So, here we are slowly coming to the end of Clearing 2011. We have these past few weeks been working back at the spiritual home of Clearing – The Maritime Campus in Greenwich. It’s a wonderful office. And by wonderful, I mean a long rectangular shaped, stuffy room with no windows and where the air-con has a mind of its own and everyone falls ill at some point or another. Having said that, it would just feel wrong if Clearing was anywhere else. I would have loved to stay at Avery Hill but I can’t say I am upset at having to come here. Next week we will have moved back ‘home’ to the Fry building on the Southwood Site.
Anyways, the new academic year looms and for some it will be business as usual as they go into the second or third year of their studies at university. For everyone else, it is the start of a new phase of their life, if you are one of those who are just starting out at university, you have an amazing three (or four) years to look forward to. During these years you will go through many ups and downs and there will come many times when you will think “What’s the point?” and want to just jack it all in. My advice to you is simple. Don’t!
For many of you this will be your first time living away from home. You might be coming from elsewhere in England, the EU or the world. Some of you might already know Greenwich well, for others this will be a completely new experience. From this point on the circumstances of your life; what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, how confident or shy you are – none of that matters anymore. Where you have come from doesn’t determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. At university you make your own destiny. Yes, there will be all the “fun” stuff like the partying and if you are living out then all that goes with that as well. But you cannot ignore the not so fun bit that is the actual studying. There is nothing worse than having to repeat years at university while your friends go on to the second and third years or even graduate and you are left behind, so studying just as hard as you party is not such a bad idea. In fact, I would recommend it. When you are standing there in the Chapel (if you study at Maritime or Avery Hill) or in Rochester Cathedral (for those studying at Medway) with your friends, all wearing that oversized gown and ridiculous hat, it will all be worth it. You might not think so just yet, or even after your last exam, but trust me, it will hit you when your name is called and you step up to collect your scroll.
For those of you who have completed your time at Greenwich, this is a pretty scary time. You have been at university for a few years now and finally it is time to do that which you have been trying to put off and step out into the big bad world. I can tell you from personal experience; it really is not as bad as some people make out. Yes, everything does become real, very quickly but that is the best part. You have spent all these years gathering and fine tuning all these skills and now is the time to put them to use. Some will tell you “throw caution to the wind” and “live each day as it is your last”. If you do, then one day you will certainly be right. I will tell you, you can’t treat every situation as a life and death matter. If you do, you will die many many times. If you have made it this far, trust me, you have the balls to make it through life.
Speaking of death, it is an inevitable eventuality. No one wants it to be them. Even people who have a desire to go to heaven want to get there without dying. But still it is the ultimate destination that we all share. There has not been anyone to escape that fact. The way I see it, that’s exactly how it should be. Death is the single best invention of life. It clears out the old to make way for the new. At this stage in life, that new is You. One day you will eventually be the old and have to make way for another new having been cleared away.
What I am trying to say, harsh as it may sound, is that your time in this life is limited so you shouldn’t waste the time you have by living, or being forced to live someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by some dogma (not the film ... although I would recommend you watch it if you haven’t already). Don’t let other peoples thinking dictate how you live. Don’t let the noise created by other people’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. At the very least, have the balls to follow your heart and intuition. These two already know what you want to make of your life. Just follow them and everything else is just secondary.
Many years ago, before my time, back in the 1960’s there was this magazine called “The Whole Earth Catalogue” created by a guy called Stewart Brand. Being in the era that it was, one without personal computers and any form of desktop publishing., it was quite a piece of work. One that was created with simple things like typewriters, scissors and this thing called a ‘Polaroid camera’. You could say it was very much so a version of Google in paperback format some 35/40 years before Google.
This guy, Brand, put out loads of issues, and finally in 1974 the last edition was published. On the back cover of this edition, they put a picture. A picture of an early morning road that you might perhaps find yourself hitchhiking on if you are the adventurous type. Under this picture were the words “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish”. This was their farewell message as the published their final edition and I think it was a fitting end. I wish this for myself in the future and as you leave this university as graduates and start down the road at the beginning of the rest of your life, I wish this for you too.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish
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