First Steps Off the Hill
I get it. You're utterly and completely freaked out about the "real world." You've been living on a hill for four years thinking big thoughts, writing lots of papers and having your dishes carried away on a conveyor belt.
Let's face it, Kenyon is insulated and that makes the transition to the real world even more fraught.
First, breathe. You've got this. You are well-equipped for what's to come.
Do your level best to avoid the pressure and stress of feeling like you have to have everything figured out right this second. You don't.
I know it seems like every single decision right now is of vital importance, like it's going to dictate the rest of your life. It isn't — not really.
You get a do-over — many, in fact — with what you’re doing for work, where you’re living, all of it.
My father always said you don’t figure it out until you reach 30, and on the other side of 30 now, I completely agree. You don’t even get a clue until you’re 25, and your twenties are all about figuring out how to “adult” and navigate the real world. (We didn’t have the term “adulting” when I was in my twenties, and man, I wish we did. It would’ve made it easier to know it was a thing.)
You have a liberal arts degree, and in my mind, that gives you the most versatile, most flexible, most elastic degree to have in today’s ever-changing marketplace. You have been drilled in critical thinking, you’ve honed your ability to analyze and unpack complex subjects and you see all sides of an argument. Get out there, get some jobs and figure out if you want to go to graduate school or apprentice to specialize in a specific industry.
Here’s the thing — you’re likely going to spend your twenties pushing paper around (usually someone else’s paper). Maybe actually getting coffee. Yes, it’s bland work and not using your agile mind to its capacity, so get those early jobs in industries that interest and intrigue you. Start with what you like and love to do, be around, or think about — and you cannot go wrong.
Because then, once you’re beyond the entry-level positions, you’ll begin to see the value of your liberal arts degree kick in and help you stand out above other candidates for jobs or promotions. Really.
You were not taught specific, industry-only skills and methodologies like accounting or public relations, which are limiting. Those degrees are focused on tactical work but they don’t create people who know how to think around corners.
You do. You see the big picture and the fine details; you can synthesize wildly diverse concepts, ideas and disciplines and see new, innovative solutions.
Then, once you get to a certain level in the office hierarchy, your ability to think, conceptualize and problem solve is what employers are hiring. You are what the world needs right now — leaders who can think objectively, reason, and communicate in a way that creates clarity and causes change.
Sarah Michael '96, an English major at Kenyon, started out in interior design and architecture and studied technology and art through NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. She then spent eight years in financial restructuring and corporate bankruptcies, leading a firm’s marketing, branding and communications. For the last seven years, she has owned a coaching and consulting business, which helps leaders and executives do business that does good and feels good.