When the Dawn Delays: Riding the Dissonance of Post-Graduation Blue

If your vocational path is perfectly lit, straight, and paved, then this reflection may not be for you. This is for those who have found themselves wailing in the midnight hour, praying every prayer they knew and still not having the answers to “what was it all for?” This is for those who have yet to secure a sustainable job, for those whose theology is laid deconstructed before them on an altar of academic rigor with little energy or time for rebuilding. This is for those who find themselves stuck in the chokehold of the “now what?” and riding the dissonance of post-graduation blues. You are not alone. In addition to therapy, self-care, and support systems, all important components of maintaining good mental health, I offer you two strategies for exercising faith and preserving sanity while the unsureties of this season take you for a “joy” ride.


In seasons of feeling and being unsettled (e.g., post-graduation), we must first recall the stories of faith and strength. What is your call story? When was the last time you made it out of a funk and you knew it was nothing but God? What unction or gut-deep feeling brought you to seminary in the first place? What are the stories of strength in your family lineage? As we ride the dissonance, we must keep these stories at the foreground of our consciences. I recall the stories of my ancestors which were passed down to me through the oral tradition. When I think of the stories of my grandmother standing up to white supremacists and how God’s grace kept her, my soul cries out, “Surely! If God made a way for her, then how much more for her beloved granddaughter?” When we are persistent and dedicated to recalling our stories, we open ourselves up to hope and resiliency.

We must also re-imagine. What do you look like on the other side of chaos? When the dust settles, who will you be? Will you have developed thick skin or a greater tolerance for riding the tensions of life? Taking focus off the situations that are out of our control and centering in on inner transformation and reinvention can provide relief from our anxieties. Re-imaging may require us to create a dream board or to journal on a daily basis. It may also entail exploring all the ways ministers and other leaders have been called in the past and then drawing inspiration to re-imagine ourselves. Re-imagining is an act of resistance. It is proclamation that one refuses to be in the current state forever. It is a sacred shout on the drops and loop de loops of a ride that will not last always. So if you have to ride, ride with recollection, imagination, and the purpose-filled light that God has placed within you, my friends. This too shall pass!

Nila Curry is a graduating seminarian at Wesley.
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