Do what you love

These days we are bombarded by countless blogs, viral videos and other social media to ‘do what you love’, ‘follow your passion’, or however else they have chosen to word the sentiment that career satisfaction should take precedent above all else.  I have always been slightly sceptical about how practical or reasonable this advice is, but recently I have made an experiment of finding out how I can apply it to my own life. 

After a year studying Medicine at Sheffield, not forgetting the time and effort put in to the application process over the previous two years, I finally came to the conclusion that I had taken a wrong turn very early on in my career path.  I reluctantly realised that gaining enjoyment and satisfaction from my chosen academic subject, regardless of future career prospects, was less of a luxury and more of a necessity.  Having consulted numerous websites, and accosted every single friend and family member for advice on what I should do, I completed my first year exams and then immediately changed my degree programme to a BA in French and German.   

Now I am three weeks into my new course and my experience of being a first-year (kind of!) university student could not be more different than the last time around.  Being excited by the work that I am doing has cut my procrastination time in half, leaving more space for activities outside of studying, putting off studying, worrying about putting off studying, talking about how much studying I have or haven’t done, and so on and so forth... 

My favourite of these activities so far was the day long ‘Give It A Go’ Film Making Workshop which I booked a ticket for on a whim.  The whole day was fantastic – I met some lovely people and learnt a lot (including that, despite enjoying acting more than I thought, I would still much rather be behind the camera than in front of it!).  I loved the workshop so much that I am now planning on joining the Film Making Society, as well as going to a couple more of their Give It A Go events.

As I am now in my first year of a four-year course, I am not looking too far ahead at the moment, but have booked myself in for a talk on Careers in the Media to find out if anything in that area interests me.  Other than that I am finding that ‘do what you love’ may be the best advice for a first year university student! 

Kathryn (Student Ambassador for Faculty of Arts and Humanities)
Careers Service

Careers Service

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