Congratulations, Graduates!

Welcome to the real world! Here's your Adulting 101 course list.

Dear Graduate,

So, you’ve taken your last final, walked across the stage, grasped your diploma with both hands, thrown your cap into the air, and snapped photos with your (now former) classmates. Congratulations! If you’re anything like me on my graduation day, you’re feeling, well, totally and utterly lost—and okay, maybe a little hopeful, I mean, you did get through all of those all-nighters and 8am classes where attendance counted—the real world can’t be worse than that. Right?

Ahead of you lies days—no, weeks—of job applications, resume formatting, cover letters, bills, more bills, laundry, apartment hunting, frustrating talks with your parents, crippling self-doubt—I’ll stop. Things are probably overwhelming enough as it is for you. First—breathe. You will get through this. Now, listen to advice from adultier-adults who have been there, done that. You’ll be just fine.

x Rachael Xerri, Audible Editor

Take a deep breath

Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation
Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation By: Mark W. Muesse, The Great Courses
“School's out but your education isn't over. Especially when it comes to coping with day-to-day stresses. Take a course in meditation and learn to breathe again.”
Forest Bathing
Forest Bathing By: Dr. Qing Li
“Go outside. Your parents were right, it's good for you. Author Dr. Qing Li explains how spending time in nature can improve your health.”
Close to Om
Close to Om By: Andrea Marcum
“Big stretch. You've earned it. Bonus: Establishing healthy habits now will help you out long term.”

The speech you wish your commencement speaker had made

In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It
"I graduated from high school in 1984."
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Congratulations, by the Way
"Some old fart, his best years behind him..."
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This Is Water: The Original David Foster Wallace Recording
"After all, here you are—alive."
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Wait, What?
"It seems that everywhere I went, someone was asking this question."
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  • In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It
  • "I graduated from high school in 1984."
  • Congratulations, by the Way
  • "Some old fart, his best years behind him..."
  • This Is Water: The Original David Foster Wallace Recording
  • "After all, here you are—alive."
  • Wait, What?
  • "It seems that everywhere I went, someone was asking this question."

Welcome to adulthood—it's hard

Product List
  • Almost Adulting Audiobook By Arden Rose cover art

    • Almost Adulting

    • All You Need to Know to Get It Together (Sort Of)
    • By: Arden Rose
    • Narrated by: Arden Rose
    • Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins
    • Release date: 03-28-17
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 287 ratings
    • Meet new people and eat right
    • Eating, making friends, using the internet, and dating are suddenly more complicated now that you're in charge of your own meals and aren't surrounded exclusively by people your own age. Here's a guide to help you become a semi-functioning grown-up. Take notes.
  • Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) Audiobook By Mindy Kaling cover art

    • Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

    • By: Mindy Kaling
    • Narrated by: Mindy Kaling, Michael Schur, B. J. Novak
    • Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
    • Release date: 11-01-11
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 16,850 ratings
    • Overcome your FOMO
    • Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and laugh in solidarity with a fellow human (and OK, we all know Mindy Kaling isn't your average human—she's a famous actor, author, and co-creator and producer of her TV series The Mindy Project) who's just trying to overcome loneliness, follow her dreams, and defeat the nagging sense of dissatisfaction that comes with the occasional rejection.
  • I Really Didn't Think This Through Audiobook By Beth Evans cover art

    • I Really Didn't Think This Through

    • Tales from My So-Called Adult Life
    • By: Beth Evans
    • Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
    • Length: 1 hr and 46 mins
    • Release date: 05-01-18
    • Language: English
    • 4 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
    • Give yourself a break
    • If you went to art school, are going to art school, majored in art, or are pursuing a career in an art-related field and everyone is now asking you "what are you going to do with that?", this listen is for you. Popular Instagram artist, Beth Evans, uses her talent for illustration, and easy-to-follow anecdotes, to explain the everyday challenges of adulthood. Remember to check out the accompanying PDF in your library after downloading.
  • Don't Worry, It Gets Worse Audiobook By Alida Nugent cover art

    • Don't Worry, It Gets Worse

    • One Twentysomething's (Mostly Failed) Attempts at Adulthood
    • By: Alida Nugent
    • Narrated by: Alida Nugent
    • Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
    • Release date: 03-25-15
    • Language: English
    • 4 out of 5 stars 70 ratings
    • Put on a brave face
    • If your adulthood is off to a rocky start, you're not alone. Alida Nugent is just your everyday twenty-something, learning how to do important life things like renting an apartment and paying off student loans. Lucky for you, her fumbles can be your lessons. As an Audible Listener eloquently stated, this listen "made me feel like a pretty successful adult."

