25 Mar 2021

My Enneagram personality type is a seven. If you have no clue what that means, basically I'm always on the go, constantly looking for new things to keep me busy, obsessed with doing something at all times, all the time.

Keeping that in mind, when I graduated from high school after the celebratory drinks had finished and the schoolies hangover had passed, I was left feeling lost, bored and stir crazy.

What now?

See, I'd kept myself so occupied during high school that I just assumed that my life path would pave its way for me (I'm a typical type seven so I'm optimistic to the point of naivety).

All my mates were enrolling in a university and I was sick of waiting for something to happen, so I followed suit. And tbh, it was fun for a while. Venturing out into the big city was what I had always dreamed of doing; buying myself a coffee before class (boujee), hanging out with my new uni friends and skipping lectures to sink a few at the bar. But, the novelty wore off very quickly.

The tutorials and lectures were a drag. I continued to slog through, trying to convince myself that I'd get into the swing of things like my mates. But unfortunately, I never found that swing. Naturally, I dropped out. Here's what I learnt.

1. Listen and trust your gut

As soon as I dropped out, I felt like I'd been chucked into the deep end. How I assumed what my year would look like would soon be thrown out the window. It was scary because I felt like I was about to lose purpose.

I wasn't sure if I'd made the right decision and I felt self-conscious about what others thought about me, my decision and where I would end up. But there was something that kept me from re-enrolling. The same thing that had convinced me to drop out in the first place.

My gut.

I trusted my dang gut! Damn! If only there was a class in high school called 'Intuition 101'. I mean seriously, if I listened to my peers, my high school teachers and careers councillor and my 'rents, I would have stayed at uni because that's what you're supposed to do right?

I'm blessed that my intuition was screaming "hey, this doesn't feel right."

But I also noticed my body physically felt weighed down by the miserable slog of studying because there was not a drop of motivation. I learnt to trust my gut because my gut knows what I want, even if I don't know why yet.

2. You don't need a degree to get a job

"I want to be a doctor, so I do need a degree".

Well obviously for some jobs, you need to go to university. And tbh, please don't operate on me if you've not successfuly graduated as a doctor (not eets).

I always knew that there were other paths other than uni, but it was still drilled into my subconscious of the linear path:

Uni degree = job = money = happiness.

But after uni, I realised just how unnecessary a degree was for me.

I've scored jobs as a bartender, writer, editor, cinematographer and administrative assistant. All I needed was motivation, inspiration, a killer work ethic and a good personality! I  mean, I was once literally told by a company that they had interviewed a tonne of way more experienced people with degrees before me, but (sorry to brag a lil' here - just trying to make a point) because I had such a positive, confident and carefree personality, they picked me for the job. 

3. Real-world experience is as valid as a degree

My previous point stands. Please don't practice stitching up people without a uni degree.

But for me, who thrives when jumping from job to job, role to role, a degree was never gonna be wide enough to fit all my passions and dreams. 

Real-world experience counts for a lot more than I ever thought. I mean, getting out there in the world, stumbling and fumbling through jobs and opportunities, in my eyes, is as valid as a degree. I, like a student, am learning. The world is just my lecture hall.

I'm stoked with where I am right now. In fact, I don't think I would have ever gotten there if I didn't drop out of uni. Of course, uni is a bangin' option for some, but it just wasn't for me.