The Last Year

Ok, in June of 2010 I finished university. I studied E-music at Coventry University. I think that it is safe to say that when asked I paint a fairly bleak picture of Coventry and my time there. The truth is though, like everyone I had a lot of fun at university, I made loads of friends, played a lot of pool and most importantly drank a lot of beer. However, as with many of things you get out what you put in, at this moment I am unemployed and living back at home with my parents and younger brother. When I was at university I was happy to coast along doing the bare minimum and consequently feel unprepared to enter the world of professional work.

So what do I have to offer any potential employer, well at first glance not a lot. I have a 2:1 degree from an OK university in a subject nobody has ever heard of. I have limited work experience in my chosen subject and I have spent the last year seemingly bumming around from shit job to shit job interspersed with healthy doses of travelling. A waste of time? No I don't think so. I have really enjoyed this last year, a familiar theme I know but I think that from this last year I have grown and have experiences that are a little thiner on the ground than a degree in a subject nobody understands, least of all me.

Immediately after my degree I went to a French university south east of paris called Université de Technologie de Troyes. I think that this could have been one of the most defining months of my life. I went there to study French but really I figured it would be a nice way to spend the summer. I have never been much for languages I was rubbish at school, no aptitude. As much as I would like to say that I went to Troyes my eyes were opened and by the time I came home I could speak fluent French, I cannot. I cannot even say that I improved very much but what I can say is that it was not for lack of trying. By the time I came home I am able to conjugate verbs and make basic conversation I guess I had made up for my failings in high school. What I did have though is a different work ethic, I had found something that I enjoyed and was willing to put time into. It was a nice feeling knowing that I had not only had fun but also worked hard having received a mark that I felt I deserved rather than blagged my way into. UTT was also a massively interesting place to study. I met people from all over the world, who all had different experiences, backgrounds and cultures. I reveled in this kind of environment, I loved bashing Americans and the friendly banter that developed between the national stereotypes. In this month I learned so much about world cultures it was unreal. I will never claim to be an expert but it was very interesting to hear that in America Fox News is Legally allowed to lie on air or that Turkish is the second language in Germany, all unauthenticated of course.

When I came home as I said I bounced from temporary job to temporary job but at each one I worked hard, I proved myself a valued part of their teams and on occasion was offered permanent positions. Perhaps stupidly I turned them all down, not because I felt I was to good for the roles or that I could earn more money else where but because I enjoyed the varied experiences. Temporary workers the world over I am sure are treated as the lowest of the low and it is no different in England but it meant that I could meet loads of new and different people. These people were not always nice people but regularly they were people that I would prejudge and end up really liking. Your always told that first impressions are the most important and I agree, I think that you should make a bad impression so that you have the opportunity to surprise someone. It is an interesting feeling when somebody you tolerate turns into a person you genuinely enjoy being around.

Anyway, that is enough rambly rubbish. This was my first blog I hope that it in some way imparts some information and if this page has popped up after a search for advice on university read it, take heed then ignore it and make up your own mind.