I'm one of those people who hates change, being forced to do things, making tough decisions, uncertainty and gaining responsibility which I'm not sure I can handle. So the whole looking for a University and the whole applying process has sort of been a mini nightmare for me.
From the day I started secondary school up until a few months ago I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life; I changed my mind so many times! I originally wanted to be a Vet and then a social worker and then a child psychologist and then a nurse and then a vulconologist; each idea being shot down instantly by me not having the right subject choices, patience or funding for university. When I started college though I narrowed my options down by narrowing my university course options down to two; Nursing or Geography. Both subject areas which I'm passionate about!
Quite a few university's want very high grades and science based subjects(which I don't have at A level) so they were instantly out of the picture. For the whole of the year I've been completely torn between the two subjects, as some universities looked promising for both subjects. When I started doing my personal statement in June I was told I couldn't apply for both subject areas, which in all honesty was a major blow because I'd hoped if one 'passion filled plan' failed I'd have my other 'passion plan' to fall back on!
To me the whole deciding at the age of 14 upwards what you want to do with the rest of your life is stupid; I have no idea what I want to do in the future, or even if I'll be able to achieve it; and I'm nearly 18! Supposedly by now we're supposed to know what we want to do, aim for that and live that life. In my opinion we're too young for all the responsibility of choosing our future careers at such a young age; it feels forced and too pressured. We should just be allowed to enjoy the education we receive and if you know what you want to do strive for that but the whole world shouldn't be forced into choosing if they aren't ready to!
As it happens I've got the most supportive parents, friends and family so any choice I make I'm supported with. This does mean that I've had to make the decision and choice between my two passions pretty much on my own because they're behind me whatever I choose; Nursing or Geography.
I'm very practical so from university I want a degree I can use, I want to work and earn a living, I also want to travel and work abroad, which is why my option was to choose nursing over geography. So I've been planning my university research and visits around nursing. Don't get me wrong I can't wait to start in 2014(as long as I can get into a uni) but a part of me does feel like the whole decision has been forced and rushed; I still think I'm too young to choose all this now!
Basically I just wanted to write about how decisions we make now that supposedly determine the rest of our life do seem forced, rushed and even made too early on in life but they're not set in stone forever. You can always go back into education in the future(I'm hoping to do just that after a nursing career and get back into geography) ! It's okay to change your mind and be unsure! I still have days where I want to sack off nursing research and go for the Geography but then Little Miss Practical Hannah kicks in and I'm back to reality to make a more practical life decision and I'm applying for university in a few months.
Let me know your thoughts on university and choosing careers and all that in the comments; I'd love to read them!
Nice and ranty blog post- sorrrrrrrry but its always good to get this stuff off my chest!
@HanMcFly
smilingwontkillyou
