This blog is brought to you by Taylor Rupp, Account Coordinator at Girlilla Marketing.

Nobody really teaches you how to be an adult. Graduation feels like the push off the diving board, and suddenly you’re in the deep end with no floaties, just bills, rent, and job applications circling around you. At first you’re kicking and flailing, wondering if you’ll sink, but little by little you figure out how to swim. I thought I’d be ready. I’ve always been a planner, the one who likes to have it all together, but post-grad life humbled me quickly. Insurance, taxes, cooking, navigating a career… none of it came with instructions. And to the older girls who did it before me, y’all made it look so easy! The truth is, post-grad can be lonely, confusing, and overwhelming. But here’s the flip side: it’s not a decade of being lost, it’s a decade of possibility.

Hi, I’m Taylor Rupp, an Account Coordinator at Girlilla Marketing. This week marks my one-year anniversary with the company (yay!), and it’s given me the perfect opportunity to reflect on what this first year has taught me.

What I didn’t have coming out of college were industry connections. I was studying Business Administration and Marketing with a minor in Communications at Mississippi State University with a dream and intuition to move to Nashville and work in the music industry. Now in Mississippi, you don’t exactly grow up surrounded by the business side of music. Sure, Tupelo had Elvis and Nashville was a few hours away, but breaking into the industry from where I stood felt impossible unless you went looking for it. This is where my curiosity brought me to many unforeseen possibilities.

My first leap into that possibility came junior year at Mississippi State when I applied for an internship at the Country Music Association. I had zero music industry experience and was shooting my shot in a world where internships are notoriously competitive (especially with Belmont students). Honestly, I didn’t think I had a chance. But for whatever reason, Maddie Hirschfield, Manager, Board and Industry Relations at the Country Music Association, and the Industry Relations team at CMA saw potential in me and took me under their wing that summer. I’ll always be grateful to Maddie for giving this small-town Mississippi girl a shot in Music City and giving me the chance to get my foot in the door.

Flash forward: I graduated from college, moved back to Nashville, and joined an all-female digital marketing group called Girlilla Marketing. Looking back, I’ve gathered a few notes to share with the next person navigating this overwhelming season of life, or maybe just my little sister, who swears she never wants my advice.

Lesson 1: Being Coachable is Your Superpower

In college, there’s pressure to have it all figured out. Truthfully, I didn’t. I wasn’t the “aesthetic Instagram girl” who knew her angles or filters, but I was coachable. And that mattered more. Digital marketing turned out to be way more than a pretty feed: content development, DSPs, websites, short-form video, digital monetization, analytics, and owned properties (Jennie, that one’s for you). If I’ve learned anything, it’s that being coachable is the most valuable trait you can bring into a new job.

Lesson 2: Ask the Dumb Questions (Then Write Them Down)

Growing up, I was the kid who always had a million questions (oldest-child energy). That hasn’t changed. The truth is, asking questions is how you learn at work and in life. The only mistake? Not writing down the answer and having to ask again. Knowing the “why” behind things helps you problem-solve, spot opportunities, and improve. Shoutout to Ashley Alexander for never showing (too much) annoyance at my curiosity. Trust me, people would rather answer your question once than watch you pretend you know what you’re doing. Knowing the “why” and the end goal is so helpful in the creative space of strategizing for a client.

Lesson 3: The 3-Second Rule of Marketing

You only get three seconds. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in digital marketing is the importance of knowing your audience and catering to their needs. If fans can’t easily navigate a link, a song, or a product, they won’t engage with it, no matter how great it is. Not everyone who listens to your music or watches your Instagram reel is fluent in social media. A 15-year-old might click through a couple of extra steps, but a new fan who only gives you three seconds of attention will move on if it isn’t simple. I’ve seen this firsthand when posting for clients: some audiences respond best to clear, straightforward directions, while others are comfortable digging a little deeper online. The takeaway? Success, in marketing and in life, comes from meeting people where they are, not where you expect them to be.

