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AMAA: Redefining pathways to success
Success means something different to everyone: finishing uni, starting a family or having good health, to name a few. It can be hard to work out what it means to you, especially when influencing factors shape your idea of success. Things like: societal pressure to complete milestones by a certain age, high expectations of us from teachers/family or ourselves.
The pressure can get overwhelming when you're studying for exams or finishing school/uni. There might even be times where your plans change out of the blue, a significant life event happens, or you go through a rough patch. The good news is there are ways to support yourself to get through it!
This month our "Ask Me Almost Anything" is all about sharing ways to pursue your version of success and juggle life's unexpected twists and turns. So bring all your questions because we've got two amazing guests that I'm so excited to hear from.
This time we are chatting with two Youth Ambassadors of Reach Out, introducing:
Nigel
Nigel, 25, is an Honours Graduate who studied a Bachelor of Science Advanced Global Challenges. Throughout his career he has worked in many industries from corporate, startups, retail, hospitality, scientific research institutions, to government. These opportunities have taken him from Melbourne and Sydney, to working in Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands.
Currently he works for the Victorian Department of Health in the Mental Health and Wellbeing division. In his spare time he is a Youth Ambassador for ReachOut Australia, loves many sports, photography, and outdoor adventures. Success to him is having purpose in the work he is doing. It's not about your job title, the money you earn, or what other people think of you. He believes success is about purposeful work and happiness in doing what you love.
Jordan
My name is Jordan and I am currently studying Nursing with the goal of one day being a paramedic or working in mental health. I have worked with ReachOut as a Youth Ambassador in the past and am currently working as an Australian Youth Advocate for Mental Health in partnership with Headspace. I have two cats named Mia, and Pippa, and I love coriander. My definition of success is trying your hardest despite all the odds, and getting to the end destination regardless of how long it took or the route you wound up on to get there.
They'll be sharing their experience of navigating their career and mental health, and we'll be answering your questions! So, send them through to us using the google form below:
We'll be here chatting on the 31st of August between 7pm - 9pm. Hope to see you there!
It isn’t some magic thing that comes out of nowhere. It takes discipline and hard work. There are good and bad days.
@Nigel-YA and @Jords_km you have articulated so many big things so well tonight. I can't thank you both enough!
That's a wrap, everyone! It was a pleasure, as always, to hang out with you all. I hope each of you took something away from tonight, no matter where you're at in your journey.
Remember the key takeaways - don't rush, run your own race and do what works for you.
If you feel like you need more info/tips, we have a chat here on "studying and lockdown". You're welcome to share how you're feeling or check out some of the resources we have provided there.
If tonight has brought anything up for you and you need a chat feel free to create a thread and open up. You can also connect with:
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Kids helpline:1800 55 1800
eheadspace and the work and study support service
This is our last question for the night, and I want to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful and impressive @Jords_km and @Nigel-YA - hearing your personal pearls of wisdom has been so good. You've both shown such determination and open-mindedness in your lives so far!
If you could tell your former high school student self one thing, what would it be?
Definitely agree with @Jords_km , just be gentle with yourself! I'd tell myself there's always options, and things might come up when you least expect it. I didn't get into the uni I originally wanted and was so hard on myself and thought it was the end of the world but I can't imagine being at any other uni than the one I'm at now, it's perfect for me!
✨Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out. ✨
It isn’t some magic thing that comes out of nowhere. It takes discipline and hard work. There are good and bad days. Get support from family, friends, or professionals if you need it. Whilst you can be committed to your own goal, never forget to be kind to yourself along the way.
Thank you so much for all your input tonight, it has been such a pleasure to hear your answers to these questions.
It would be to enjoy school while it lasted. Enjoy spending every day with your friends, enjoy not having to focus on working for a living or the responsibilities of adulthood and to focus on having fun. I moved out of home during year 12 due to having a bad home situation and ever since then have missed my school life. I know not everyone feels this way about school, but I found it a safe place. Also I would say don’t take yourself too seriously. You’re young, with so much still to learn and do. Be gentle with yourselves.
Noticing the good that is happening in our lives is important. It's also okay to grieve when things change. Very heartfelt advice, thank you so much for all your input tonight.
We're even getting a little philosophical tonight! Great question:
I recently saw a quote which asked the question...'what is better. To have had a successful life or a satisfying life?' What is your take on this and what do you consider is the main difference between the two?
There is a lot of experience between Jordan and Nigel so it will be good to hear their tips:
What are some flexible options for work/study/resume-building?
Not everything on your resume needs to be a paid job. A lot of mine is volunteer experience and internships. They are great fun because they are usually short-term and you can most likely have a professional reference from the experience.
On top of employment experience, you can also do short online courses! There are so many online that are free and can help build up your resume. Maybe you like data analysis, finance, coding, or writing. There are courses and information out there!
To employers it will show them that you are willing to continually keep learning and upskilling yourself which is a good way to make yourself stand out from the crowd!
I don't like the term 'resume-building', it honestly sounds so superficial haha. To be honest a lot of my volunteer roles I started doing to gain more experience in my degree, but I wouldn't look at them in that way now because I've learnt so much more and put so much passion into them that they're hardly just a mark on my resume. I think go for things your passionate in, and do the research! A quick thing I've just thought of is studying languges online if you want to learn something new!
Leading with your passion is a good guide! It's so nice to hear that you've gained so much from your volunteer roles.
I’d say to work at your own pace. There is such pressure to study full time and work full time and for some, that’s totally achievable and that’s great. But for others there are too many other aspects of life they are trying to juggle and so some-times working part-time and studying part-time, or even just focusing on one of the other can be the way to go. Something I’ve learnt is not to compare yourself to others. Focus on what you can handle, and what is safest and most comfortable for you. I personally felt dropping back the hours I worked and studied was the best for me as it reduced my anxiety, and feelings of being overwhelmed. Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint.
Totally! You don't have to drive non-stop from high school to your first big job. You can take breaks along the way, enjoy the view and get there when it suits you. Also love this quote:
Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint
I think you can have both and also have one without the other. Those who have both I envy. But success and satisfaction are both in the eye of the beholder. You can be 100% satisfied with your life but not what others perceive as “successful” and you can also be thriving and unhappy. I think happiness is key. Life is long and full of hardship and I want to live my best life, even if others think I haven’t lived it to the status quo. For me travelling makes me the happiest. When I can do that again, that for me will be success and satisfaction!
Beautifully said! We set the parameters for what success and satisfaction look like to us.
I wouldn’t say one is “better” than the other. Some people focus on ‘success’ and others would rather be satisfied.
I see the difference between the two is that success is something that is validated externally whereas satisfaction is an internal judgement call you make yourself. Both require sacrifice, resilience, and self-reflection.
That is an excellent summary. What that says to me is that there's a balance between success and satisfaction - and because satisfaction is based on our needs/wants, we must focus on that and success.
That's an interesting take. Would you say they're clearly separated things or are they linked to some degree?
It can help to get an idea of what studying after school is like. Keen to hear what our guests have to say about this one:
What were your expectations of tertiary study vs reality