I started University in September 2014 at Nottingham Trent, after deciding to defer my place a year and do an Art Foundation. I had decided to do a History degree as I had always enjoyed History from a young age. I didn't do it at GCSE as my arty subjects were more my thing then (and still are). I picked Art, Drama, Media and Product Design over picking anything to do with Humanities. But, at A-Level I thought it was time to take my passion for History a little further and do it at A-Level. Truth is, I'm not naturally good at History. Everyone has that one area or subject they are just effortlessly good at, mine seems to be Art/Media/Fashion or performing.
My chosen career path is one involving the media industry whether it be TV presenting, research or working for some kind of fashion/lifestyle magazine. So in reality I probably don't need a specific degree to be doing TV Presenting but I felt that a History degree would grow my passion for History more and make me look like a person who is a good researcher and committed (History takes up a lot of your spare time, trust me)
My first day of uni consisted of people asking me if I was in the wrong room because they thought I was a fashion student. And this just stuck with me. Whenever I get asked what my degree is and I respond with "HISTORY", I just get blank looks and people telling me "Oh really? I'd never thought you'd do that! You look like a more creative person!" And this just bothers me because deep down I know Art/Media and Fashion is what I'm good at but I chose to ignore it as I thought this would be the better degree for my career. I'd been told by somebody in the media industry that doing a degree in either Broadcasting Journalism or TV/Film (Which I had planned on doing) was not taken seriously, and that a subject like History would stand out and is a "proper degree".So I thought, great! I love History. But in reality it's not what I expected. I should have just done a degree in something I really do have a passion for and that isn't a chore. History is a chore to me now, and that should not be the case when I am doing a degree in it(and spending a shit load of money on it). I should be excited to go to lectures and discover more about the world but I hate it. The only essay I have enjoyed writing so far has been a Media based one, about History in the film industry. I find myself sat in lectures trawling through fashion blogs, finding internships for MTV or drawing on my notebook instead of taking notes. I should be excited. I decided to write this blog post to tell people to ignore doing a degree they think "looks better" or is a "proper degree" or that someone wants them to do (i.e parents).
In my opinion, a degree is a degree. It shows you have spent 3/4 years of your life studying and working hard on a subject you love. People should just be able to pick whatever they want to do, whatever makes them happy. And this is something I wish I had done. It's constantly on my mind as to whether I should switch courses, and to be honest if I could right now I would, but then there's the voice in the back of my mind telling me to stick at it.This is also why I created this blog. I needed somewhere I could write about what interests me and write for enjoyment, not because I have to.