Graduation!!! At long last! After four years of classes, papers, late night studying, last minute deadlines, late night partying, drunken orgies, and wondering who that chick was that you met last Spring Break … it's all over. Time for the real world! Or is it? After graduation, what's next? Find a job, find a place to live, get your shit straight, right? Easier said than done, that's for sure. Finding a job straight out of college is hard enough, but a place to live is even harder in my opinion.

Yours truly is one of a rare breed– the international student. I recently graduated from a private university in the state of Florida, and as of the end of my graduation ceremony, I was officially HOMELESS! Now yes, I realize with graduation approaching one must come to realize that patterns that were somewhat routine in college are going to change. However, I lived on campus for all four years of my stay. Unbelievably, graduates were required to vacate their rooms by 7:00pm on the day of graduation. Come on! Can't a brother have a place to crash after I return in a drunken state after a kick ass graduation party?

So, what are my options? Some say move back home for a while. NEWSFLASH!!!! I'm an international student. Home is not a few hours drive away. Also, the United States is the "land of opportunity". Home is where the heart is, but I would not want to head back after only four years without exploring what this country has to offer. And most importantly, immigration is a bitch!!! The less that I can travel out of the States right now the better. You laugh? I guess you never had to sit in the small room with the metal chair, with some INS guy named Horace scanning your every move! Others say just rent an apartment. Have you seen some of those prices! I know that sooner or later it's going to happen, but you need a steady job with a healthy cash flow to pay that monthly bill. I don't know about you, but the part time job I had in college didn't pay that well for me to afford a monthly rental straight up after graduation. So what next?

Hmmmmm…do I see if the Red Cross or Salvation Army has any rooms for free? NO!!! Here's an idea. I believe that the University that you attend should provide free housing for graduating seniors (at the very least for those who need it) for the duration of the summer session. Why not? You pay for four years of college. The least that your institution could do is to provide accommodations until you get yourself organized. Also, let's not forget that this is the summer…the one thing that your college has available are excess empty rooms! Considering most rooms will be empty (some rooms might be filled due to summer programs, camps etc.) this is an act of kindness that would cost the university next to nothing…what, maybe some electricity bills?

Its all about attitude…Educational institutions that don't offer some sort of help (especially when it costs them nothing!) just proves the old established attitude that universities seem have against their students… "Students as an ATM machine." However, this is an opportunity for the colleges to extend that proverbial olive branch. Such an attitude will encourage graduates who utilize such an option to be willing to give back more to their school (either in cash or in kindness) when they are in a position to do so. If finding a place to live was one less thing that I had to worry about, finding a job, repaying student loans, and dealing with whatever random bullshit wouldn't be so bad. I'm not asking for five-star accommodations, but simply a familiar place to stay at little or no cost for two to three months until I get my life in order. A great thinker once said, "The only thing constant is change." This is true, but to suddenly change after four years is somewhat stressful. If the transition could be a bit easier, what a wonderful world it would be! As for now, yours truly is living out of a Wal-Mart box. Good luck apartment hunting!