Are you ready for a professional career?

I ask myself this quite often.

Especially when I'm walking down the halls of the Indiana Statehouse in a full-blown power suit and heels outfit.

Even though I entered college as a technical adult, I sure didn't feel like one. I had to figure out how to do laundry my first week on campus and even had to force myself to make my bed everyday. 

I walked into college with a fresh start. All of my professors had much more faith in me than I ever did, and maybe ever will. So when I was approached by one of my professors to do an internship at the Indiana Statehouse as a reporter during my freshman J-term, of course I said yes. I wanted him to continue to believe in the facade of me. He thought I was a hard-working, no bullshit kind of person. While the ladder is true, the former is questionable.

He assumed I could easily adapt to the professional lifestyle.

He was wrong.

1. I hated waking up at 6:45 am every morning

2. I felt like I was the only one who didn't know what was going on.

Every other reporter walked around with their head held high and their notepads scribble free. When I walked in, I was 30 minutes late, lost, and had a notebook that had writing on every other page. The journalism career I want is full of passive aggressive smiles and professionalism 24/7.

I realized that I had come into college still feeling like a student- and nothing more. These professors genuinely believe I am ready to jump right into a professional career.

And I'm not.

But that's OK.

Learning which way to face in an elevator packed with state senators is hard work that takes time. Trust me. I know.

But learning how to adhere to professional corporate norms takes time and experience. You shouldn't expect your first experience in a professional setting to go smoothly. You might fumble. You might get lost. And you will definitely be nervous. 

Whether you want to work in an office or a newsroom, you came from high school- unprofessional place on earth.
which is arguable the most

You transition from being a student, to an adult. It'll take time to not only transition in your professional career but in your personal life, too.

So don't worry. You aren't the only one fumbling.