Why I’m studying a creative subject, and why you should too

As students across the country pick up their A-Level results, Jennifer Igiri fights the corner for creative subjects, and why they’re worth the time, money and hard, hard work...



Now, more than ever, people are searching for security.

The desire to pursue what you really enjoy can be overshadowed by the need to do something that’ll pay the rent, and the bills, and the self-pity parties you’ll no doubt be hosting.

It’s one thing to think about student loans, debt and all that fluff, but you’ve also got to take into consideration the fact that you might not even get a job as soon as you graduate. If you really want to achieve, you’ll have to work twice as hard. So you might as well channel that energy into something you enjoy…

You have two options really. If your creative pursuit is important enough for you to want to make a career out of it, then you can either put in the hard work now, or you can do it later. But you will have to do it. Some people choose to get stability and security first. They choose to study other subjects (or not go to university at all), and then once they’re married, with kids, and ‘financially stable’ they decide to rekindle their long-since-dead creative passions. Why wait until then? Give yourself a head start in what you really want! Would you rather spend a few years doing a job that you don’t like right after you graduate to subsidise your finances; or spend years and years silencing that creative bug inside you? Working an average-in-every-way nine to five that you didn’t have your heart set on in the first place?

I’m studying Creative Writing and Journalism at Middlesex University. I consider writing to be a form of release. So much can be expressed, pictures can be painted and blurry visions made clear through words on a page. I really enjoy it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a challenge. People often comment that to get better at writing, you have to write. Obviously. But they don’t tell you that it can be a nail-biting, eye scratching and hair yanking experience if you try to do it all alone, without any outside influence, feedback or inspiration.

I’ve just finished the first year of my degree, and I really appreciate that my tutors didn’t just make me sit like a cheese-puff and write for hours on end (not in the seminars and lectures, anyway). They got us out into court, taking notes. They got us out on the streets, interviewing everyday citizens and writing up true news stories. They got us behind the scenes at events to be the junior reporters. They brought in successful guest speakers, like the artistic director of Empire Magazine and Rev. Jesse Jackson, to pass on trade secrets and inspire us to aim high.

University provides a safe place for you to explore what you really enjoy. You might think you want to be a games designer, for example, but if you find out that games actually isn’t your cup of mocha, then you’ve opportunities to discuss with professionals who will guide you towards your dream. It’s better than working your way up in a design company, with no clue what your job will include, only to find out several years down the line that you hate it.

Sure, when you graduate you might not get the job you want straight away. You might have to work in Tesco while your business or brand grows. But then again, you might not. You might meet and network with the right people. You will get chances and opportunities and acquire knowledge that you’d have never discovered on your own, and you’ll probably learn a set of valuable, necessary skills.

By studying a creative subject you’ll gain a clearer idea of who you are, and what you want to do. And, believe me, that’s worth the long hours and sleepless nights.


Source: http://www.ideastap.com/IdeasMag/all...eative-subject