My beloved and I were watching a gentle sitcom, where someone in it gave up a stable, paid job to pursue their dream (admittedly on a knee-jerk reaction to a bad day at work).

It got us talking about our own career journeys and what we might have done differently, especially at the age of 18.  Me?  A thwarted psychologist or journalist; him, psychologist or architect.  (Hmm, funny that.)  And it was soon clear that the destination we dreamed about now could only be based on the life experiences we’d had to get us thus far, and that it would have been pretty difficult to have made that choice at a time when we didn’t yet know what we didn’t yet know.  The chance was probably there, but we just weren’t in a position to understand that we could take it.

It might be tempting to look back and have regrets – where might I have been now if I’d done that; how might things have been different; what if, what if … but the honest truth?  For each of us, we’ve taken our opportunities when we could, and we’ve never looked back with regret on what we’ve done, or perhaps more importantly, where we’re now going.

But something we both agreed – it’s never too late, and you’re never too old or set in your ways to try!  Well, you might be set in your ways, but you can talk yourself out of that.  (Do it.  Now!)  If you see a chance, take it.  If you have a burning ambition, pursue it.  Our own experience has shown us that – we’re both embarking on yet another higher education journey at stages in our life when our original student days are far behind us.  But it couldn’t be more exciting, and it’s keeping us young … and curious … and interested.

And when we’re walking across that stage in a few years’ time (yes, we have long-term goals) collecting our next major award, there will be a satisfying smile on our faces.  We made it happen.  We took that chance.  And we’re loving it!

Happy journeying.