22 Dec 2019

During the last weeks of high school, chit chat of university options and degrees are in the air, and uni brochures are shoved down your throat demanding you to pick uni, pick uni, pick uni. That's all well and good but for some, a realisation is had:

Yeah nah, uni ain't for me.

It's natural to feel drawn to uni, to lean towards uni. It might even feel cursed not to go to uni. It's what your friends are doing, it’s what your parents want you to do, and it’s what you have to do to get a good job right?!??! 

And yet, the idea of uni may not feel right. It's not your passion, not your ambition, and not your dream but guess what, that is so so fine. Maybe you always pictured yourself attending uni, taking notes in lecture halls and rushing from class to class. Maybe the career you pictured yourself in either isn't what you dream of doing anymore, or you've realised you don't even need uni to get there. Maybe, you never wanted to go to uni in the first place but felt a slight pressure to choose it anyway.

Maybe you just have no clue what you want to do with your life and jumping into a random uni course just seems pointless.

Something high school doesn't really teach is that uni is not the be all end all for success. Welcome to the modern world. Here, we have millionaires who either dropped out of uni - like Mark Zuckerberg - or never went in the first place - like Coco Chanel. The modern world has an abundance of jobs that don’t require a uni degree, jobs that you may struggle explaining to your Grandparents. “Uhhh…. I made videos and upload them to a website called YouTube".

Bob Dylan sang "The Times They Are A-Changin''. Hell yeah they are! Jobs are constantly expanding, growing and appearing and uni isn't necessary for a lot of them anymore.

Maybe you're still on the fence about uni. It's an idea that intrigues you but you're not sure yet. If so, then take a step back. Travel, work and get to know yourself first to find some clarity. You can go to uni whenever you want. More and more people decide to go in their mid 20's - heck, my dad went to uni when he was 45. On the flip side, you never have to set foot in a university if you so choose.

There is so much pressure to make a decision fresh out of high school, but dude, you're 18. It is so fair and natural to be frazzled when being asked: "So what do you want to do with your life?".

Jesus, I didn't even know what I wanted for breakfast at 18.

Find your own path, even if it's a path that fewer people have travelled, even if it's a path your friends aren't taking or a path your parents don't want you on. It's as simple as this: if you're not completely motivated and passionate at the idea of spending your time, energy and money on going to university, then you don't have to go. The world is your oyster and you deserve to live life how you want.

It's okay to change your mind about going to uni. I'll just say that one more time for the people out the back. It's okay to change your mind about going to uni!!!