Ah yes, the air is filled with the sounds of new notebook pages turning and laptops booting up Microsoft Word. That can only mean one thing – back to school is in full swing. But for us newly minted young professionals out there, we can’t help but feel a sense of sadness that we aren’t back on campus too. Here are 7 reasons why being a young professional beats being a college senior.
1. Your bank account has zeros at the end of it.
…and I don’t mean the .00 that are for keeping track of pennies. You might ACTUALLY have a little bit of cold hard cash. Actually, you might even have enough to invest in a mutual fund or maybe some furniture that you didn’t get from the guy moving out down the street.
2. You can afford to buy fresh produce.
Yes, I’m talking avocados and pomegranates…alright those may still be splurge items, but broccoli and grapes? Into my grocery cart they go.
3. You can afford more than pasta for dinner.
Now that your life isn’t funded by student loans, you’ve probably realized that there is more to the world than canned tomato sauce and the cheapest pasta noodle on the shelf. In fact, you might actually be able to buy real tomatoes and make a delicious sauce from scratch. Heck, if you’re feeling super adventurous, you might even make your own noodles. Recipe here.
4. You can feel a little less guilty about splurging on a work power outfit.
Now that you work in the real world a professional outfit is a must. As a young professional, it can be hard to earn the respect of your colleagues. So make sure that you’re dressing the part! Go on and buy that pencil skirt (or three).
5. Your work day usually has an ending time near 5 o’clock.
The difference between college and the office is that once you leave the office, you can usually leave your deadlines at the desk. In college, submitting one paper doesn’t mean you can forget the one that’s due at midnight.
6. You actually have time to meal prep and eat healthy.
Now that you have a consistent working routine, you can find time on a Sunday afternoon to prep your meals and snacks for the week. Thinking back to college, it’s a miracle you even managed to eat more than microwave delicacies when you had 2 papers and a midterm on a Monday morning.
7. By noon you can feel like you’ve actually accomplished something.
By noon you’ve probably answered your emails, started a new project, had a meeting or two, and maybe even went to the gym. By noon in college you probably just rolled out of bed after pulling an all-nighter to finish that giant paper. Oh, and maybe you’ve had a cup of coffee and last night’s pizza.
While there are some days we wish that we could go back to the carefree and lazy days of college living, something about getting up and getting things done is much more appealing. So fellow young professionals, while sometimes getting out of bed by 6 am might feel like THE WORST THING EVER, just remember that you can look back on your morning and be proud of your hard work.
Here’s to you YPs, keep on keeping on!
Featured image via Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels
The only thought that went through my head when I read each point “true, true, even more true, true…” I love being in the working world. These points you made certainly are accurate! I work full time and go to school – very good mix!