One Thing Not to Worry About - September Posts

Sorry to frighten you with that photo, I understand that it is not quite Halloween yet. However this is 13 year old Nat. This does have relevance to the title I promise. I just wanted to make things a little bit interesting!

So at the age of 13 I was always being told what I needed to do. I took my GSCE Maths Exam in Year 8 because the teachers thought that I was read for it and it would be beneficial for my future if I took that exam now then it would be one thing less to focus on when I took my other GCSE's. 

I was then pressured into picking a technology subject at year 9 so I would be able to complete another GCSE a year earlier. I took textiles, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, I think there was way too much pressure being put on people in my year group to do well in this exam they would be taking (although some people may have been ready to start their GCSE's early, it didn't mean that everyone in that year groupl would be!). 

After that, there was the pressure to pick three options which would FOREVER AFFECT WHAT JOB WE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO! Seriously, so much pressure is put on teenagers to pick subjects that relate to the career oath they want to take, when it really is not that much of a big deal! As long as you do well in your English and Maths then you should be fine (even then, somebody I know has had plenty of luck in getting a decent job and he left school with 3 GCSE's so there really shouldn't be so much panic over it!)

And that brings me to the title of the post, one thing not to worry about! What you want to do in the future. So many people are told that if they do not make the "right" decisions at the age of 13/14 then you will have to work in a rubbish job and you will never be happy or get to do what you want to do. I'm not saying that picking your options isn't important, but it is not the life or death situation that your teachers will make it out to be. There were even complaints at my school because teachers manipulated people into taking a humanity subject and a language since it would get you an extra qualification, but when it actually came round to doing the exams and getting our results, nobody qualified to get this extra award. Although my school was just infamous for manipulating and lying to people, but that is another story for another time. 

Of course, at this point in my life, I was like "do I follow my dreams of becoming an actress and take GCSE Drama or do I do ICT because that is the more "Desirable" qualification". And I went with GCSE Drama. Because I was young. And if things did not work out as I wanted them too then I could always change my mind. 

People are all on their own paths, so there is no rush to decide what you want to do. Some people my age are finishing their degrees, some are buying a house, some are married and have kids. Not everyone my age goes to university, some may go to university later in life when they are 30, when they have decided that they really wanted that degree in computing. Heck, there is nothing stopping me from going back to university when I am 40 years old, if I decide that the BA in History I was thinking of getting was actually the degree I wanted and not the degree in Musical Theatre that I am doing now. 

There is always room for mistakes, so do not worry if you picked a useless GCSE because you liked that subject, or if you want to try and become an artist even if the pay is not well. Don't fret even if you decided to do A-Level Spanish and you never use that in your life ever again. There is so much pressure put on young people to decide what they want to do with their life when they are not even in their 20's. 

So one thing not to worry about - your future. Live in the moment and do not worry about what you are going to do with the rest of your life! That is all from me for today!