Exerpt from my paper

I'm writing a paper about my experience as a nanny to finish up those nagging 3 credits I have left before I technically have my real paper degree, and I just finished writing these couple paragraphs about what I wish I would have known in college... Why I wish I wouldn't have been in such a big hurry. All you who are out of college, you can relate. All you who are in college, treasure your time there! They really are some of the best years of your life. And if not the best, probably some of the easiest :)

In the last couple of months, the difference between college and the “real world” has become very apparent. I have gotten used to the early morning wake-up calls, and the accompanying early nights. In college I could stay up late studying or just “hanging out” until all hours of the night, because I knew I would have time to nap the next day. I could even skip a class if I really needed to get something done, or e-mail a professor to let him know “something came up,” that I wouldn’t be able to get to lecture.
I’ve learned the ups and downs of the interview process, which is much different than simply trying to get into a class at college. When I was interviewing for nanny jobs, I was trying to finish up my last full semester at Iowa State. I would search for hours online for jobs in my ideal locations, writing emails, leaving messages, only to be ignored time and time again. I posted my resume on countless sites on the internet, only to get crazy calls from people who needed help with their eight children… and their traveling petting zoo (no joke.) When I finally found two great families and spent hours interviewing with the parents on the phone, I finally got the go-ahead to buy my ticket to New York City to interview in person during Christmas break Both families were excited to meet me, and agreed to pay for half of my ticket. I was so excited, and spent hours preparing for the trip and finding the perfect interview outfits. Then, two weeks before I was set to finish the semester and fly to New York, I got an email from my favorite job prospect letting me know that they had hired the other candidate. To make matters worse, the Tuesday of finals week I found out the other family was also going with someone else. I was devastated, and spent the next week feverishly interviewing over the phone and trying to find families to interview with when in New York that weekend. Finding a job is hard! I am definitely the wiser now, and will be much less trusting in the future.
Also, I’m growing to really appreciate all the opportunties for learning and for friendship that were free to us in college. In the real world, if you want to learn ballroom dance, you have to pay! You have to pay real money, that you earn by working really hard! In college I scoffed at the many strange club offerings that were at our disposal, feeling very content with my one club and the friends that club made me. Now I suddenly have time to learn Italian, join a salsa dancing club, or take up knitting. The problem is, I am exhausted by the end of a long working day, and by the time I’ve made some money, I’ve got bills to pay that are more important than salsa lessons. Basically, in my life as an out-of-college adult, I am left wondering—how to adults make friends? When do we have time?