30 Things That Are Never The Same After Graduating College

1. Your drinking habits in college are accepted...on the outside world they're not

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Drinking and college are automatically put together as though they're intrinsically linked. It's super common in college culture, and the majority of students do love to drink and party! You can pretty much do this as much as you like at college and it's all considered 'a part of the experience'. In the outside world, this is considered an existential crisis...

2. Your social life feels like it goes from 100 to 0

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You live in a dorm with your mates, you go to lectures with more of your friends, and everywhere on campus, you see people around that you know. Your social college life is at its peak, and as soon as you graduate you realize that socially, it's all downhill from there!

3. 20 bucks no longer manages you for a whole night out

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The 20 bucks that you went for a night out in college gets you nothing in the outside world! How did we manage to make it by on such little money, yet still have such a good time? How could we party with a 20-dollar bill, yet on the outside we can barely get two coffees?

4. Living off instant noodles isn't received so well

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The very moment you graduate and leave the college world behind, it's no longer socially acceptable to be living off instant noodles or having instant noodle snacks at 1 a.m. You actually have to cook for yourself, responsibly. It's a huge adjustment to make, right?

5. Hangovers are NOT accepted in the workplace

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Turning up to college hungover? No problem, I'm sure half the other students are in the same boat and the night out was probably so worth the banging headache. But...turning up to work hungover? It's probably worth a formal discipline, who knows, you may even be fired.

6. Everything feels a lot more 'adult' in the real world

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'Adulting' i.e, actually acting like an adult once you leave college, feels SO hard. After a few years of college, acting like anything but a responsible adult, there's no bigger change you have to make. And we have to admit, it's definitely not a change that feels good for a long time after.

7. It feels like your life bubble has been well and truly burst

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College life is a bubble that you never experience at any other time in your life aside from college. You enter this world that's full of people the same age, having fun and the world is just amazing., You then enter the outside...the real world and it feels like your bubble has been abruptly and viciously POPPED.

8. Living with strangers suddenly feels way more annoying

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In college living with a bunch of random strangers seems like a whale of a time. And it absolutely is! But as soon as you leave college and move out into a rented flat with housemates... it couldn't be any more different. Why do housemates suddenly feel so much more annoying?

9. Wearing sweatpants every day no longer cuts it

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Wearing sweatpants and tracksuits (and come on admit it...PYJAMAS) isn't actually appropriate for the real world. In fact, when you keep dressing like this you will (unjustly of course) start to be judged really hard. People will probably assume that you don't look after yourself!

10. Your totally sloppy habits are now seen for what they are...GROSS

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Leaving dishes to soak for a few days is the college 'washing up' technique. And shoving everything out of sight or putting it in the back of the wardrobe is what a college student calls tidying up. It works in college, sure! But after college...not so much!

11. You'll see your friends SO much less

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There will never be that time again when you have all of your friends, literally at your doorstep. It's an amazing experience that you can never get back. You'll never see your friends every day, multiple times a day ever again. But then there are other aspects of post-grad life to look forward to as well!

12. As soon as you graduate the late nights seem to take so much more of a toll

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Okay but seriously, staying up late in college is a rite of passage. It's the done thing...what even is an early night? So why, just a short amount of time after graduation do you suddenly feel super sleepy after 11 pm? This was the time you used to go out! Now we want to go to bed!

13. The real world is going to feel tough for a while

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Entering the new world does feel like you've jumped ahead 10 levels on a game and have NO idea what you're doing anymore. Now you're in a world, where people get up for work and get mortgages and do a whole load of chores and responsibilities. That feels tough for quite some time.

14. ...And a lot more boring!

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Real life is great, but we've gotta admit that there are a lot of mundane tasks that fill our days. Do you think about the chores you've gotta do in college? Hell no. So when you graduate things suddenly feel SO much more boring than they did back at college.

15. There are suddenly so many more things to stress about

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How did we manage to put off all of these stresses and worries throughout our college years only for them to pile on top of us as soon as we graduated? There are so many more worries, for example, finding a house to rent or getting a mortgage and trying to step onto the property ladder.

