MIRA'S DIARY

Chapter 2 — The Questions Everyone Asks

Everyone thinks the hardest part of life is finishing university.

They are wrong.

The hardest part begins after.

January 15

Three days after I started this diary, the same question keeps following me everywhere.

"So Mira… what next?"

I hear it from relatives.

From neighbors.

From friends.

Even strangers ask it as if life after graduation is supposed to come with a clear instruction manual.

This afternoon I met Shaline and Sandra at a small café near the bus station. It was one of those places students used to go to when we were still in school, when everything felt easier and our biggest worries were exams and deadlines.

Now the conversations are different.

Sandra arrived first, wearing a bright yellow dress and the same confident smile she always had in university.

"You look like someone who has been thinking too much," she said the moment she saw me.

"I probably have," I admitted.

A few minutes later Shaline walked in, slightly out of breath.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, dropping into the chair beside us. "Traffic is terrible today."

We ordered drinks and for a moment the conversation felt normal again.

Sandra was the first to speak about work.

"I submitted three job applications this week," she said proudly. "One of the companies already replied."

Shaline leaned forward immediately.

"What did they say?"

"Interview next week."

Sandra smiled like someone who could already see her future unfolding.

Shaline clapped her hands excitedly.

"That's amazing!"

Then both of them turned to look at me.

And there it was again.

The question.

"So Mira," Sandra said gently.

"What about you?"

I looked down at my drink, watching the ice slowly melt.

"I've been searching," I said. "But nothing yet."

Shaline nodded sympathetically.

"The job market is tough right now," she said. "But something will come."

Sandra leaned back in her chair.

"You were always one of the smartest people in our class," she said. "You'll figure things out."

I forced a small smile, but inside I wasn't sure if I believed that.

Because the truth is… graduating from university doesn't mean the world suddenly opens its doors for you.

Sometimes it feels like the opposite.

Like standing in front of a hundred closed doors and not knowing which one might open.

After a while we changed the subject and started talking about old university memories.

The late-night study sessions.

The group assignments we almost failed.

The laughter in the hostel corridors.

For a moment it felt like we had stepped back into the past.

But eventually the conversation returned to the future again.

It always does.

When we finally left the café, the sun was already beginning to set.

Sandra hugged both of us before heading toward the taxi park.

"Next time we meet," she said confidently, "I'll be celebrating my new job."

Shaline laughed.

"I believe you."

Then she turned to me.

"And you," she added softly, "don't stress too much. Everyone's journey is different."

I nodded.

But as I walked home alone, her words stayed in my mind.

Everyone's journey is different.

Maybe that is true.

But right now my journey feels like a road I cannot clearly see.

When I reached home, I opened this diary again.

Because somehow writing here makes the noise in my head quieter.

Maybe tomorrow something will change.

Maybe a new opportunity will appear.

Or maybe life will continue asking questions I don't yet know how to answer.

But one thing I am beginning to understand is this:

Adulthood is not a straight path.

It is a maze.

And right now…

I am just beginning to find my way through it.