When the clock struck midnight on the first day of 2021, many threw their arms up, hooting and hollering for what we all hoped would be a better year than the one before. Some committed to New Year’s resolutions like working out by buying a Peloton or improving their artistic prowess by strumming a new instrument.

I, on the other hand, just committed myself to surviving the rest of this academic year. 

For the past eight months, I’ve been juggling classes, senior theses, work and extracurriculars. As such, on Jan. 1, I downloaded a Google Chrome plugin that counts down the days to June 28 — the start date of my upcoming job.

I’ll soon be moving to Florida to begin my broadcast journalism career as a producer-in-residence for 10 Tampa Bay, a CBS-affiliate. I feel so warmly welcomed by the station and I’m elated to be hired right out of college to work in a top-15 market.

But going into the workforce wasn’t the only potential path I was considering. All of October, November and December, I locked myself inside my bedroom, lit up my trusty Mahogany Teakwood Bath and Body Works candle and applied for numerous job openings and graduate school programs.

Never did I think I would be presented with as many viable options as I was.

To work or to further my education? A tale as old as time for graduating seniors. I feel blessed to have found myself facing a good sort of problem, with either opportunity paving the way for invaluable career experience.

However, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t overwhelmed. I made numerous pros and cons charts. I sought advice from my Chapman mentors and family members. I even had a staring match with my lazy, 13-year-old terrier and made a silent bet that if she moved before I blinked, I would go to Tampa. (She won, but that’s beside the point.)

It’s safe to say I mulled over my options carefully. After hours upon hours of reflection, I came to a conclusion much less complicated than originally expected. I asked myself one question: Between graduate school and working directly in the field, which opportunity is more fleeting?

The answer was simple: a job offer. I was already offered employment and granted acceptances into the universities of my dreams, but the chance to work in Tampa may only pull into the station once. Conversely, I can always seek additional education even after I have a job; there is no magical, hard rule that dictates a graduate student needs to be in their early 20s to walk around a campus. 

Down the line, my resume will reflect all the additional work experience I’ll gain, which only serves to promote my graduate school application among the hundreds of others. For those seniors who are asking, “What about location? How much of an impact did that have?” my answer is a dry, “Not much.”

For entry-level jobs, I don’t get to be picky about where I’m working. Debating over which California city I want to live in based on its proximity to the beach would ultimately narrow my search results in the process. Instead, when applying for producer openings, I went off of my research on station reputation, organizational culture and Nielsen ratings. 

Don’t get me wrong; I’m quite terrified of moving out to Florida. From natural occurrences like hurricanes and crocodile sightings to a lack of COVID-19 safety protocol or family and friends in the Sunshine State, I know I’m in for a whole new world. 

And while I get the jitters just thinking about it, I’m also very excited at the prospect of the unknown — the people I’ll meet, the news I’ll produce, the places I’ll visit. Unfamiliarity doesn’t always equal unsatisfactory.

When determining your next steps as a graduating senior, don’t focus on the immediate future. Select the option that yields more possibilities and newfound experiences rather than limiting yourself to what you already know. If Chapman’s Fenestra symbol has taught me anything, it’s to seize my window of opportunity. Don’t lose sight of yours.