The amount of advice we received while we are growing up is almost too much. Some is taken in seriously, some discarded, and some are in the middle. We got them from our parents and our teachers; our friends and our enemies. Piling up and morphing, from a few rocks, to a handful of sand. All the bits of advice getting mixed in with the rest. Constantly being reminded of to do this and don’t do that was not one of my favourite thing growing up. Rolling my eye when my mother would say, “Make good choices!” every time I left for school. “Yeah Yeah” I would reply just before shutting the door on my way out. I wanted to be rebellious and have fun in my teenage years. Putting my parents on edge and honestly not caring because I thought I was growing up. If I had known then what I know now... I probably would have responded differently every morning.
Why is it that this piece of advice remembered before my mother teaching me about how to be careful when taking to strangers? Or before my father teaching me about responsibility and how to control my, sometimes not to good, spending habits? It’s because I was reminded of my choices every day, and I now realize my mother was right.
Today I woke up and became instantly excited. Not only was it because it’s the end of the school week and I’m looking forward to a few days of sleeping in, but also because this morning we where breaking off from lectures to listen to some awesome guest speakers.
There where five guest speakers. All alumni of the Advertising -IMC program at St. Lawrence College, and all with amazing advice and stories of how they got where they are today. The two hour class consisted of a one hour Q&A session with the five speakers, our teachers and some second year IMC students joining my first year IMC class; and the second hour was devoted to the class being split up between the five speakers for some more narrowed advice to us.
My group had an amazing hour with Laura Kittner. She is an entrepreneur and a very successful business woman. Idealistic! I can honestly say that for that one hour I spent most of my time listening very closely to what she had to say. I instantly felt a connection with some of the things she had to say. And when class was over I had the pleasure to receive some extra advice from her. So, to Laura Kittner, thank you! You are a part of why I walked into my interview today with so much more confidence. And also a part of why I'm realizing my mother has been right all these years.
Today was an eye opener for me. Not all advice is important, but some is, and those that are deserve to stand out. I have learned to take the advice I receive and let it soak in before I disregard it. Because some advice should remain rocks in life, not to get mixed up in the sand.
I'm growing up now. So mother, as you like us to say... You told me so.
