I struggled to adapt to the real world and full-time work after graduating from college. Adopting a cat helped.

• When I graduated from college, my friends moved away, so I had trouble adjusting to the real world.
• I adopted a cat, and she has been a source of comfort for me during my postgrad life.
• My cat has helped me feel less anxious and less lonely during this uncertain time.

I have never particularly enjoyed change. I love spontaneous adventures, like taking a day trip to a new city or trying new foods, but I don't like when things end. Recently, my college chapter came to a close.

I started school in the fall of 2020 and, not to rehash the trials and tribulations of the pandemic, but it was tough moving to a college 2,000 miles away from home while not being allowed to interact with many people. The friends I made became more like family. As with any college friend group, some grew apart, but most of us held each other close.

Many of them moved to new cities after graduation last May, and I felt a kind of grief in their absence. I no longer had weekly dinners with my best friend where we tried cooking new, innovative recipes or opted for the korean spot near his apartment. I couldn't go to comedy shows to see my favorite people doing stand-up and making the audience laugh with stories I had been a part of. I wasn't able to go over to their apartments at the drop of a hat when things went wrong. I could still call or FaceTime them, but we all had different schedules.

In addition to constantly missing people, the transition from school and internships to my first real journalism job felt overwhelming. I started a fellowship and fought to find freelance opportunities.

It was all hard, but luckily, I had a little friend to keep me company.

My cat helped me stay calm in the confusion of my new life

I adopted Lilac in January 2024, knowing that the next year would be tough. She is a gray and black tabby with a sassy attitude, an incessant need to bite toes, and so much love to give. During my final semester of college, she was an adorable pet to come home to, cuddle, and play with. After graduation, she became a necessary part of my self-care routine.

I have high functioning anxiety, which can make reporting a stressful job, from tight deadlines to interviewing new people all the time. I love that when I'm working from home, I can plop Lilac in my lap and keep typing away. She gives me so much comfort from just sitting in my lap and purring — like a living weighted blanket.

There's scientific evidence to support that feeling. I spoke to Steven Feldman, president of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, about the connection between people and their pets. He explained that pets can be instrumental in managing mental health conditions.

"They provide a sense of stability," he said. "There's good research to show that when you're interacting with your pet, your oxytocin levels are going up, your endorphins, dopamine, all the good brain chemicals, hormones are going up, and cortisol, which is your stress hormone, is going down."

Lilac's cuddles made me feel at ease. When she sat with me, I could feel myself calm down and focus on what I needed to do. The tasks stopped feeling quite so overwhelming.

My cat also helped me with the isolation of postgrad life

Lilac helped with the loneliness, too. Whenever I came home from a hard day, I could look forward to seeing her sitting in front of the door, screaming at me (She's not one for subtlety.). She needed me, and I needed her. And I felt like she gave me a sense of consistency and control over my life.

"[Having pets] is a way to show yourself that you have that level of commitment and responsibility to take care of another living thing," Feldman added.

Taking care of Lilac made me feel like I could do something right amid all of the change, motivating me to keep working hard and pushing through self-doubt and loneliness.

Of course, Lilac isn't perfect. She's a cat. She still gets the zoomies and runs rampant around the house. She punctured my favorite Ugg slippers and my skin on many occasions. But I'm so grateful to have had her around over the past six months. She calms me down and gives me something to look forward to, whether it's cute cuddles or playful yet menacing attacks.