Final Exam, Final Semester

This morning I have a final exam in Digital Marketing. This is the very last exam I have as an Undergraduate. There is an intense feeling of excitement and heaviness mixed with the completion of my Bachelors and this stage of life. There is a comfort in the stages of growth, however, each chapter must come to an end so that the story, my story can progress.

Without a doubt I am an eternal student. I have a curiosity about life that never ceases. I find that learning is available in every interaction, in every moment, it’s just up to me to realise it. Undertaking formal education is very different from my self-guided exploration, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I like the structure, I like the guidance and oddly I think I like deadlines within reason. I also appreciate that my courses have been very holistic in nature. Perhaps its due to the fact that they have been primarily Marketing courses this last year, but my professors have crafted such a wide variety of materials into the learning experience and it’s made it all that much more rich. When a guide/professor is experienced and they share what they have learned along the way with passion and enthusiasm it is like magic, where time and space in that moment cease and it’s all about the expansion within it. This doesn’t always happen, and it isn’t with every professor, in every class, in every subject, but when it does happen, it is one of the most joyous experiences at a higher learning institution.

Heading into this exam I have a High Distinction, which is the American equivalent to an A grade. I have excelled in the projects that have been required including a Digital Marketing Business Plan and a full Case Analysis on the largest social media platform at the moment, Facebook. I do hope that I can express what I have learned and the insight I have gained along the way in both formal and informal education about this topic in the exam today! I know I’ll just need to relax into it and let it come out of me as it’s all in there.

Perhaps this heaviness will pass after I am done. Perhaps the heaviness is due to the restriction of transformation, that moment where all things are tight and limiting until freedom is gained and a new beginning is made. I’ve had many transformations in my life and thankfully have lived very fully within each of those chapters, this one as a returning student is no exception. I’m very glad that I returned in my 30s. I have been able to get so much out of the subjects from this experience, a vast different from the social experience which I would definitely categorize during my first time at University when I was 18.

We’ll see what happens next! I’m sure it will be good, really good, it always is!

Awake?

Awake or not awake. Isn’t trying to classify someone as “awake” or “not awake” just another way of segregation? By using those labels it brings further separation rather than the unity that is needed.

I find it interesting when people throw their views on you. I’m sure I do this as well and that’s why I can recognize it. Most of the time I think they are sharing what they need to hear as well, probably as much if not more than the person which whom they are talking.

So if I’m hearing the gospel from a person who has proclaimed to be “awake”, I question why they are telling this, especially when it has not been prompted. If I bring this back to marketing, it is when a brand is forcing its message upon a consumer when the consumer would rather feel like they are discovering it for themselves.

Immediately I pull back in situations like these. I try to really listen to what is going on, not just what is being said. I listen and I choose my next action, which is generally to exit.

 

Why and How

The best thing I have learned at University is huge and simple. It is to ask Why and How not just to tell what. This has transformed the way I think and the way I have been communicating. This allows me to convey what I believe, how I action it and why it’s important to me.

Here’s an incredible and inspiring video by Simon Sinek that confirms the importance of putting why at the heart of everything we do.

Changing the thought and communication process:

How Great Leaders Inspire Action