Since as far as I can go back they have always been present.  Whether we can dot our i's and cross our t's or multiply without a calculator.  Later on the IOWA basics become a once year deal.  These mundane tests are then replaced with every highschooler's favorite bubble sheet, the SAT.  The test that comes with so much built in anxiety.  Burger flipper or College, determined by shaded in A's, B's, C's, and D's.  I was able to go to the former, where the word test is erased from our vocabulary and replaced with the much more threatening exam term.  Senior year rolls around and there are two main options to choose from: more education (grad, law, medical) or real world.  Now the more education comes with tests that make sure we know where the hypotenuse lies on a triangle and to make sure our vocabulary is up to the Scrabble dominating level.  These tests go by the name of GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT.... 

I chose the other route, the Real World.  No lavish 3 story house in exciting cities or on the beach with roommates that become horny with the sight of a camera.  Basement, Detroit, 80 hour work weeks.  In retrospect it's good that I started there.  I can only move up and I did.  One bedroom apartment in Connecticut.  From the outside things look better, but my life is more like a Monet than a Rembrandt.  Get close to the painting and you soon realize my life isn't so clear. 

I propose there should be a federal mandate making sure all college graduates are prepared for the real world. 
Question 1: Are you willing to work for the next 40 years.....Hmmm that’s a tough one

Question 2: True or false, at the young age of 23 should you plan for retirement?  Sadly enough this is true and I'm starting to learn more about Roth IRA's and 401k's (I diversified in 5 mutual funds I researched on my own).  5 Mutual funds that the Ipod I want will have to wait another day.  Day, no more like a few months from now.

Question 3: Can you really cook?  Now this is a trick question.  Yes we all can cook, some better than others (I'm an other). But after working from 8-6, do we want to.  Hell no, we want to sit on that couch and watch reruns of Ross and Rachel, even though we know the outcome of those Friends.

Question 4: Are you sure you are ready to live alone?  Cleaning up after roommates, having to wait for washers, showers, and stovetops the answer would seem obvious.  Setting down the laptop bag on the counter and looking at my empty surrounding I wouldn't mind the hassle.

This and many more questions should have been asked upon graduation.  Still even if it was laid out in front of us on 8x11 paper with a staple in the upper left hand corner we wouldn't know what to write.  The experience is where the learning comes from.

Here I am with feelings much like in February.  Yearning for friends, family, and a job I liked.  It's not all gloomy.  I've learned things take time and that happiness doesn't come in a Fed Ex envelope.  It goes the oversea route aboard a ship.  It can be rough and take time, but thats when you grab life by the horns and hold on.