How my life changed due to a simple instagram scroll
Wake up. Turn off alarm. Open Instagram. Start scrolling. A typical morning for me. But what if I said that one morning, a simple Instagram scroll changed my life.
From a young age, I never knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. One minute a primary school teacher, the next an environmental consultant. I generally find looking into the future scary and daunting, so when it came to mapping out my entire future, I just avoided the topic. I studied Geography, Media, and English during my A Levels, three very different subjects, but three subjects I loved equally. I could never have just chosen one or the other to study, something which 16-year-old me worried about significantly.
Me during Sixth Form, pretending to be slightly interested in Shakespeare
Every 16-year-old understands the pressure to have your future mapped out before you start college or sixth form. You picked your subjects with an idea of how they would help you in your careers, not just because you enjoyed them. Against advice however, I decided I wanted to study subjects I enjoyed, in hope I could pick one to pursue. According to Statista, 2.75 million students were off to university the same year as me, and I wanted to be one of them. I wanted in, but to study what would be the tricky choice.
When UCAS deadlines loomed, I began looking at geography degrees. I enjoyed the subject, but I never had the self-belief that I could study it further. I could never remember the right information and struggled to get all my ideas down. I was never good at it, but just found rivers and mountains interesting! I just knew it wasn’t the right fit for me.
On a random sunny Sunday morning, I rolled over and started my morning routine with a simple scroll on Instagram. I was still half asleep; my vison was still blurry, and I had to rub my eyes a couple of times before I could fully focus on the screen. Little did I know that this scroll was the most productive thing I did that day. It planned my future.
As the nosy person I am, I had previously added my cousin’s best friend on Instagram. A very random connection but one which proved very valuable. A class of champagne, a graduation hat, and a scroll turned up on my feed. I was instantly intrigued, and with a simple click on her story, I had realised I wanted to be her. Graduating from a magazine degree.
I had never considered a degree in magazines, and to be honest, never knew they existed. I had always assumed they were dying out and I would be wasting my money perusing a career in that industry. Therefore, why would anyone offer a degree in that?
Magazines had always had a big place in my childhood. My real love for producing magazines was made clear by year 11 coursework, where I made my first fashion portfolio of pages. I enjoyed designing the pages and just loved how I could express my creativity. This followed me throughout my Media A Level and once the penny dropped that I could pursue a career in this, I knew it was my calling.
My most recent magazine cover design.
Now, 3 years on since that Instagram scroll, I have my sights set strongly on a career in magazines and cannot wait to see what the future has in store for me.
If you are after some advice in choosing the right path for your future, check out the following website: