WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE
This is a guest post written by Fern Richardson.
The dreaded quarter-life crisis of feeling a little lost, unsure and not knowing what you’re supposed to be doing is something I know all too well.
Questions about our futures start off young. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” turns into “What GCSEs/A Levels are you going to take?”, which quickly segways into “What are you going to do at University?” and “What to do you want to do next?”
We spend so much time questioning what it is that we want to do be doing that, often, we forget to think about what we don’t want to be doing.
I’ll take myself for example, because what better experiences to draw from than your own?
I headed off to University without giving much thought into what I really wanted to be doing. Let’s blame the imminent rise in tuition fees the following year and the pressure to make a quick decision.
A year in, I was spending far more time at my part-time job than I was at university, and I knew my heart definitely wasn’t in it. Two weeks into my second year, I decided to leave. I may have left university sans degree, but I did leave with the knowledge that I did not want to be a journalist and I definitely didn’t want to return to university at any point. Learning curve number one.
I then spent the better part of the next two years working as a Barista, making coffee. Whilst I loved the people I worked with and made some lifelong friends, I knew that this wasn’t what I wanted to be doing either. Let’s just say customer facing roles aren’t really my thing. Learning curve number two.
At the end of 2014, in a whirlwind of application to interview to job offer, I flitted off to London for what I thought was going to be the dream internship in press and PR. It probably was the dream internship for someone, just not for me. So I left. Feeling more than a little deflated, but knowing that, whilst this may not have been what I wanted, I could add it to my list of things I knew I didn’t want. Learning curve number three.
Fast forward a year and a half and I’m now working in a job I really enjoy and, even more so, think I’m pretty good at. It could be so easy to put down the previous few years as a series of mistakes and failures. But, in reality, it’s a series of lessons and growth that have lead me to where I am now, and where I am now is super happy.
If you take anything away from this, please remember: You are not your mistakes. If something doesn’t work out, that’s ok. You’re simply one step closer to finding something that will work out and trust me, when it does, it’s the best feeling ever.
I’m Fern, a twenty-something cat enthusiast and professional napper.
In between my job in Marketing (sorry I lied, not really a professional napper) and taking a multitude of photos of my cat, I try to keep up with sharing my life online.
If you’re a fan of mindless ramblings, the odd style chat, and sporadic posting, you’ve probably come to the right place.