Life
after Graduation:
Former BHSU student and author Jason Steinle reveals knowledge and experience of life after
leaving college and entering the real world.
By
Nick Vorlage
As students enter their last semester of their
college career, dozens of thoughts rattle around inside of their already
exhausted minds, rechecking if they have completed enough credits, turning in
all the right forms for graduation, and completing their exit exams, and just a
few of the more prevalent objectives. But as the months become weeks become
days, a larger world begins to lurch forward and these students know that their
entrance into this world is becoming readily imminent. They will finally be
done with school, for some, the first time they have been free from exams and
essays in over sixteen or more years.
But this transition is rarely, if ever, as easy as
the college senior can dream for it to be. As they enter this new world, they
find themselves in a strange, foreign, realm- stranger than even the first time
they set foot in a college class as a naïve college freshman. Also, they do not
find it as accommodating as they may have expected, with job opportunities few
in number and finding a place to live even harder. Soon all of their grandiose
plans are crumbling to dust, and it becomes painfully apparent what Hobbes was
rambling about back in Philosophy 101 about the world being a dark and brutal
place.
Still, despite what these college graduates may
think, they are far from alone, as many recent graduates find themselves
sharing the same hindrances after graduation. Enter Jason Steinle,
a “quarterlifer,” or a person in their late teens,
20s and early 30s, who has lived through similar doubts and anxiety. Steinle, now 28, has persevered farther than he once believed possible, and is now preparing for the
release of his first book, Upload
Experience: Quarterlife Solutions. In writing the
book Steinle interviewed over three-hundred quarterlifers their personal stories of coming to grips
with the world outside of college, as well as their advice and tips for keeping
up in the real world.
Steinle, a former student at Black Hills State University,
is now the host of his own radio and talk show, The Steinle Show and the director of Health and Harmony Chiropractic
and Wellness Center located in Evergreen, CO. Steinle
was originally inspired to write Upload
Experience in part from his uncertainty after graduating college, and
largely due to the impact one of his talk show guests had. This guest, a young
man, also named Jason, had his world turned upside-down after a paralyzing car
crash at the age of 21. Despite not holding any national acclaim or prestige, Steinle was amazed at the insight and wisdom of this young
man who, despite debilitating circumstances, still found happiness and success.
Inspired, Steinle spent the
next few years interviewing and researching other quarterlifers,
finding their experiences and wisdom just as captivating. Taking the stories of quarterlifers,
along with the advice of over forty experts, like John Gray, author of Men are
From Mars, Women are From Venus, and Joan Borysenko,
the former Director of the Harvard Mind/Body Research Center Upload Experience, a book holding over
3,800 years of collective experience, was born.
“As quarterlifers we
mistakenly think we have to have it all figured out NOW,” Steinle
said when asked about finding the right job straight out of college. “This is
the problem. Not only are we going out into the real world for the first time,
but we treat it as if it’s our only chance to get it right. This puts a
tremendous amount of stress on us.”
Still, there is still hope. Quarterlifers
will find in Steinle’s book tidbits of advice and
experience to help soothe the pangs of panic. For example, when asked about
what college students can do to combat against the stress of college, he
commented, “My advice for anyone feeling stressed out is to ask these four
questions:
What
is the worst that can happen?
What
is the best that can happen?
What
is most likely to happen?
Am
I willing to live with the worst in order to have a shot at the best? By asking
these four questions it helps put the stressor in perspective,” said Steinle.
Another key point of advice Steinle
provided, after graduating college, one of the most important tools is
“Communication. We live in a global society today. No matter what your job,
interests, and goals are…your ability to effectively communicate plays a
significant role in your success and quality of your life.”
“Our major hurdle [as quarterlifers]
is that we have not yet learned to trust ourselves or the process of making our
way into the real world… It’s possible to enjoy life as a quarterlifer
when you realize you’ve been provided all the tools you need to take your next
step forward.” Steinle said, explaining that he hoped
readers would find a sense f direction and purpose as a result of immersing
themselves within the stories and advice of the experts.
As a quarterlifer, Jason Steinle has only lived a
quarter of his life expectancy, but through his interviews has gained several
lifetimes worth of experiential knowledge, enough wisdom to disperse, and
hopefully enhance the life of other quarterlifers
ready to enter the a brave new world of life after graduation. Upload Experience: Quarterlife
Solutions is currently available online at Amazon.com and will be arriving
on bookshelves on May 7; just in time for BHSU spring graduates. You may also
visit www.uploadexperience.com
for additional quarterlifer resources.