Dear Graduate: Welcome to Adulthood

Dear Graduate

You did it!

And before reality begins… can we just take a second?

You're standing at one important part of your life where everything is open. Take advantage of it, here´s how.

The world is going to hand you a résumé template. Don't start there.

Everyone's first instinct after graduation is to build a professional résumé. But there's another type nobody talks about.

Your life résumé.

What does your life look like outside of work? What are your hobbies? What races have you run? What mountains have you climbed? Have you seen the world?

That résumé doesn't fit in a template. But it affects your career, how interesting you are, the people you attract, how enjoyable your life is, and what opportunities you have, more than anything at a desk could.

While you're building your traditional résumé, make sure you're building your life résumé too.

Intentional living as your survival skill

For most of your life, someone else built the container. Class schedules, deadlines. You showed up and filled it. Now you have to build your own.

Nobody taught you how to design your life, but we´ll give you a good place to start right now.

You need the 1-6-4 method

The pressure to have it all mapped out at 22 is one of the most unhelpful things your generation inherited.

Focus on implementing this method and you´ll be ahead of 99% of your peers when it comes to life experiences.

Every year, do these 3 things and you will build an amazing life.

One Misogi. One year-defining thing. Put this on your calendar right now. The rest of the year is gonna fill right around it. When you look back on 2026, it will be how you remember the year. Did you move to your dream city? Did you backpack across Europe? Did you run your first marathon? Did you finally try stand-up comedy? Think of it as checking things off your bucket list every year. Make it challenging.

Six mini adventures. Every other month, do something you normally wouldn't. As an adult, it's really easy to get stuck in a routine. Taking 6 mini adventures makes sure you always have something new to look forward to. A concert, a local race, a cooking class, a reunion with your college friends, a hike you always wanted to do. If you're 22 now, and you live to 80, and you take 6 mini adventures a year, you'll have 348 mini adventures to look back on. That's an amazing life.

Four new habits. One per quarter. That's it. If you want to focus on drinking more water, make that the only habit change for 90 days and it will stick… Trust us. A laundry list of New Year's Resolutions or trying to become a new person overnight doesn't work.

Finally, write it all down somewhere you can see it. Then go live it.

The comparison trap is real, and it will steal your first two years if you let it.

Someone from your graduating class will get a job at a company that sounds impressive. Someone else will move to a new city. Someone will start something cool. It will all show up on your feed looking effortless and certain.

Just focus on you.

Now write it down

Ideally somewhere physical (not your phone), somewhere you can see it everyday.

There's something about putting your intentions on paper that makes them real in a way a notes app never does.

This chapter is worth being intentional about. You've spent years working toward this moment.

The Big A## Calendar is a good place to start.