The Game Changer

So, I’ve been struggling for a while to think of anything half decent to write about and today, as I took in the vibes on campus, I realised what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about change. Life changes, the game changers in life, the things that flip everything upside down or right side up. It is ironic that as I write this, the Beko TV advert just mentioned how life can be full of changes.

My inspirations comes from the period of time it is for most universities at the moment; campaign season. It’s the time where the future faces of the Students’ Union at every university is elected. Honestly it is just like a political campaign season, there is rallying and shouting and chasing. People fight so hard to get your vote and as students, we only vote for the people whose proposed changes we like.

Most people have had a life changing moment once or twice, or maybe more, in life. Whether it was finding religion, finding your inner self, finding the love of your life or finding you dream job, or even losing someone you love the most, almost everyone knows what it feels like to have a huge change in life. For me, some of my most life changings moments were getting accepted to study law at university and moving away from home, breaking up with my ex and going to India.

These moments were pivotal for me because they came with a huge houseful of emotions, introduced new people into my life and opened my eyes up to the world. If these things, along with others of course, had not occurred when they did, I know my life would be immensely different.

But why do we fear change? Why is it that so many of us prefer to be comfortable in what we know? Is it the fear of losing what we had to something or someone we don’t know or is it the uncertainty of what lies ahead?

My life experience has taught me to embrace change and I have learnt that no matter what happens, no matter how bad things get, it will get better. The slog to get there may of course be immensely difficult but once we find that silver lining in the grey cloud that has been held over our head for so long, it will be worth it.

Change to me, now means a breath of fresh air. At this moment in time, the biggest change I am fearing is graduation because that signifies the end of university and the beginning of reality. Everyone says that going to university prepares you for your career and for the real world but honestly, you still remain in a sheltered environment, fearing the reality of the working world. It’s not that we become complacent but just that we become comfortable. Being a student is by no means easy, you have to juggle the financial struggles it throws at you (and yes, we do have financial struggles because money is not thrown at us) and you have to get the balance between a social life and education just right because, tip the scales either way and you’ll be in trouble. Some people juggle a job at the same time as completing their degree and I admire those people because I can just about hold down my social life whilst studying. The problem is that we become comfortable with these struggles and we don’t feel prepared for the struggles of finding a job and having something other than revision and readings to complete. It’s similar to the jump from college to university, but bigger, with a heap load more of responsibility and pressure (because everyone assumes that getting a job with a degree under your belt is easy BUT IT IS NOT).

Anyway, I think the point I’m trying to make is that, maybe if we stopped fearing change so much, we’d be willing to take a few more risks and stop stopping ourselves.

I know that even though I fear the change that comes with graduation, I look forward to the doors it will open. That I can have a little more flexibility in life is definitely something to look forward to and I will embrace the fact that the past 3 years struggling and pulling my hair out to study law will have (hopefully) got me a good degree.

Without change in life, we run the risk of becoming robots functioning to a routine we passively accept with no emotion. All those feelings you face when you feel a change approaching, fear, anger, sadness, happiness, gratitude, that is what makes us appreciate change. However, sometimes we need to open up our minds to the idea of change, embrace whatever good we know will come out of it and stop denying that change is good sometimes.

I often think of changes in life as a new pair of clothes; you try them on to make sure they fit before you’re 100% satisfied with how they look and sometimes, you go back to the store to trade them for something else or a different size. Evidently, it is not that easy to adjust the changes we face in life but we must remember, it is out life, whatever we want we can shape and guide. We can’t dictate the change but we can be there to guide it towards the path we want to follow.

Never forget that the power lies in your hands (and in the hands of God/ another supreme power if that is what you believe in) so don’t be afraid to do what you want, when you want, even if it is not the status quo, because CHANGE IS GOOD!

All love xoxo
P.S. Major change - I turned 21 today!