I graduated one year ago on May 19th, 2019. As I started getting reminders of college with Snapchat memories and ‘one year ago today’ Facebook notifications, I wanted to reflect on what I’ve learned since then. While I definitely don’t know everything, and I certainly don’t claim to – I’m only 22! I just wish I had someone to tell me this advice when I had just graduated!

Moving to a new city can be the best thing you do for yourself – but also one of the hardest and scariest things

I grew up in Kansas and went to school in Kansas, only a half-hour away from my hometown. I don’t regret this choice for a second, the University of Kansas was my dream school and I love every experience I had there. However, I saw my family often and I didn’t have a huge adjustment to college because I was familiar with the environment. In July of 2019, I moved to Salt Lake City, UT, for my new job. I had only visited once in May for three days only just to find an apartment.

My parents helped move me out there and get settled, but I didn’t realize how hard it would be for me mentally once I was alone. I didn’t know anyone before moving and honestly, I really struggled for a while when I would come home to an empty apartment, or realize I had no friends to hang out with. It took a good amount of time for me to adjust and realize that while making new friends was hard and takes a lot of time, it was worth it for my mental health. I also had to push myself to get out and explore the area on my own and be comfortable with being alone – something I had never really had to do before.

Decorate your new place right away to make it feel like home

This seems so simple but it truly makes a difference! I waited until September to finally hang things up in my apartment and get settled. I had planned on finding a roommate and moving pretty quickly, so that was my justification. However, once I put up pictures of my friends and family and decorated the place to fit more of my style, I was a lot happier when I spent time at home.

Master 5 new recipes

I didn’t cook at all my freshman year through my junior year, because I lived in the dorms, then in my sorority house for two years. Even when I lived in a house during my senior year, I took advantage of free food from work and didn’t cook that often. I wish I had known some simple recipes to be able to whip up when I came home from work! I can’t say I’m a master chef by any means now, but I know a little more about cooking and eat a little healthier because of it.

Take time to travel if you haven’t already

I did a 24-day trip through Europe with EF Ultimate Break in June, right after graduating, and I’m SO glad I did. It’s one of my favorite experiences I’ve had in life so far. I’ve always wanted to travel but the timing never worked out for me to study abroad while in college. If you’re still in college, that is my BIGGEST regret – do it!! Taking this trip helped me realize that travel is a priority in my life, so I budget my salary accordingly and try to take every opportunity I can to travel when I can with my work schedule. I also travel for work (I got to go to seven different cities with work in this last year) and try to explore the area while I’m there!

Keep strong relationships with your friends from home and college

Even while I made new friends in Utah, I made sure to also prioritize my relationships with people from home. I am very close to my family and make the time to talk with them every day (my parents know I call like clockwork when I leave work, haha) and this really helped my mental health. It was also really helpful for me to keep a sense of normalcy in my time of change by being able to talk to my old friends and check in on them. It’s hard being so far away from them, but it makes it even more fun when I’m back home to visit.

I hope this helps anyone post-grad! If you’ve graduated already, what’s one thing you wish you would have known?

xo, Hannah