Today, or soon, is your graduation day and you should be proud and happy that your high school/college life is over. You can now start breathing and figuring out what to do with your life in a positive manner. First off, breathe, I cannot tell you how much I stressed during my high school graduation because I was that nervous to walk across that stage. My legs have never felt like jello before until that moment walking across. You should enjoy the fact that you are around your friends and family is watching you from above in the bleachers.

Here are some things to do afterwards because it is time to get the negativity out of your life, only positive things please! Of course, a bumpy road is up ahead but you can try to make it as painless as possible.

1. Remove social media friends. I am talking about those friends who you added or added you because you have a mutual friend, have you ever talked? No? It is good to cleanse people out once you have really thought about who you really want in your life. I have found that stepping away from friendships and realizing who you think about often or daily are probably the people you want to keep in your life. Also, those long ago friendships are good to keep because, who knows, you may bump into them again.

2. If you are looking for a job, Monster is a great resource and so is LinkedIn and I have had both of them but Monster has been a better source for me. I am going off to my new college, as many of you know, so I won’t need these as much but thought I should let you know. Also, try a staffing company that will help you get interviews.

3. Motivate yourself everyday. Seriously though, it is so easy to get down whether it comes from people in your life to social media. Find something that makes you happy, YouTube, motivational quotes, running, listening to music, meditation, yoga, reading etc. The personal it is, the better off you are. I think that friends and family are great but they can also being you down and make a less motivated you. By focusing your motivation on yourself, it really helps keep the focus on you and makes you less dependent on other sources to make you happy.

4. Breathe. I know that I just said this but really try to breathe for a couple of seconds to minutes. Close your eyes or focus on something neutral and breathe. By removing all the stress on you for a short period of time you relax the body and prioritize what is the most important, whether that be what work you have to get done or errands that need to be taken care of.

When is your graduation?

-The Mermaid Network