1 Year On

This time last year I was heading into the world of adulthood, and I was petrified!

In June of 2012 I finished a hard 3 years at university. Who would have thought back then that they would turn out to be the easy years. The first question people tend to ask when they hear you have just finished university is ‘So, what do you want to do?’ I can say most definitely that this is the hardest question that have ever been asked! (in the whole entire history of questions.) You hear that question and your tongue starts to dry out and you get the hot sweats, your palms get clammy and you seem to forget how to talk except from saying 'ummmmmm' for what seems like forever. If you have the answer to that question then congrats, I applaud you, because I most certainly did not.

I ended university thinking that I wanted to teach at a secondary school because I knew that I loved Graphics and that was the subject I wanted to teach.  I got straight into getting some experience; my mother-in-law works in a primary school and she said that I could come and help for the last week of term before the summer. At the time I thought this was a great idea - I quickly realised it wasn't. After a week of loud, sticky primary school children I knew that I am not built to be a teacher. I worked this out quite quickly, which was good as I didn't waste a year doing a PGCE that in fact was just not right for me.

By the start of September I was back at square one with no clue of what I wanted to do and I now was getting the question ‘So, you don’t want to be a teacher... what now?’ I felt a lot of pressure from the people around me to decide what I wanted to do and get moving.

It's funny how all students who finish university feel exactly the same; lost, confused. But we all take different routes in life to try and solve this problem. A few of my friends also finished university last year and we have all taken different routes to try to find ourselves and solve that question that hangs over all of us. One friend knew she wanted to travel the world so her whole year was planned around this. She worked her socks off to get the money so she could travel and she did and had a glorious time with memories that will last forever. Another friend has known what she has wanted to do since I have met her and this year has been all about reaching that goal. She has had some set backs but that has not stopped her passion for reaching that end goal. I am so proud of all my friends who have battled this year head on.

In October I was lucky enough to be offered an internship for a PA job within a design school. This was great as I could still be involved within the world that I love. I quickly got given design jobs to do (leaflets, plaques, website design), which I really enjoyed. By the time Christmas came I knew I wanted to design and share my passion with the world.

In March ElephantBum was created and I knew I had found my creative outlet. Since March I have started to make ElephantBum a brand. It's a slow process but I know that one day it will be massive - watch this space!!

It is now the end of August and so much has changed in a year. I am no longer interning. I am so grateful for that opportunity, I learnt a lot and it made me realise what I love doing. I am starting a full time job in September which I am really excited about as it is in the industry I wish to be a part of. ElephantBum is in its early stages and most of all I am happy!

My advice to all of those finishing University this year is to find something that you love to do and that makes you happy and make sure you never forget it. It may not come as quickly as you want but you will get there. I can probably say that if you asked any of us now a year later ‘So, what do you want to do now?’ we could all give you an answer regarding the next year, maybe the year after that, but with regards to the long-term, who knows? We are young, everything changes so quickly.