June Challenge: Day 2: Educate others on something

Day 2, Sunday: Educate others on something I know a lot about or am good at. I would take any approach I  like (serious and educational or funny and sarcastic).

 So this in itself doesn't quite follow what I'm expected to do here nor is it on time but I can live with both those things. I spent much time reflecting on this last night because it seemed surprisingly difficult to put down in words something I could educate other people on. The things I know a lot about tend to be either completely fact based (e.g. I can name every capital city in the world without hesitation) or are things which require debate, as I have an opinion on pretty much anything. And in terms of the things that I am good at, well anything I could think of was either so boring I would be sending the to sleep or not anything I could actually put down on paper.

So that sort of left me a little stumped because no one is going to want me educating them about the political aspirations of countries they don't even know about or teaching them maths!

That in itself made me consider things, because in the past I was going to become a maths teacher. Either that or a geography one. These days it's something I cannot imagine myself doing, not because I don't think it's a positive thing to do more that it's not what I would have been happy doing.

The reason I didn't become a teacher and took up my current career was more fated than by design. I was an a grade student who got bored of school and felt pigeon holed by people who were convinced my only option was university to get myself a job. I was pushed down a route of applications to ucas and leaving home and had no energy left to protest that I just wanted to find my own way. I dropped out of university after four weeks, in which time I established that I had been right all along.

Most people thought I was mad and a lot of them told me so but as much as I suddenly felt very small in a big grown up world I knew I had done the right thing. Fast forward three months and I took a temporary administration job in an office where my desire to help people, combined with an interest in psychology and a willingness to work damn hard to forge a career gave me the stepping stones I needed to be successful.

My decision to leave university was made in October 2004, by May 2005 I was the youngest person in London doing my job and in August 2009 I got promoted for the first time. Since then I've never looked back.

I earn more now than I ever could have expected out of a post university job. I've been paid to undertake courses, and had many development opportunities - no student fees and loans for me.

And yet this isn't about that.

This is not the story of a girl who hated university. No, this is the story of someone who realised that trusting your own judgement and not letting people talk you into things is vital. If I could teach anyone out there something it would be this - the only person who can ever know what is right for you is you, so walk in your own shoes, don't be afraid to take risks and be true to yourself.

I don't always play by the rules and expectations others place on me. Nor do I set out to follow the most challenging route possible. I just do things my way and make it clear to people that if they want me to undertake something then they respect that I will have my own viewpoint on it and will be making that clear. 

Have all my decisions worked out? No. Do I regret any of them? No. Because at the time they were the right decision to make and I was following my own path. As long as you never deviate from being true to yourself you can never lose what makes you who you are.