Take care of your mind and body

Product List
  • If Our Bodies Could Talk Audiobook By James Hamblin cover art

    • If Our Bodies Could Talk

    • A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body
    • By: James Hamblin
    • Narrated by: James Hamblin
    • Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
    • Release date: 12-27-16
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 170 ratings
    • Take care of your health
    • A crucial part to loving yourself is taking care of your (physical) self. If you've ever wanted an operating guide to your body, this is it. Hamblin goes beyond the topic of dieting to offer answers to questions such as, "Is caffeine bad for me?" and "Should I take my multivitamins?" Learn how to take care of yourself now to avoid a lifetime of bad habits.
  • The Secret Life of Fat Audiobook By Sylvia Tara cover art

    • The Secret Life of Fat

    • The Science Behind the Body's Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You
    • By: Sylvia Tara
    • Narrated by: Sylvia Tara
    • Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
    • Release date: 12-27-16
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 639 ratings
    • Make the best of what you have
    • Fat gets a bad rap. It's a fear, an obsession, and at times, an insult. It's also crucial to your body's ability to function. Fat triggers puberty, affects the size of your brain, and enables your reproductive and immune system. No wonder bodies have such a hard time letting go of it (no really! It's science!). Biochemist Silvia Tara, PhD, has written the book on what fat is, how it works, and how to understand it so that you can lose it effectively and healthfully.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Get down to business.

Product List
  • The Financial Diet Audiobook By Chelsea Fagan, Lauren Ver Hage - designer cover art

    • The Financial Diet

    • A Total Beginner's Guide to Getting Good with Money
    • By: Chelsea Fagan, Lauren Ver Hage - designer
    • Narrated by: Chelsea Fagan
    • Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
    • Release date: 01-02-18
    • Language: English
    • 4 out of 5 stars 1,313 ratings
    • Save your pennies
    • If you were taught algebra and trigonometry but not how to balance a budget—or how to make a loan payment—you are not alone. Author and adulting expert, Chelsea Fagan, has written the beginners' guide to getting good with money. Go from take-out junkie to home-cooking expert (or, like, not totally terrible at cooking), and make your salary work harder for you.
  • Weird in a World That's Not Audiobook By Jennifer Romolini cover art

    • Weird in a World That's Not

    • A Career Guide for Misfits, F--kups, and Failures
    • By: Jennifer Romolini
    • Narrated by: Em Eldridge
    • Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
    • Release date: 06-06-17
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 85 ratings
    • Try, try again. It's never too late.
    • Not everyone graduates, or graduates on time. Or lands in a career they want. Or meets the right person the first time around. It's OK. So you've made some mistakes or had a string of bad luck, that doesn't mean success it out of reach for you. Take it from self-proclaimed misfit, Jennifer Romolini. At 27, she was a college dropout and divorcee, just starting her career. In just over a decade, she went from employee, to boss, to director, to VP, to C-suite executive. Now, she's sharing how she found success without sacrificing her true self, and how you can too.
  • The Quarter-Life Breakthrough Audiobook By Adam Smiley Poswolsky cover art

    • The Quarter-Life Breakthrough

    • Invent Your Own Path, Find Meaningful Work, and Build a Life That Matters
    • By: Adam Smiley Poswolsky
    • Narrated by: Adam Smiley Poswolsky
    • Length: 6 hrs
    • Release date: 10-04-16
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 88 ratings
    • Create your own path
    • Change can be a great thing. It can be an opportunity to learn, to grow, to challenge yourself and gain new experiences. It can also be a scary thing. You may feel powerless, unsure, completely at a loss for what to do next. Listen up! You have choices. You can decide what happens next. You deserve to live your best life. Introducing, The Quarter-Life Break-Through, written by Adam "Smiley" Poswolsky, someone who left the high-paying job he didn't like to make a life he wanted. The takeaway? You don't have to be stuck.
  • Lean In for Graduates Audiobook By Sheryl Sandberg cover art

    • Lean In for Graduates

    • By: Sheryl Sandberg
    • Narrated by: Elisa Donovan
    • Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
    • Release date: 04-08-14
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 624 ratings
    • Embrace change
    • Best-selling author and chief operating officer of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg gives great advice. In this special edition of Lean In, Sandberg shares vital information provided by accomplished leaders and #influencers about everything from finding a job, to negotiating a salary, to listening to your inner voice about the right thing to do.

Honorable mention

Audible Interns (and recent graduates) Ama and Nicole discuss Oh, the Places You'll Go!