Another Leaving Cert, and next?

I really felt for all the students waiting for their results last month, the stress of it all! And now they’re transitioning to the next stage of their journeys in college or work or even travelling for a while, exciting times hopefully.

Maybe you were one of those people who skipped through the LC effortlessly or a rebel who didn’t give a damn? Or your experience could have been more like mine - head down, cram as hard as possible to catch up on everything since first year - with no clear idea of what I really wanted to do with my life. None of us seemed to have much of a clue though.

I remember walking up the twisting avenue towards the school building with my best pals; the sun playing with the leaves above, and feeling downright queasy (despite the beauty of the convent grounds all around me!). I had applied for Pharmacy as the number one choice on my CAO - purely because my mother wanted me to pursue this. Even though I wasn’t clear on what I wanted to do, I absolutely did not want to be a pharmacist! Luckily, and unsurprisingly, I didn’t get this and so began my journey in Marketing!

Thankfully, the Leaving Cert is not as monumentally important as we believed it to be then. My own GP told me she didn’t even do the Leaving Cert - I don’t know how she escaped!

What is your own most vivid memory of this time?

If asked, the advice I would give to young people - regardless of what they want to do with their lives - is to give consideration to their personal brand and to get networking - it’s never too early!