Watching classmates launch startups while you answer emails.
WATCHING CLASSMATES LAUNCH STARTUPS WHILE YOU ANSWER EMAILS.
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We all arrived on campus with a certain expectation, a collective hum of ambition that promised a linear ascent into extraordinary careers. Four years of rigorous intellectual pursuit, late-night study sessions, and networking events felt like a carefully laid path. Then, graduation hits, and the transition from campus to career sometimes feels less like an ascent and more like a bizarre, unpredictable stumble. Nobody truly warned us about this weird phase.
Suddenly, the highly curated world of academic excellence gives way to a messy reality. You’re answering emails, navigating office politics, or just trying to figure out health insurance, while your LinkedIn feed explodes with announcements of classmates launching venture-backed startups, securing lucrative consulting gigs, or jet-setting for their groundbreaking non-profit work. It’s the "Ivy Friends, Non-Ivy Jobs" conundrum, where your daily grind feels starkly different from the highlight reels of your peers. The pressure to live up to that "top tier" pedigree can be immense, making you question your own trajectory.
But here’s the truth: Your journey is valid. Not every success story starts with a splashy headline or a multi-million dollar seed round. The quiet grind, the steady learning, the building of fundamental skills – these are equally vital paths. Embrace your own pace. There’s profound strength in building a foundation, in learning the ropes, even if it feels mundane compared to the perceived meteoric rises around you. Your time will come, and it will be authentically yours.
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