Hard Thing First

When I finished school, I didn’t know what I wanted to “be”. Top of the list were Teacher or Architect because I thought they combined my interest in Learning, Art, and Mathematics. Both my brothers were at Medical School, and three sets of fees was too much of a push for my parents. The UK offered a two-year working holiday visa. I worked as a waiter to save for the plane ticket, and then got a job as a gap student at a prep school in Chichester. While there, I saved my Pounds like a hamster, and plotted what to study. On trips to London, I felt “poor”. Look, but don’t touch. I decided to be deeply pragmatic. It was easier to make a career out of Maths skills, and a hobby of Art, than vice versa. I chose Actuarial Science, which topped the list of many surveys of the best professions. Hard, but safe. If I busted a gut for a few years, then I could do the stuff I wanted. Do the hard things first was very much the way I had been deep soaked growing up. Gratefully, Old Mutual also had a bursary scheme. This meant the money issue was taken off the table, in exchange for working for them after my studies.

Working as a Porter in the English School Holidays