Don’t let anyone fool you: things are better in college. You have great friends, a ton of stuff to do, and really very few responsibilities. But there are steps you can take to make sure that you make the transition to real life a lot more graceful than you actually feel, because the worst thing about going through a hard time is feeling like everyone else knows you’re having a hard time.
1. Take your time.
Whether you graduated 3 months or three days ago, it can still feel weird. That’s okay. Give yourself the time you need to adjust and come to terms with the fact that the structured life as you knew it is over. The world, your mom and the checkout lady at the grocery store will wait for you to gather yourself. They’ve all been there.