Last week I graduated from a University I never thought I’d ever attend from a course I never in my life imagined I’d be doing and honestly I couldn’t be happier.
I had a plan, ever since I was 4 years old I had a plan. I always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, I was sure of it. I was going to be a Primary School Teacher, I was always going to be a Primary School Teacher, sure there were moments when I prayed the dream of becoming a signer (my tone-deafness quickly crushed that dream) or a Disney Channel actress would come true but my reality was that I would follow in the footsteps of some of my aunts and uncle and become a teacher.. 4 to 18 year old me would never imagine me even thinking this not to mind saying it, but thank god I didn’t.
As I said, I had a plan but 14 years of school and 2 leaving certs later it was time to accept the fact that my plan just wasn’t going to work out. So I decided to try my hand at a business degree instead. As skeptical as I was going into it, with it not ever being on the cards for me I ended up loving it. Granted I hated some modules, me and accounting just don’t work, I can’t deal with numbers but give me an organisational behaviour class and I’m all ears! When decision time came to pick my major in second year I was torn between two options: Marketing or Human Resource Management. I always thought of Marketing as a cool and fun option but my fear of public speaking (yes, I know I said I wanted to be a teacher..) hindered me in a way, so after much consideration and speaking with a colleague of my mam’s I decided HR was the way for me to go and man am I glad I did!
In 3rd year we are given the opportunity to work with a company for 8 months. Luckily I got placed in a really great company and got real HR experience, I mean how much more experience can you get than when you’re left as the only HR person in the office for 2 months! I worked hard and it paid off, I fell in love with the job and I ended up getting kept on part time as I finished my final year of college and got offered a permanent job when I finished, which of course I accepted without hesitation.
Sitting in the graduation ceremony last Thursday it suddenly hit me that this wasn’t my plan, it was never even a consideration that I would be graduating with a business degree. It was a weird feeling of being a little sad for 4 year old me who’s dream it was to be a teacher and as cheesy as it sounds, a real sense of pride in myself for sticking out the course and making the most of the opportunity.
So yeah, that’s it in a nutshell. My plan may have failed but it failed for the better. Right now I couldn’t imagine myself as a teacher and frankly I don’t want to. I love what I am doing at the minute. Life may not always work out the way you want it to, it certainly took a weird but wonderful turn for me and right now I couldn’t be happier!
The student days are over, but I’m excited to see what the next chapter holds.
Niamh's World 