Comments on: Making a Home: The Single Girl Apartment

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 05 May 2010 06:38:04 +0000

Wow, I can’t tell you how comforting it is to read this post and all these comments and know I’m not alone! I graduated college seven years ago, and I just remember feeling so completely lost… I still dwell on that time, wondering if the road I took was the right one. If I had chosen a different path, maybe I would have been happy and fulfilled instead of afraid and alone? I catch myself playing the what-if game… what if I’d kept going to church, dated better guys, gone to graduate school instead of working at a bookstore… the list goes on and on. Even now, as a reasonably happy and competent 28 year old, it’s so hard to keep from getting caught up in what might have been.

Thank you so much for this post, and the reminders that this feeling is totally normal. Now, in hindsight, I’m grateful for my post-graduation adventures, and happy with where my path has taken me. It’s so easy to lose sight of everything that’s going right with your life. I just discovered this blog tonight, and I can’t believe what a major eye-opener this has been… thanks again.

By: Making a Home: The Money Pit

Making a Home: The Money Pit — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:45:50 +0000

[...] Previously in this story: lost in a new fixer-upper with no cash and no DIY skills. [...]

By: bubu

bubu — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:43:07 +0000

I am very interested to see where your story goes, Rachel, there are a lot of cliff-hangers in this last installment – even though we know where it ends ultimately, it will be very interesting to see how you got there (great story-telling technique, btw).
I had the experience of graduating, hoping to get a job and an apartment near my college friends, but after a few months of nothing (i also graduated into a recession) realizing I had to move back home with my parents until i could get on my own financial feet. I’ll never forget getting off the plane and seeing my parents waiting, and my mother opened her arms and welcomed me but had this look of pity in her eyes. I hated seeing that. So I did live at home, found a job, and eventually got on my own via a house-sitting gig with a friend and then to a shared apartment about a year later. So parents helped me to get on my feet, but i just don’t think there’s an easy way to make this transition. Those who immediately land the job and apartment often complain later that they didn’t have enough time to experiment in their twenties, try differnet jobs and roommates, etc, so i think this is just inherently an awkward transitional time for everyone.

looking forward to the next installment!

By: MakIngtime

MakIngtime — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:24:29 +0000

Yes! It was depressing. I still (ten years later!) miss living so close to such good friends!
Luckily, my now-husband and I had already been dating for several years, so that helped not to be totally alone. We did have a bunch of friends “in the area” but we were all so busy! (still are, even more so, of course)

By: Angie

Angie — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:35:11 +0000

Finished college, got married and moved 8 hrs away from everything I had ever known to a very small town in the middle of no where. I desperately missed having friends that I could just drop in at their house and watch Friends or American Idol while eating fresh cookies (or any junk food) with…. not to mention having a social life, or night life.

When I moved I looked around at the people with my nose in the air thinking to myself… these people are not my age, didn’t go to college, and have nothing in common with me.

Boy was I wrong. There were lots of great things I learned that first year out of college. And when we moved away, I waved good bye to some of my very best life long friends from that small town, and they were twice my age with no college education.

By: marissa

marissa — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:38:14 +0000

yes! The transition from college is very difficult. I’ve discussed with several friends how difficult this time can be. No one seems to warn you about it.
marissa´s last blog post ..Goals for this weekend:

By: Meks

Meks — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:06:40 +0000

Loving this series! So real and honest. Can’t wait for the next installment!

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:22:46 +0000

Rachel, your posts on this topic really resontaed with me. I went to a small, Christian university in Oklahoma for my sophomore through senior years of college. Our campus was small enough to walk everywhere. The school is located on the edge of Oklahoma City, and we could always find something to do. I lived in the girls’ dorms for two years, a town house with 10 girls for a semester, and had my own dorm room my last semester. There was always someone around to talk to, people to see movies with, and adventures to be had. I graduated a year ahead of several of my closest friends and moved back to Texas to teach. That first year was hard, and I really missed all of the girls I used to hang out with. I didn’t truly appreciate the close-knit community of SNU until I moved. You know, I think American society puts so much emphasis on independence that when we become young adults and join the 8-5 world of working, we tend to feel that we have to live alone and depend only upon ourselves. This doesn’t seem to be a very healthy mindset. There are so many more benefits to living in a close community, near people you know and love, and upon whom you can depend. We don’t have to do everything alone.

By: {ang}

{ang} — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:39:34 +0000

It was the most depressed I had ever been in my life. I realized I had totally taken my girlfriends for granted. I felt too young for the working world, but when I went back to visit my college town I was way too old. You’re right, no one ever talks about that time. I was completely shocked and unprepared for how difficult the transition was. College was fun, but if I could pick an age to stay it would be 26. Still young with everything before me, but finally settled & secure in who I was. I’m 29 now, but if you ask the age I feel it will always be 26 .
{ang}´s last blog post ..And She’s Mobile

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:10:41 +0000

Great post!

I can really relate to the making friends (or difficulty making friends) part of the transition. It seemed so much easier in college than in real life. Especially moving away from where I went to college. I’m convinced you just don’t have as much free time at your disposal to just “hanging out” and really getting to know someone. That is actually what inspired my business partner (and sister) and I to start our website for making platonic friends. We figured then people could start with someone they have something in common with anyway or start with an activity that both like to do anyway instead of a shot in the dark and increase the chances of developing a real friendship.