Navigating the Post-College World

By ISABELLA KOZ | Intern

For the first 18 years of life, the majority of people attend school, and through elementary, middle and high school, most children have a set schedule to not only follow, but to live by.

After the adolescent phase of life comes to a close, the opportunities are endless and quite vague in regards of where to go next. After college, these options seem to multiply even more.

During these post-education years, life can get confusing.

This is what led Andrew Berman, a 26-year-old from Pacific Palisades, to explain his own struggles through writing his first book “Then We Grow Up.”

Berman himself was thrown amid confusion after he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2014.

In December 2016, Berman began the process of writing this book without the intention of it becoming anything more than a reflection of himself. After gaining a substantial amount of content, he explored the thought of potentially turning his writing into a published piece.

After 26 months amid a transitional period in his life, Berman completed “Then We Grew Up,” which explores numerous vulnerable moments throughout his life, including his personal journey of growth and figuring out who he truly is.

“I really wanted to create something that hopefully others could relate to,” Berman told the Palisadian-Post. “When I started writing it at first, I was saying to agents and publishers that it was going to be more of a self-help book [where I] tell people what to do and how to succeed during this period.”

But when he was writing it, Berman said he thought to himself, “Who am I to tell people what to do?”

“It’s not my place and it would be inappropriate for me to even try, so I started to share my experiences and my truths and my stories, and the real hope is that others, when they read it, will look inward and reflect on what they’ve been doing and hopefully inspire some growth.”

“Then We Grew Up” is separated into three sections: Waiting on Superman, The Heart and The Head. Every section features stories from Berman’s childhood, high school times and recent post-college years—each with a lesson carefully placed within it.

This book touches on combating one’s insecurities, dealing with heartbreak, living in the moment and other topics people face after college.

“It’s more about immersing yourself in the present and trying to ground yourself wherever you may be,” Berman shared. “Continuously looking forward makes you lose a sense of where you really are.”

“Then We Grew Up” is available for preorder now on Amazon before its July 24 release.