# 48. Write a letter to Mrs. Kahler, my high school careers advisor

Although I have lived in Sydney for over 10 years now, I grew up in Wollongong, a town south of Sydney. This is where my parents and my closest friends still live and it is while I was at University there that I met my beautiful husband. I have very good memories of growing up in Wollongong, and we still visit there quite often.

My two loves at South Beach, Wollongong [image by Zahara Dessert]



Like a good Italian girl, I attended the all girls Catholic high school. Although academically I wasn't brilliant, I also wasn't that bad. I was just lazy. If I liked a subject I would pay attention and try, if I didn't then I wouldn't. I know this isn't ideal, but it is a flaw in my character that I sometimes still struggle with.

Mrs Kahler was our school's careers advisor. I am not really sure what made her qualified for this, but she was the person you went to if you wanted careers 'advice'. Like many, I didn't know what I wanted to do when I 'grew up'. My childhood dream of being a Veterinarian quickly went out the window when I realised you needed the same grades as a Doctor and also be brilliant in Math and Science, which I was not. I knew I was good at humanities, so in my final year of high school I decided I would do an Arts Degree at the University of Wollongong and see where it would take me. Mrs Kahler had other ideas...

I can't remember why or when exactly, but I remember we all had to see her in our final year of school to discuss what we wanted to do. I remember sitting down with her and telling her my plans and clearly she was not impressed by my idea. I know my grades were not fantastic, but you didn't need to be Einstein to get into Arts. I had a goal, and I would do what it would take to get into the course. Mrs Kahler could not understand this. She kept on saying, I think you should do an administration course at TAFE.

I know there is nothing wrong with being a secretary, but it wasn't something I wanted to do. So I ignored Mrs Kahler's advice and did what I wanted to do. I completed my HSC, got into Arts at UOW and by trial and error worked out what I wanted to do when I 'grew up'. I really liked Sociology and did well enough to get into Honors. I even had plans to do my PHD in Social Research. However for some reason I fell into market research which I love and I now work for one of the biggest brands in the world in their Insights department.


view from my desk [image by Zahara Dessert]

So Mrs Kahler, I am really glad I did not listen to you and I had the confidence in myself to ignore your 'words of wisdom'.

I know this isn't a letter as such, but I wanted to get it down. I also know that this isn't the most ground breaking story ever told either. But it was something that affected me a lot and I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had listened to her.

So the moral of the story is have confidence in yourself and as Bono would say, 'Don't let the bastards get you down'!