16. Now going for a random night out on a Wednesday makes people question your lifestyle...

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Monday night? Let's go out. Wednesday, it's hump day so we need a mid-week celebration. It really doesn't matter what day it is at college, it can always be the right time to party. But on the outside, you'd start to get people questioning the kind of lifestyle you loved if you continued to do this!

17. Job hunting is way more soul-destroying

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Looking for part-time jobs in college doesn't cause much stress because your real job is college itself. So on the outside when you're suddenly thrust into the real world with no job and no money, hunting for a career feels SO much harder and more urgent.

18. Afternoon naps are a lot more difficult to have

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I bet the majority of college students became a professional in the art of napping. After a late night, you'd simply have a nap to get you back on track. After graduation you can't do this anymore - your boss definitely won't appreciate you taking a nap during work hours.

19. You can't procrastinate in the real world without facing consequences

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In college, procrastination is basically its very own student technique. You put your essay off until the last moment and then the panic makes your genius come out and you manage to get it done. In the workplace after graduation, procrastination can easily get you fired.

20. You might feel super lonely

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It's super common for post-grads to feel super lonely. Everything about the lifestyle changes. And when you're walking around campus saying 'hello' to everyone you meet there's a real sense of community. In the real world, there isn't this sense that you're in this together, which feels so lonely for a while.

21. You'll suddenly think 'What do I do now?'

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Your college years are all building up to the results and the big graduation. That's all you're really focused on or thinking about. But then you graduate and there's a sudden anti-climax. What now? What am I supposed to do with my life now I finished college?

22. All-nighters feel way more difficult

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Pulling an all-nighter in college was just a norm. Maybe you'd stayed out too late and needed to go straight to your 9am lecture. Or, maybe you'd put your essay off so long that you had to spend the entire night finishing it. But after graduation, all-nighters feel almost impossible to do anymore!

23. You'll feel like you've gained a whole new lot of responsibilities

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Being in college is almost like pretending for a few years to be an adult. You have the independence and freedom, without all the responsibilities of the real world. And boy does it feel like you've gained hundreds of adult responsibilities when you graduate!

24. Your priorities after college take a total shift

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Your priorities aren't now based on what party it is at the weekend or what fancy dress outfit you should wear. Now the priorities you have become serious, things like saving for a house and getting the job of your dreams and whether you need to relocate to chase your dreams.

25. You no longer have hundreds of friends

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It's super easy to feel uber popular at college because basically, everyone in your dorm or around campus becomes a friend. So as soon as you graduate college and don't speak to everybody again, it feels like you've lost hundreds of friends within days of leaving.

26. Life is a lot more 'task' based rather than 'pleasure' focused

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There's no denying it, college culture is pleasure-based. Aside from the studying, it's all about the social circles and the parties, and the college events. Real life... that's about whether you remembered to put the trash can out and remembered to file your tax returns.

27. Life on the outside is SO much more expensive

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I don't know what it is, but in college, it feels like your minuscule budget could last you as long as you really needed to - even if things were tight. But after graduation, it feels as though you spend 40 bucks every time you step out of the house and so much as BREATHE.

28. You'll miss the feeling of learning and testing your brain

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Unless you go into a career that pushes your mind, a lot of us don't truly test our brains and learn new things every day. The feeling of gaining continuous knowledge is something that you become familiar with and after graduation, this kinda goes away somewhat!

29. Having your own space will feel so good

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One thing about college life is you're never alone. This can be one of the best things about it... but sometimes you want your own space. When you graduate and enter the world after college you suddenly have your own space and you'll appreciate these moments SO much more.

30. Household luxuries will be SO much more appreciated

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You'll never look the same way at your dishwasher, the appreciation you'll feel after years of hand washing will never go away. And as for the laundry, having a washing machine rather than talking to the laundrette every time you need a new pair of underwear will always feel luxurious.