We all have the pressure at a young age to decide the career path we want to follow for presumably the rest of our lives, do we not? Being in Wales, UK and working my way through the public schooling system we were given choices at 14 years of age for what four subjects we'd like to studying along side core subjects (Science, Maths, Welsh, English, P.E.) for the next academic year. Obviously I choose subjects I thought were fun and didn't think about the future as I didn't know what I wanted to do yet. I didn't really see the connection between school and our lives once we finished school. To me it was just something we had to do five days a week.
Then moving into Sixth Form and having to choose more subjects there, still unsure of which career path I wanted to go into but now seeing more of a connection between my grades and my future. I focused on Art. I've always been a creative person and have always found enjoyment in drawing. Until Sixth Form that is. I started to really hate the school I was at. I was dealing badly with my own mental health and I was falling behind, having my teacher constantly telling me that I needed to pick up my slacking in order to pass my exams. I felt trapped in Sixth Form and like I didn't belong so I made the decision to leave before the exams.
When I look back on this now, I regret it so much. I would have preferred I had stuck it out and gotten my AS Level exam grades and worked harder but I don't feel so bad because leaving Sixth Form resulted in what I like to call my big move!
I moved in with my Dad, a hour North up the coast of where my Mum lives, and enrolled in a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Childcare. If you've read a previous blog of mine (Half Way There!) you'll know that I studied Childcare. Reading back over that post there are a lot of things I said that didn't come true. For one I didn't go to work in Australia. I still plan to go to Australia to stay with family but the issue there is funding! Two I didn't go through with doing the extended essays to give me the option of university. I began to get bad again with m mental health and decided that I had enough work to do with the actual course let alone stacking three essays on top too. Sometimes I wish I had gone through with them but it doesn't bother me too much to be honest.
Once I had finished the two years in childcare I was thrust into the pressure of trying to find a job in the local schools or nurseries. I already have a weekend and holiday job in my village anyway so I wasn't paranoid about being left without an income (not that I was desperate for one because I am still living with my parents but I want to get on my own feet) but I wanted a full time job. When the summer was ending and I still hadn't found a job I didn't want to be sitting around doing nothing all week and decided to apply for another course at the college.
Media Productions was my course of choice! I have been interested in filming for a couple of years and obviously I have a YouTube channel but I had never really given thought into pursuing it as a career. Since starting the course in September I have felt as if I have finally found something I feel really passionate about pursuing as a career path. I did enjoy childcare but I enjoy and feel incredibly at home on this course. I have two years of this course overall and then I'm thinking about university as an option afterwards.
The reason I decided to write this blog post is because I haven't always had the best responses or support from those closest to me when I have decided to change my mind with subjects through my education. They have grown to support me once they have gotten used to the idea that I'm on a different course. I've learnt that it doesn't matter that if you don't know what you want to do when you're older. There's nothing wrong with exploring different subjects and trying different hobbies to find something you're really interested in. Don't worry about your age as much as I do sometimes. I'm turning 20 in two months and while most of my friends are nearing the end of their second year in university and could be out by 22 years old I won't be out of uni until I'm 24.
I wish you all the best and I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments below!