making choices for you

I've never been one to love the whole education environment, not because I was incapable of learning or that I was unintelligent but because I got so bored of having to sit in a room having someone talk at me for hours on end, I just wanted to go and actually DO. I think some of this frustration may have come from the fact everyone was made to learn things at school that you would never use in day to day life, I'm sure you've all heard the line about being so bloody happy knowing how to use Pythagoras theorem but having no fricking clue how to manage your finances or to even how to write an appealing CV.

The last year of school was so focused toward pushing students toward further education, there was no given thought to those who wanted to actually get out in to the real world, start at an internship or get a job. I strongly believe that if I had been given the option to either write my application letter to college or to build my CV, I would have chosen the latter. But this wasn't the case and so I came out of school at 16 with 8 A*-C GCSE's, applied to do visual arts at college, 3 months down the line I dropped out.

DUN DUN DUN, cue society classing me as a failure.

I have always strongly believed that regardless of whether you choose an educational path or a work focused path, you will thrive as long as you are passionate about what you do, with the minor exceptions of those such as doctors as I'm sure they wouldn't let you perform surgery on someone if you wrote on your CV that you'd played operation when you were younger and you kicked ass. 

I have never discredited those who pursued further education as I know it takes a hell of a lot of hard work and determination to achieve the grades you aim for. However I can also tell you that I've won out positions over those who have been to university and studied in a specific field, as have many people I know. There is no fixed path in getting to the place you want to go and in knowing this you should make choices that feel right for you. You don't have to go to university, you don't have to go to college, you don't have to set your heart on one specific career and decide that that's it and that's all your ever going to pursue because believe me when I say life will throw so many opportunities and curve balls your way which may present you with paths that you may never had believed were possible or that you even knew you wanted. Hell some of the most successful people of their industry didn't even begin pursuing what they loved until their late 30's! Alan Rickman is one of the most remarkable actors to ever emerge from the British acting scene but he didn't start acting until he was 28, one of the most successful writers of our time, J.K Rowling wasn't published until she was 32. Not to mention some of the most successful entrepreneurs that have built empires on experience alone. People jump and change paths throughout their lives, whatever path you choose, should be your choice and yours alone.

There are so many different options that are available to people these days, jobs are created every day that wouldn't have existed a few years ago. The world is growing at an astonishing rate and with this comes so many different careers, apparently there's now even a job where you are paid to hug panda's, yes hello this is true.

You should never feel discouraged to take a different route to others, you should do what you feel is right for you because in the end it is you that will have to live with the path you've laid for yourself so make it one you're happy to have created.