Trailblazer Tuesday 05/20/25

It’s that time of year again... 

Graduates all across the country are crossing the finish line into “adulthood.” 

But no one tells you what that actually looks like. Especially if your identity was rooted in academic success. 

In school, I knew exactly who I was: 

📚 The hard worker 

📈 The over-achiever 

🎯 The one leading the group project 

Then graduation hit — and suddenly:  ❓ No more grades 

❓ No more professors 

❓ No clear metric for “success” 

And with that, one question hit me hard: 

“If I’m not a student anymore… then who am I?” 

For nearly five years, that question echoed. 

I worked in payday loans and personal banking. Went home every night feeling like a failure. 

Not because I wasn’t good at my job, I was surpassing every stupid sales goal set for me. But because I wasn’t where I wanted to be. 

The truth is: 

✨ You’re not alone if you feel lost 

✨ You’re not behind if you don’t have your dream job yet 

✨ You’re not broken if you feel like starting over 

You’re just beginning a new chapter. 

One that you get to define—not your GPA, not your degree, not your LinkedIn headline. 

So here’s my advice for recent grads: 

✅ Be gentle with yourself during this time of growth 

✅ Be open to exploration—opportunities can surprise you 

✅ And remember: even the people who seem to have it figured out... don’t 

(yes, they’re still calling their mom or emotional support person too) 

You’re not meant to have all the answers on day one. You’re meant to keep asking questions.