University

Return to Uni Campus

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Today I was invited to have a catch up coffee with one of my old professors from Uni. How lovely it was to return to the lush Lismore campus! I could easily feel that relaxed vibe that oozes out of Southern Cross University. There were cute boho girls, surfy guys, dreadheads, asian students, and the academia. It was wonderful. My old professor teaches Marketing Principles and says they still use my example in class from a project I did nearly four years ago! That was quite the compliment to be honest. He then went on to tell me I was definitely one of the best students he has ever had, and that also felt really good to hear.

Truth is, I do know that I have amazing potential, that I am enthusiastic, fair minded, I enjoy problem solving and am a great communicator. I sometimes forget it seems, and it’s so nice to be reminded. I felt like I had to explain why I hadn’t achieved more than I have because I chose to get married and have a baby after graduating. I felt like I had to make excuses in a way, which felt kind of weird. I then remembered that I have actually started a business with my husband, the poultry processing business and it is actually running and brining in cashflow now. I always have these big images of what my business will be like, and how I will impact the world, and somehow I just ignore these other more mundane or less exciting, things in my life, even though they are also important.

Just for fun I keep up with Marketing topics via books, blogs, and general perception. I enjoy business and I enjoy marketing, so I naturally want to learn more about these, and I do. My learning certainly has not stopped since I graduated from University, it was just a nice restarting point for me, and I am grateful. I was asked if I was going to pursue my PhD or get my Masters, and I said that both were on my mind, but wasn’t sure when. I said I really needed to get my permanent residency first, which surprised him as he was certain I was already a citizen here. Yeah, I should be! I will be. Just not quite yet apparently.

It’s interesting to think of all the options out there in the world, ready and ripe for my taking. I trust that I am exactly where I need to be in life, and also trust that I am doing what I need in order to move forward in the best possible way. How nice it has been to be back home up here in the Northern Rivers with the divine weather and loving vibe.

What? How? Why?

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When I was at Uni in my very last semester, my professor offhandedly said that she appreciated having more mature students because they didn’t just explain what, what, what, what. She then went on to say that they already understood that they had to add in the Why and How. This moment was a stunner for me. Almost like someone had just given me the key to creating the best research papers that the university had ever seen! Why was this not on the school jackets and on the flag! It should have been! What a brilliant formula for writing!

I have thought about this again and again, and how essential it is to explain what, as clue the reader in on what you are writing about, then moving into How which shows that you understand what you are talking about, preferably with relevant references, and then into Why which is where you analyze and interpret it all.

What? How? and Why? is so brilliant because it’s a formula for success and allows others to understand what you are talking about in such a clear way! What a great way to build a solid argument or point of view, or even for clearly describing a situation. I could have done even better at Uni had I known this key to success! Obviously this has come in handy and will continue to as I think and write and share!

Final Exam, Final Semester

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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!

Why and How

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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