Follow your passion when choosing a degree

Deciding to come to university feels like a big enough decision as it is, but deciding on a course can also be a difficult thing to do. Some people know for years, and for others, it might not come so easily.

I always knew I wanted to make comedy, I’ve been passionate about it for as long as I can remember, and whatever career plans I had, I always thought in the background I’d be working on comedy.

When I wanted to be an engineer during GCSEs, I thought I might be able to use the money to support a comedy career.

When I moved towards studying psychology during A-levels, I was thinking I could use it to better understand people and humour as a psychologist.

When I was 5, I wanted to be a fire engine, for obvious reasons.

I never thought about directly trying to pursue the career I’d always wanted, I was worried a creative career wasn’t stable enough, or I wouldn’t be able to find a way into it. Because of this, during my A-levels I was looking at Aberystwyth for Psychology, I knew it was something I could get by in, and my Dad had been to University there so I knew a bit of what it was like. I had, out of interest, been to a Falmouth Open Day and checked out the Television course, after talking to a University stand at a careers fair. During A-levels, I did a BFI filmmaking course and loved it, so my psychology teacher pushed me to speak to them knowing filmmaking was something I was quietly considering. The course had everything I wanted, I just wasn’t sure if I should go for it, I was anxious about making the right decision. 

I applied for Psychology at Aberystwyth.

Even after applying, and after I got my place at the University, I was thinking I’d be making videos in my free time, building up my creative career while I wasn’t studying. I wasn’t really thinking about the course, just that it would be a safe choice, and I could try to pursue my own goals around it. Just as I was heading towards my exams and handing in coursework, Covid hit. The grades I got were speculative based on my other work, and I got into Aberystwyth. I was, of course, happy, the coursework I was procrastinating was cancelled and I didn’t have to sit an exam, perfect scenario.

After a few months, I realised Covid was gonna stick around longer than anticipated, I got a job in a supermarket collecting for home deliveries 4-9am and decided to defer my entry. I could try to wait out Covid, so I wouldn’t do my first year online, as well as save up some money. Being stuck in lockdown gave me a lot of time to think about life, being forced into something I didn’t want, made me realise I should take every opportunity to do what I do want. After a conversation with my parents, I made the tough decision to withdraw my place at Aberystwyth and apply for the Television course at Falmouth. After all those years of putting my real ambitions in the backseat for fear of them not working out, putting them first allowed me to be more certain I could make them work.

I’m not saying to never go for the safe option, for some people that’s an easier decision to make than others and it can be scary, it took me 19 years. I realised the actual safe option is the one that makes the most sense. Taking that leap was the best decision I’ve made; I can’t imagine how things might have worked out had I not gone to Falmouth. When applying for University, you might not always end up where you originally anticipate, my first year was in accommodation I didn’t want, but I ended up loving it and making a group of lifelong friends. It’s really important to do what you want to do, not what you feel like you should do, and to be open to change.