I Have Graduated!
Last week, all of my scratching and clawing to make it to the end of my education tenure was made worthwhile by being handed a piece of paper that declared I graduated with a Bachelor of Honours degree in Theatre & Film.
Back in school, I was very academically driven. I pursued interests in history, geography and English. Meanwhile, I still enjoyed practical work with drama, but essay writing was where I excelled.
This resulted in me applying to get into multiple different Universities across the country to try and study something in theatre. I found the Theatre & Film course at Queen Margaret University and placed it as my 2nd choice on the UCAS form.
However, I didn’t pass the audition section to reach my 1st choice – Acting & English at Edinburgh Napier, so I then strived to get my conditional offer to go to QMU. Luckily, I got really good grades (if I do say so myself) in my final year of High School which kicked off my next chapter of studying Theatre & Film.
I aimed for Edinburgh Universities most importantly because, at this point in my life, I had already started thinking about my plans after (hopefully) graduating. Travel was beginning to become a huge hobby of mine, that summer of 2019, having travelled to Lisbon on a beautiful summer city break.
Therefore, I dreamed of going interrailing around Europe once finishing my studies. This was originally going to be for 9 months, then 3, then ideally it turned into 2 and I had the BEST time but I wouldn’t have been able to budget for this without commuting into the capital from my home in Dunfermline and saving all my money as a result. I made risks and created priorities to make this happen and it truly was the prize at the pinnacle of finishing University. Definitely, something to strive towards.
You can see all the photos of my interrailing trip by following my Instagram NOW
Sometimes, I feel like things happen in life for a reason. If I wasn’t unsuccessful at my audition for the Acting & English course and went on that path, I wouldn’t have ever touched a camera and therefore, wouldn’t have fallen in love with the production side of film.
I originally wanted to become an actor but after reading Shakespeare every week, I instantly found escape in the practical side of my course. I thoroughly enjoyed filmmaking and the way you create the story with clips and a bit of editing. It is like magic.
Going into Uni every Tuesday for my media production module was my favourite part of the week because it was just so fun and why wouldn’t I want my future career path to be fun?
Unfortunately, my Uni experience got halted by the covid pandemic which swept the world into isolation and solitude in March 2020; just as I was finishing my final few weeks of year one. This, therefore, led to quite a bizarre way of studying when I returned after the summer break.
My 2nd year was fully online and as much as some of the modules were interesting (I got one of my best essay marks on queer theatre), it was difficult to maintain concentration and motivation when I didn’t have any other escape from academia in my life at the time.
So, I would be playing Assassin’s Creed, notice my lecture begins in 3 minutes, pause my game and quickly turn my laptop on to join the online lecture, then finish the call and resume my game. That was my life for about 4 months.
At first, it was rather chill but by the end, I was drained and low in energy to ever write another essay again. I had to find a new hobby.
This is what led to me taking up photography. We covered it slightly in my course but not enough to grow a full passion in it. But after seeing so many amazing travel photos on Instagram, I wanted to try it for myself.
Lost In Travel grew into much more than just a vlogging YouTube channel that I did on the side. It became a business over multiple platforms that I truly believed I could do for a living once I graduate.
I spent many hours watching tutorials and going on my walk of the day (remember that?) to grow my skills as a photographer. It was a gruelling but satisfying progress watching me improve little by little.
This thus proved to me that Uni wasn’t the be-all and end-all. As much as Uni has helped me grow; I realised that there were many different avenues to get me where I wanted to be. Here is the difference in my photography from 2019 to 2021:
Year Three of University was some sort of hybrid in and out-of-class experience. Being on campus and seeing all my classmates again was certainly nice but by this point, my eagerness to go off and become a full-time travel content creator was growing truer each day.
I also had a new part-time job as a Front-Of-House staff for Capital Theatres which I ideally preferred to be at than Uni. Clearly, I saw my priorities go elsewhere and I struggled to maintain a grasp of my academic life.
Year 3 saw some of the toughest challenges yet, mentally. My workload was evergrowing and I wasn’t helping matters by taking more hours at my job because I genuinely enjoyed making money and being at the theatre physically rather than writing about it. Plus, I was putting lots of pressure on myself to keep up a consistent posting schedule on Instagram and YouTube which at the end of the day, left me with zero free time.
So, I failed my first module in my 3rd year and had to resit. Thankfully, I passed it on my 2nd attempt but this led to me questioning what the point was in continuing with Uni. I was so close to dropping out. I would have still left with a bachelor’s degree so technically it isn’t dropping out but I was only one year from the finishing line and I almost threw it all behind me. The pressure was that high.
But after hundreds of thoughts swirling in my head, I decided that I would stay till the end. I think this choice was made for 2 reasons mainly…
- I was so close to saying that I had completed 4 full years of University with a freaking pandemic in the middle.
- Even if I decided to just graduate early, I wouldn’t have had the funds to bring my interrailing trip forward.
Therefore, it was a no-brainer to just push through to the end as challenging as it may be.
And that is what I did! After an intense year with an even larger workload than ever, with a dissertation that would prove to be the most difficult thing I have ever put on paper and with every 2nd day me regretting my decision to stay on, I hurled through the pressure and completed University with a 2:1 Honours degree in Theatre & Film.
I learnt a lot about my future in this final year. I wrote about the ‘Power of travel photography on Instagram as a tool for tourism‘ as my dissertation topic. I started thinking ahead about how to get client work and become successful as a freelancer and I anticipated the life ahead of me that I have worked so diligently on creating.
And it all worked out in the end. My dissertation was hard but my photography portfolio was exhibited at the film awards last week. Working on Lost In Travel at the same time as my studies was hard but I now have an incredible, loyal community of other like-minded creators and travellers that I am happy to share ideas and inspiration with every day. Planning a 2-month trip around Europe while finishing off my Uni life was hard but I have been around 12 countries in between handing in my final assessment and graduating and had the most thrilling experience of a lifetime.
Each struggle and moment that made me want to give it all up has finally led to July 4th and ironically receiving my independence from education after two decades.
I am excited about the future. Mainly because it is a future that I have created for myself. I will be a professional travel content creator because I can and I am honoured to be saying that my hard work and determination have paid off.
From my first photo at Uni to my last photo taken on a trip up to Glen Coe for a graduation photoshoot last week, the growth that Uni has given me has known no bounds and I’m excited to continue learning and growing in this new chapter set out for myself.
Who says school has to be the best years of your life?
Lost in Travel 