Lesson 4: Time Management is a Learned Skill, Not an Innate One

Your to-do list will never end, and that’s okay! If you are like me, I like to have a list and mark off each task as I go to feel accomplished. But here’s my new reality: the to-do list in digital marketing never ends. The internet doesn’t care about your 9 p.m. bedtime and neither does a music release at 11 p.m. I used to think productivity meant finishing every task, but I’ve learned it’s about prioritizing the right ones. Time management isn’t something you’re born with, it’s a muscle you build. And it’s the only thing that keeps you accountable and sane, which leads me to my next point.

Lesson 5: Burnout is Real, but So is Recovery

Even with good time management, the burnout is real. The key is knowing how to bounce back. At Girlilla, we had the opportunity to work from anywhere during July, and I used it to visit friends and family. That flexibility recharged me in ways I didn’t know I needed. If you ever get the chance to work remotely, take it. And if you’re job hunting, look for flexibility, it truly makes a difference in your energy, creativity, and overall happiness at work.

Lesson 6: Post-Grad is Hard, but Not Impossible

Moving away from home is hard. Making new friends is hard. Building confidence at work is hard. Figuring out adulthood? Definitely hard. But hard doesn’t mean impossible. Hard is what stretches you, grows you, and teaches you what you’re actually capable of. And here’s the thing: no one has it all together, even if it looks that way from the outside. I used to think everyone else had cracked the code on adulthood while I was just trying to keep my head above water. Spoiler: they hadn’t. Everyone struggles, just in different ways. So don’t waste energy comparing your timeline or growth to someone else’s. Your struggles are shaping you in ways theirs never could.

Lesson 7: Build Your Community (No One Does This Alone)

You cannot do hard things alone. My advice? Go to that networking event. Text that old intern friend (hi, Erik!). Say hello to someone new. That one hello can mean more down the road than your GPA or ACT score (nobody asks for that post-grad, btw). I’ve been lucky to have coworkers, roommates, mentors, and friends who’ve guided me through this first year, and it’s proof that community matters more than credentials.

Lesson 8: Hobbies Save Your Sanity

Your brain isn’t meant to sit at a computer all day and then scroll until bed. That’s how every day starts to feel the same. Hobbies break the cycle. Join a volleyball league, go on a walk, or become a regular at Midnight Oil (best pizza in Nashville). Hobbies recharge you, connect you with new people, and remind you that you’re more than your job.

Lesson 9: Confidence Comes from Messing Up (Yes, Even Biting Into Someone Else’s Sandwich)

On a more vulnerable note, the hardest part of my first year post-grad was learning how to be confident in what I was doing. Walking into rooms full of people with 20+ years of experience made me shrink back and question myself. At the beginning, I triple-checked everything, asked for approval on the smallest tasks, and put so much pressure on myself to be perfect. What I’ve learned is that confidence doesn’t come from perfection, it comes from mistakes. Every slip-up teaches you that you’re capable of handling it and moving forward. A year later, I’m more confident in my work, my voice, and my instincts. And yes, that growth includes surviving the humiliation of accidentally taking a bite of my coworker’s sandwich on day one. Turns out, messing up doesn’t end your career, it builds it.

Lesson 10: Take Full Advantage Of Every Opportunity

Our generation has a bad habit of chasing the next thing while scrolling through someone else’s “perfect” life online. The truth? That life isn’t real. What’s real is where you are right now. Instead of rushing ahead, soak in this season and take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. Celebrate the small wins, nurture the relationships around you, and don’t underestimate the power of cheering someone else on. Sometimes, the greatest opportunities are the ones that remind us we’re not in this alone.

The best part of this first year has been watching ideas turn into something people truly connect with. That’s what makes the late nights, mistakes, and lessons worth it. Right now, I’m working on a project I’ve seen from the very first brainstorm to roll out, and soon, to the finish line. Getting to play even a small part in something that brings joy to others is the most rewarding piece of all. And the exciting part? It feels like just the beginning.

If you’re a senior in college or a young adult just starting out in the music industry, I hope this helps. You don’t have to have it all figured out, you just have to start. Post-grad is hard, but not impossible. Lean on your community, stay coachable, ask the questions, and take it one step at a time. Keep your head above water and keep swimming. It really does work out.

You got this,
Taylor