13 Dec 2015

One of the greatest things about growing up in Australia is partaking in the longstanding tradition of the classic road trip. No matter the destination, grabbing some good mates, cold brews and taking off down an endless stretch of road is an adventure no one can refuse.

We’re all pretty familiar with those “Life’s about the journey, not the destination” clichés that have been on repeat since their conception, so we’ll only say it once. What we will say here is for all you school leavers out there who’re biting your nails and dreading what the ATAR release might bring. We want you guys to look at it this way:

What you’re going through right now is just like one seriously awesome road trip.

See, all road trips start out with a plan. You’ve got your destination in mind and some stops are picked out along the way. Playlists are made, sugary snacks are purchased and you’ve managed to convince one of your mates to donate their beat-up Holden to the cause.

You’re post-school life is structured in much the same way: get your marks, get into the university of your choice, graduate with flying colours, do something you love, make some serious mulla in the process, and retire at a respectable age.

Here’s the thing though. There will always be one constant when it comes to road trips, and that’s the certainty that somewhere along the line, something will go wrong. Flat tyres, kangaroos playing chicken on the road, fights with your best friends. It’s all part of the process. But it’s not the situation you find yourself in that matters. It’s how you deal with these moments that make looking back on a road trip worthwhile.

It’s perfectly acceptable to talk a big game for yourself. This is going to be the best roadtrip ever. Absolutely nothing will go wrong. You need to be able to take a step back though. It’s easy to talk a big game in the scheme of things, but nobody likes the guy on the road trip who stresses the small stuff. Flat tyre? No worries, change it. Car breaks down? Get it towed. The same applies to your post-school life. A lot of you won’t get the mark you need to get into the university degree you originally mapped out for yourself. If anything, this is the tape over your mouth you’ll need to stop talking yourself out of this plan and instead, do a few things first in the silence.

Take a step back. Stressing doesn’t help anything. Like we said, life happens.

After your first step, take another back. The further you separate yourself from letting one small disappointment impact your whole life the better.

Now that you’ve had the chance to realise you’re still going to kill it in life, you just need to consider your options.

What options? You’ve heard them all before: alternative entry courses, gap years, bridging courses, etc etc. Now, it’s time to reconsider them as they apply to you. Just like in that road trip, a flat tyre in life doesn’t have to derail your entire trip, it just means you might need to detour. Sometimes, detours give better views, or bring more exciting adventures, and often you’ll still end up in the same place you planned in the end, just with better stories to tell.

No one wants to hear about the “perfect trip”, where everything went right and all was rosy. We want to hear the juicy details, the nitty gritty stories of how you got trapped in a sandstorm, made friends with a hitchhiker or pushed the car a kilometer to the petrol station with your bare hands.

Nothing we’re saying here is groundbreaking, ‘STOP THE PRESS’ type news. If anything, you all know these alternative entry options even if you’ve ignored them before because you had your eyes so set on “perfect trip”. Our goal here is to remind you that you can still plan that incredible road trip, but never forget that every bump in the road has a solution.