Being 21 comes with a lot of expectation; to establish yourself as an independent adult, whilst juggling a social life and trying to make the correct step into a career that will mould you and fundamentally shape your working life. Sounds exhausting doesn't it? Well you would be correct. It is made even harder when you actually have zero clue where the hell you want to be in 5, 10, 15 years and you are being told that the decisions you make now shape your future. I was foolish to believe that having an undergraduate degree meant getting jobs would be easier, this was an unachievable idea, and after about 100 rejections I am now doing a Masters. I think I chose wisely, however my next steps cannot be delayed for much longer, apparently you cannot be in education forever!
This was three months ago…
Induction week has arrived and I am about to start my tasks in preparation for next week when the hard work begins, again! Aside from all the specifics (rooms, the timetable and the modules) a lot of what I am hearing is centred on passion, resilience, style and content. I like books and reading and discovering new authors; transition from reader to writer is one that is going to take some getting used to. I never once had to write my own pieces because I have never been sure that I have an opinion, let alone one that someone would want to read.
This could be more of a challenge than I expected. I am basically learning the exact opposite to what I have been doing for the last 3 years of my academic life, but rising to the challenge is something I have a lot of experience with. However, whilst writing this piece and laying out my fears, I am realising that whilst this is going to be a challenge this could be the perfect opportunity to find my voice, my interests and develop the skills to be able to enter the world of Publishing/Journalism with all the qualities needed to succeed. Even when faced with modules that had not exactly been what I had expected, I was always able to find and discover a section that interested me, an area that I wanted to research and write about, and I often managed to achieve something I never thought possible. Those experiences are going to be pivotal for this year. This is a year to find and expand on what interests me, share stories that I have written and find my own voice amongst the noise.