VCB 02 - When I grow up I want to be...

VidConBlog: In 28 days I will be attending VidCon (a Youtube conference) in Los Angeles where I will meet my amazing friends and maybe make some more. I will be writing a blog every day until July 9th 2010. Please leave feedback and suggestions for blogs in the comments. I have a question of the day at the bottom.

I thought that for my blog today I would tell you a bit about my aspirations and future career. I decided to do this because my friend Heather, who is also blogging every day until VidCon, wrote about her career options in her last blog. My friend Mary Kate also talked about her career in astronautical engineering on the second of her vlogs every day until VidCon. You can watch it here.

So let me start from the beginning. When I was a baby my parents wrote in my baby book that I would grow up to be a mountaineer or rock climber. I find this quite ironic since just two years later a doctor said I would have problems with my joints for my whole life. They actually forgot to mention this until I was about 16 but it wasn't really a problem - I personally never felt the impulse to climb mountains except in the metaphorical sense.

When I was a young child I went through the usual 'little girl' phases. I remember wanting to be a nurse (never a doctor!), a hairdresser and a vet (never a veterinary nurse!). I went through a phase of being in love with owls and had visions of being a bird of prey trainer, but it didn't last very long. The career aspiration that is. Birds of prey are still amazing creatures in my opinion.

As I started getting a bit old I began really enjoying art and I considered taking it up professionally. Unfortunately I wasn't the best artist in the world at the time. I enjoyed crafts and watercolour but my talent was lacking. I did improve when I did an art A-level (you can see some of my art by clicking here) but alas I had given up on the dream by this point. Thinking how long it takes me to do a single piece of art (I haven't finished a Wicked painting I started about 9 months ago yet) I probably wouldn't have had the most comfortable living.

While I was in high school I was bullied and labelled 'uncool'. Despite having a great time with my friends I did have a crisis of confidence. By the time I got to Sixth Form I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. My tutors of course were very supportive with comments such as "You have direction in your life?" and "Maybe one day you'll decide what you want to do". As such I left further education feeling a bit, to use a technical term, crap.

It took me six months of watching my friends go off to university to realise that I wanted to continue studying. My aunt found out that I could apply to start university in February and so I started my Film and Media degree. During the six months I had had a revelation. At one point I started a job at my local hospital in the pathology department. It was very mundane and repetitive work and I lasted only a week. However it made me realise that whatever I did it HAD to be creative. I might not be the best artist in the world, but that has nothing to do with a person's level of creativity.

Ever since a young age I knew I wanted to do a job that would benefit people in some way - something charity or public service based rather than a commercial company. As I did my degree I discovered what my ultimate dream would be, and here it is: to work for Richard Curtis at Comic Relief on the creative or publicity teams. Comic Relief is my favourite charity because it is about fundraising that any person can take part in. It makes chairty accessible to people who shy away from other forms of fundraising such as direct marketing or magazine adverts.

With this as my ultimate goal when I finished my degree I swore to find a job that both helped people and allowed me to be creative. It took almost 9 months but I found the perfect job as a communications officer at a mental health trust where I still work now. After almost 2 years of this job I am still learning new things, I still know that I am making a difference in some way, and I can be creative. It can be stressful as hell, but it is always fun or interesting.

I enjoy having a job related to my degree. Film and Media Studies is of course the the study of certain forms of communication. My paid job, along with my new endeavours into film reviewing with my boyfriend (through our blog and radio show He said she said), I feel like it took me a while to work it out, buI am on the right path. In conclusion: when I grow up I want to be a communications expert.

My blogs won't always be this long, don't worry! But this was just too fun to write! Hope you enjoyed reading. Don't forget to answer the question of the day in the comments.

Helen

QUESTION OF THE DAY: IS THERE A JOB OR CAREER PATH YOU CAN JUST NEVER SEE YOURSELF CONSIDERING?
My answer: Seeing as I have trouble adding single numbers in my head I will say mathematician. I will leave that career path to my dad.