Need some encouragement?

When it came to deciding what to study at UNI I was fairly lucky in that I had a good idea of what I wanted to do. At the time I had been involved with the local music organisation for about 10 months and when it came to choosing a career I decided that events management was the right one for me. I liked being busy and organising an event can be pretty full on. And while stress levels got pretty high, the end result was totally worth it. At the time, however, there were some fairly negative views towards my choice.

Probably the most negative was my dad and while now he supports my decision; at the time he wanted me to do more. I picked up a double major in Public Relations, reassuring him that if my plans for a media career fell through than PR would be a back up. Little did he know, however, that the PR degree was getting me even more experience and knowledge about the events industry. He was happy with the fact that maybe one day I might be the PR consultant for a politician.

Before choosing Public Relations as a double major, however, I had considered both journalism and radio. After writing a couple of freelance articles for a Perth website I decided journalism would be a fun hobby rather than a career. And after watching "state of play" last night, I’m glad I changed my mind. After doing an intro to radio unit in first year I fell in love with radio. I took up a radio production unit last semester and although I loved it I didn't change my mind and stuck with my media & public relations degree. This was mainly because my dad put down the idea of being a radio journalist until one day he changed his mind. Now every day I hear him telling me about all the radio presenters on the ABC and how I should get a job like that. Yeah dad, not gonna happen anymore!

Sometimes I wish I didn't listen to him. But in a way I'm kind of glad I did. I still have a clear direction of where I’m going in terms of uni and I do still love what I'm studying, although sometimes over analysing films can get the better of me. Looking back, however, at my first year of uni when I was at a cross roads in a study path to follow I wish someone said "go for it". Which brings me to the banner of encouragement which is pictured below.



It's probably the simplest piece of advice out there but it really gets the message across. To give it a bit of relevance I have applied it to my younger brother who is currently finishing year 12. The banner is across his most prized possession in the world (maybe second to his computer), his music equipment. He's in a band, he tears up the guitar on a daily basis (driving me, my family, and the neighbours insane), and his favourite movie is a Parkway Drive DVD. Basically when he leaves school he wants to get a record deal, tour Europe, and become the next big thing in Australia. Now that’s all good and I think why the hell not, but our parents don't agree.

They want him to have a backup in case his music dream takes a massive dive and he ends up belly flopping on home where he will live until his late 30s. Yes I agree with them, he must have a backup plan because the career he’s chosen is a little risky. But in a way I think he’s too stubborn to listen to anyone and maybe he needs to make his mistakes to realise he needs to rethink his plan. Yet then again everything may go well and his musical talents will get him somewhere. The point is he needs to try and see. It’s like the old saying "you never ever know if you never ever go!" At least that’s what I recall it being...

Either way, if you have a passion follow it. You don't need to map out your life, just follow what you love or what you're good at. In the end everything (we hope!) will fall into place.

Jess

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