Warning: Live! (while you can…)

9 to 5. As a child, it’s what I couldn’t wait for. Getting to do something I loved, and being paid for it. It’s what everyone does. Success is having the job of your dreams, and having the time of your life.

Why do we go to university? To get a job. Life is defined by your job. As a child you are asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” when “older” isn’t the answer they’re looking for… am I making sense?

Let me put it this way. Everything I’ve done in my life so far has been to get me a job. University, A-Levels, GCSE’s, SAT’s and everything else: attendance, homework, being a geek, you get the idea.

But what is a job? Is it to get money? Is it for job satisfaction? For a career? For success? I always saw a job as the moment you become an adult. When you can provide for yourself by doing something you love. And you have to love it.

Something you do 40 hours a week, that you think about in your spare time, that sometimes has to go before other commitments such as family and friends… and means you can’t always do what you want. To do that, you have to love it.

At university you can take your course, and have a fantastic social life. At work, you can sometimes find you have to compromise.

University… stay out late. Party. Love. Listen. Live. It will be the time of your life. It’s the only chance you get without worrying about work in the morning, the deadline looming or what your boss might think of those pictures on Facebook.

Don’t make a mistake. There is no rush to grow up. Make the most of here. Now. Forget the past and live. When you find your desk for life, make sure you know who you are, so you can be that person. Once you have a job, there may be little opportunity to find yourself.

Love growing up, so you can love being grown up.