that leaves most of us waiting for Godot. Every intention of going through with a plan, if only we knew what that plan was.

So we find ourselves comparing our actual lives to where we think our lives should be thanks to social media, the occasional humble bragger, and societal expectations.

In doing so, guaranteeing our continued descent into the self-hate rabbit hole. I’ve done nothing after college compared to Nancy. Breanna is going on all of these trips, WTF am I doing with my life? I can’t even get a job. I don’t even like my degree, I wasted so much time. Maria’s younger than me and she just bought a house. I am uselessness personified.

Except, you’re not. You are not useless, you’re a valuable human being who went down the path meant for you to become the person you are today.

You may not be where you think you should be or even where you want to be, but you are where you’re meant to be. You are only behind in life when you stop moving forward.

2. You will find your way.

Everyone around you seems to be getting a jump on their career, they’re prepping for grad school or landing a killer internship. And you? You’re applying for jobs you’re not even sure you want, but your degree says you should.

That’s okay.

One of the great downfalls of college is that we’re asked at 18 years old to pick a subject we’ll work in for the rest of our lives. That works out fabulously for some people, but not for everyone.

Even the 5-year-plan people, at times, find themselves questioning if this is the path for them. That’s okay too.

But I don’t even know what I want to do!

Maybe not, but you will figure it out. How?

By going out and trying things. New things. Things outside of your comfort zone.

Even if you don’t end up enjoying it, it’ll lead you down a path you wouldn’t have explored otherwise. Just start somewhere, anywhere.

But it’s too late to start over now!

Nope! Imagine yourself five years from now in that field you don’t even like anymore. You know what you’ll be thinking? I wish I’d started that [new field] five years ago.

Two years of a Post-Bacc seems daunting until you consider the alternative of 30 years in a field you don’t like.

Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

- Earl Nightingale

3. Alone and lonely are two different things.

Compared to seeing your friends almost daily in college, the post-grad world can feel isolating. You’re all busy trying to do your own thing, or figuring out what your thing is, and now you actually have to “make plans” to see each other.

You may even lose some of those friendships you once held so dear, whether a natural drift or you cutting them out, it happens.

Eventually it feels like your support system is all but gone, with the exception of your family (if you’re lucky enough to have that).

Remember that even if you feel lonely, you are not alone.

There is always some support system. If nothing else, it’s in the people that also need someone. But you need to make some effort and reach out, we’ve yet to reach the mind reading stage of evolution.