All my friends left and I’m the last one in town: surviving post-uni loneliness
Graduation brings to light a mixture of emotions. One night you’ll all be singing, “All my friends are wasted,” and the next you’ll be channelling your inner Akon and feeling pretty bloody ‘Lonely’. What a change in moods that made. As cheesy as it sounds, the end of your degree really is the end of an era. New opportunities, moving away, leaving friends, working full-time… but what about when you’re the last one left in town?
Having all your friends move away will bring back that high school graduation PTSD when you thought it would be the end of the world. The difference this time is that all your friends are leaving to earn the funds to support a lifestyle where they can travel to see you. What a wonderful time to not be desperately needing money on your retail job salary…
Graduation won’t be the last time you see your classmates
Pinky promise that the friends who say au revoir after your university graduation will actually make the effort to see you again. Going your separate ways can be pretty depressing, but never fear: getting a job in the city you studied in can actually be real deal beneficial to knowing what’s what amongst a group full of outta town grad employees.
Use your newfound powers of knowledge to get ahead and destroy everyone else’s chances of being top dog… I mean to help all those who don’t know the area, just like your filthy friends who left you for another town. I’m not bitter – promise.
New opportunities for travel: you’ll have friends in every corner of the universe
We’re constantly looking for an excuse to travel the world, and this really is the perfect opportunity to get out of the hellhole you’re currently living in. Work consistently for a year, and you’ll have enough dosh to go exploring and visiting all those people you call friends – even if it felt like they weren’t there for you when the rains starts to pour.
Make the most of the almighty ditching you endured and snap those pictures in foreign places, giving those Insta followers something to truly envy. Hell, pop on some joggers and feel like a middle-aged mother touring Europe – I DARE YA.
Truly embrace the town you’re in
Meanwhile, explore the area you’re in now. Ever had a getaway right at your fingertips, but were too busy getting wasted with your friends every weekend to realise what was right in front of you? Do a hike on a Sunday morning, play cricket on a secluded beach, or set up a picnic in your local botanic gardens. If these ideas all sound too adult for your youthful tastes, hit up a bar you’ve never been to, go to a jazz club, or hang out at an upper-class club that caters more to fulltime workers and less to ruthless university students.
Don’t linger around uni or college trying to make new friends – move on, dude
Make friends with your co-workers – it’s genuinely as simple as that. Don’t be that old boy or girl who never let go of the social life that comes with being a university student. Now’s the time to make shit happen, and that includes making friends in the adult world. Arrange your catch-ups with younglings exclusively for all the 21st birthdays you’ll continue to attend. Side note: it isn’t really a bad thing to keep hitting up the old watering hole with your graduating class every so often. Just don’t go as hard as the St. Elmo’s Fire gang.
Allison Byrnes
Allison is a Multimedia Journalism student at James Cook University. She dreams of emulating Julie Bishop's style on a uni student budget.