What's Next?

Graduation is often spoken about as an ending. Saying goodbye to friends, classmates, and teachers, familiar faces who have guided and helped mold you during your time spent in school. But it's also a beginning of something new and exciting. Sometimes, we graduate and transition to the next step in our education. Sometimes we chase a childhood dream. Sometimes, we're leaving home for the first time. At each juncture, you're often questioning, 'What's next?'

Asking a loved one about these memories of transition can reveal a lot about their personality, motivation, fears, and goals. Whether it’s the forging of a lifelong friendship in a college dorm, meeting a future spouse, or starting a new job that turns into a lasting career—moments of change and transition often become great stories to tell. Here are some prompts to use to uncover these memories: 

• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? How did that change over time?

• When did you first leave home? Were you excited, nervous, nudged?

• How did you feel about graduating? 

• What do you miss the most about your time in school?

• Do you still keep in touch with friends from high school or college?

• Did you ever feel lost or without direction?

• How did you find that first job? Who helped you along the way?

Here are a few stories from our clients about their graduation milestones and a bit of what came next:

“I graduated and was lucky to get a job [teaching band]—70 people applied for the position, but my grades and connection with Professor V. must’ve helped. I lived in Ogden, about 25 miles away, in an apartment upstairs from Loris the Florist.” --Deb F.

"I graduated and worked at Bellucci’s Pizza House, where I did everything but cook pizza! That is where I met my first wife. It was never going to be a career job, and I was approached by our neighbor who worked as the night foreman at [a grocer] warehouse. They needed someone reliable to work because the college kids didn’t stick around. I had planned to attend ISU but got to working so much that I decided I couldn’t do both.” --Joe F.

“I graduated and went to flying school. I always wanted to fly, and it was a ton of fun. The students came from all over. I had a roommate in the dorms from North Dakota who raised cows for a living! Living away from home was also a nice change and there was always something to do. I had bought a motorcycle to get around, which my mother worried about more than me flying a plane!" --Joe E.

“I graduated technical school in May 1950, and knew we had to leave Croatia. There was no future at home. No money, no jobs. While I was studying, my mother went for interviews in Zagreb. Soon after I graduated, she decided we should leave.”  --Carlo V.

For some, life begins to take shape after marriage or children, but for others, it’s when they walk across the stage, diploma in hand, ready to take on the world. Ask your loved one about their 'What's next?' moments. Their beginnings might surprise you, and they are rarely where people end up!