• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

You are here: Home / Life / The Five Stages of Graduation Grief

The Five Stages of Graduation Grief

May 19, 2016 //  by Rachel Ravina

Shares51FacebookTweet

There are two things I hate: change and uncertainty. Graduation weekend brought both for me. During college, I studied abroad, found my major, interned and gained invaluable career experiences. And although the thought of the future absolutely terrifies me, I need to find independence and truly adult like a real adult. Consequently, I’ve gone through the five stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance—when dealing with the reality of my current postgraduate situation. With pending job offers in the city, some students can’t wait to graduate college and move on to the next stage of their lives. For me, I face post-graduation a little differently. As soon as I stepped onto the stage wearing my cap and gown, reality set in. This is not a dream. This was really happening.

1. Denial

giphy.com
giphy.com

About two weeks into my freshman year, I rushed a sorority and made some of my best friends. They helped me construct perfectly-thought-out texts before I sent them to a guy, gave me reality checks when I needed to get my head out of the clouds and, most importantly, never judged me. Whenever a boy broke my heart or I failed an exam, they were there for me. Each new friend who came into my life during college made me a better person. So after crossing the stage, we’ll just go back to my apartment and continue like nothing is going to change, right?

2. Anger

giphy.com
giphy.com

I’ll be super bummed about missing game days. Dressing up for games was a must. Wearing my school colors, hair bows, shirts, knee-high socks and Converse is all but required. Sure, as an adult you have grown-up brunch and dinners, but nothing beats tailgating in the fields with mimosas for noon games and drinking cans of Natty Light that we all hate but drink anyway because it’s just so college. I’ll even miss watching the game, except if it was a noon game. August heat shows mercy on no one. Although my legs ached from standing the entire game, I wouldn’t trade my time in the student section for anything. I’ll never forget the sheer anger and disappointment after losing against PSU’s biggest rival, Ohio State, last year when the game went to overtime. Who knows if those questionable calls altered the eventual outcome of the game? I’ll miss the chicken baskets, white outs, chanting in the student section, the close scores and singing the alma mater once the game ends with 107,000 fans in Beaver stadium and watching the Nittany Lions dominate from the student section.

3. Bargaining

giphy.com
giphy.com

Never again will I find a bar with a five-dollar max cover or happy hour where everything is half off—something actually affordable for all of us living the broke-college-student life. Bar hopping for $20 may not be feasible in the “real world,” but it should be. College is the time for carefree nights with friends and staying out until the bar closes. Some of my favorite nights include getting a five-dollar monkeyboy on a Saloon Thursday and jamming to My Hero Zero with my best friends. If I could just go back for just one night, I promise I’ll never order a second monkeyboy before midnight. Let me have one more night at the State College bar scene, and I promise to never take these nights for granted.

4. Depression

giphy.com
giphy.com

Actually having to drive places and not being in close proximity to almost everything definitely changes now that I’m no longer in a college town. After a night at those magical college bars, a five-minute walk to get a breakfast sandwich (the hangover food of the gods) was all you needed when you’re reminded that the last pitcher was probably a bad idea. Being walking distance from classes, bars, friends’ apartments and restaurants proved extremely helpful when laziness plagued me. Once I start working, I may have to actually wake up earlier than my first class at 9:45 a.m. How ungodly is that?

5. Acceptance

giphy.com
giphy.com

Like most communications majors, graduation came with indecision. I graduated with a degree and no job, yet. For the last 21 years, everything was laid out, from elementary school, to middle school, to high school, to Penn State. Graduation approached quickly, and I couldn’t avoid it. Now, I’ve accepted my fate and am off into the world, unsure of what tomorrow has to offer. It may seem terrifying, but I am confident that this next chapter in my life will bring new and exciting opportunities.

I’ll miss the beautiful campus I called home for the past four years, so before I left I made sure to stare a little longer and take that mental picture (and Snapchat), because my time was running short. Never again will I have the luxury to just pass by these historic buildings underclassmen take for granted. Although I’m devastated to leave, I take comfort in my major accomplishments like being on the dean’s list for three semesters, finding my lifelong best friends and learning about myself along the way.

Shares51FacebookTweet

Filed Under: Life Penn State

About Rachel Ravina

Rachel is a Penn State University senior studying print journalism. She loves John Hughes movies, Audrey Hepburn and all things travel.

You May Also Like

songs to belt out

21 Songs to Belt Out in the Shower

Top 10 Weird Scholarships You Can’t Miss

cultural identity and language

Language Abilities Don’t Define Your Cultural Identity, Unless?

How I Turned My Personal Journals into a Published Book

15 Alcohol-Free Activities for a Friday Night In

Reflecting on Fall 2020: How to Recover from One of the Hardest Semesters

How to Make Money From Home Without Taking Off Your PJs

15 COVID-19 Safe Ways to Celebrate the Holidays in 2020

Top 10 COVID-19 Safe Activities to Do Near Fresno, California

Breaking the Binary: My Journey into Identifying as Non-Binary

The Döner Project: My Berlin Budget as a College Student

CM’s Guide to the Print and Digital Journalism Major

Away from Home and Feeling Gross: Being Sick My Freshman Year

A Tale of Two Twin Flames

movies to binge over winter break

Battling Boredom: 10 Movies to Binge Over Winter Break

Being an Asian-American: Learning to Accept Both Halves of Myself

How to Become a Published Poet

ADHD or the Enemy? At Least My College Helped Me

berkeley outdoors

10 COVID-19 Friendly Things to Do in Berkeley, California

Top 10 DIY Gifts for Your BFF

Christmas

10 Gifts For Parents That They Want But Haven’t Asked For

friend group dressed up as Big Hero Six characters

Animation Nerds Unite: 10 Gifts for Animation Lovers

gifts for your girl squad

10 Gifts Your Girl Squad Can’t Live Without

10 Virtual Gifts for Your BFF that Will Make Them Love You Forever

Previous Post: « 10 Ways Iowa Hawkeyes Spend Their Summer
Next Post: A Behind the Scenes Peek into Going Gluten Free gluten free»

Primary Sidebar



Trending Posts

94

10 St. John’s University Finals Activities to Help You De-Stress

mental health
78

Pandemic and Academic Blues: Being Aware of Your Mental Health

60

24 Ways My 2020 Survival Guide Turned into 2021 Lifestyle Habits

55

The Ultimate Auburn University Bucket List: 21 Things to Do Before Graduating

best classes
24

10 Best Classes You Need to Take at Drake University

Featured Chapter: St. John’s University

Footer

logo

College Magazine is the national daily guide to campus life. Our articles for college students feature university rankings of U.S. colleges, college guides, academic advice, college prep, career advice, student health and collegiate dating tips.

Written by students for students, by a team of journalists from universities nationwide, we’re on the pulse of the college experience.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

Majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

Intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

Money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

Travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

Shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

Copyright © 2021 College Magazine · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.