So, been thinking a lot lately about what to do when I’m all growed up. I’ve been getting careers information shoved at me from every angle. I’m laden down with it. I have a bag of prospectuses (prospectii?) in the corner of my room, the weight of a small child, from this careers events yoke in Rochestown. Funny story about that actually. Well not so much funny as yet another display of how socially inept I am. I was carrying enough college literature to start my own mobile library, and so I needed a bag.There was a stand from some university in Liverpool giving them out, so I went over and asked the nice lady had she any more. Obviously wise to me, she asked suspiciously ‘What is it you’re interested in studying?’ Now a normal person would’ve just lied. Picked a course at random and pretended it was their life’s ambition. But, of course, I’m not a normal person,and decided I’d tell the truth, which was ‘Eh, I’m not interested, I just want a bag, thanks’. She gave me the bag alright, but one was not amused. In fairness I can’t say I blame her. Why must I decide to be truthful at such inopportune times? Kate, you absolute fool .
Anyway, I’ve been looking at all these prospectuses, and they’re really just overloading me with information. All hawking different, weird and wonderful courses. There’s some whack of bullshit off them all too in fairness. Lets take UL for example…it’s the ‘cultural capital of the Shannon Region’. Oh wow. The Shannon Region.A real feather in your cap right there. All these colleges are providing a service at the end of the day, and will talk themselves, and their many courses, up as much as they possibly can. Makes it harder to know if they’re reliable about how good the courses and stuff really are. Ugh, its all so complicated I miss the good ol’ days,when I told everyone I wanted to be a singer. Don’t have a note in my head, but that wasn’t going to stop me. Simpler times, simpler times.
I do have it narrowed a good bit. I know that I want to do Law now, it was the only course so far that really sparked my interest. One problem-when I went to my Guidance counsellor after my little epiphany she gave me a scarily long list of law courses to research. The thought of it has me breaking out in a sweat. I somehow managed to whittle it down to three though; International and Clinical Law, both in UCC and Law with History in UCD. Out of those, I’m most leaning towards International. You get to spend a year studying abroad…New York or China…yes please :D.I went to the UCC Open Day on Saturday and loved it. It’s an awesome college.I’ve gone from willing to tunnel my way out of Cork with a teaspoon to deciding what societies to join. Archaeology,Comedy Club and Hot Beverage Appreciation, if anyone’s interested. The points for International though, Jesus wept. 540. You’re having a laugh, UCC, seriously. You are having an actual frickin’ laugh. So that’s still going as number one on my CAO, but divine influence during the Leaving Cert is the only way I’ll actually get it.
In a way, I’m finding choosing a course more stressful than the actual Leaving. It’s just such a gamble. Right now, I’m thinking Law is made for me. But if I start the course and I realise I hate it, or it’s too hard, then I’m up the proverbial creek, sans paddle. At least the Leaving Cert’s familiar to you, and college is plunging into the unknown. Better the devil you know, I guess.